Red-necked Grebe

[Tord Andreasson]

My first post...

Red-necked Grebe from a local pond.

Olympus E-M5 ISO 1000 1/640s
TS 102 APO triplet refractor 714mm scope

[Randy Stout]

Tord:

A big welcome to BPN!

Great low shooting angle, very intimate view of the bird. I like that the green background extends up above his head a bit, that the horizon doesn't cut through the neck, as often happens with low angle shots.

Perhaps a bit tight in the frame horizontally, and could tolerate a bit off from the bottom. A pano style crop works well for this type of shot.

There is some modest noise showing up in the darker areas.

I would love to know more about your lens setup. Feel free to attach a quick shot of the lens as a repost in this thread.

Again, welcome to BPN. A great place to learn and grow as a nature photographer!

Cheers

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Tord, welcome to BPN!!

Beautiful subject, and yes to a nice low angle...but I feel getting up a bit higher in this case would have prevent the white area to be so close to the head. The light is coming from the left and has given a nice atmosphere to the feel of the image. Looks like the image needs a bit of clockwise rotation. I agree with Randy's additional points too.

Good start, and looking forward to more!

[Tord Andreasson]

Tord:

A big welcome to BPN!

Great low shooting angle, very intimate view of the bird. I like that the green background extends up above his head a bit, that the horizon doesn't cut through the neck, as often happens with low angle shots.

Perhaps a bit tight in the frame horizontally, and could tolerate a bit off from the bottom. A pano style crop works well for this type of shot.

There is some modest noise showing up in the darker areas.

I would love to know more about your lens setup. Feel free to attach a quick shot of the lens as a repost in this thread.

Again, welcome to BPN. A great place to learn and grow as a nature photographer!

Cheers

Randy

Randy,

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and feedback.

Below is a picture of the lens as it looked back in May (I have made some modifications/improvements since then) and a short description.


Essentially it is an apochromatic refractor scope, operated in prime focus mode i.e. the image is projected directly on the camera sensor. So you could think of it as a telephoto lens. (Note: refractor, not reflector. Reflector scopes are not suitable for terrestrial photography).
It is fitted with triple element, FPL-53 hight optical glass that provide very low chromatic abberration and good optical correction.
Front lens diameter is 102mm and F-number is F/7 for a focal length of 714 mm.
The protuberance at the front in case you wonder you wonder) is a retractable dew shield/lens hood. Designed to prevent fogging and also works great as lens protection :)
At the rear is the focuser. In this case a 3" Crayford design focuser with dual speed (1:11). The focuser is sturdy, smooth and precise enough for terrestrial photography. 3" means it is capable of handling heavy bodies and wide enough to support FF sensors without vignetting.
The extension tube (required to position the sensor on the focal plane), camera adapter and camera body are not mounted / missing from photo.
The lens including plate, extension tube and adapter weighs around 5.5 kg so support is recommended. (For travel or when portability is a priority I would use another scope, 480mm ~2.5 kg).
The price point for this scope is around 1400€. I am very pleased with it and the results it is capable of delivering.

Kind Regards,
Tord

[Marina Scarr]

Big, warm welcome to BPN. Lovely bird you have here with a lot of details and lovely light. Love the smooth water. The bird is a little large in the frame for me. Daniel's idea of a pano crop is an interesting one.