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Thread: Not A Harlequin Duck!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Default Not A Harlequin Duck!

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    From this afternoon at Barnegat: worn first winter Dunlin. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2 1/3 stops: 1/60 sec. at f/10.

    Don't be shy; all honest comments welcome.
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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Artie:

    Impressive sharpness with this length and slow shutter speed.

    Perfectly exposed.

    I think the mussel mound in front is very interesting , with great texture, and the little bits of blue add a little punch of color.

    In a perfect world, a lower vantage point to throw the back ridge either out of view or at least providing further separation from the breast would have been nice, but probably not possible here.

    I could see a version with the darkest area in the wave above and to the left of his forehead toned down just a smidge, to match the other waves.

    Cheers

    Randy
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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Thanks Randy. I was standing between two huge jetty rocks with my tripod laying flat; as you suspected I could not have gotten even 1/4" lower.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Was there any sun at all? + 2 1/3 EV would suggest it was very overcast would it not? Sharp and this has me reaching for my USA bird ID book - interesting bill shape.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Hi Artie,
    I really like the front mussel mountain. Bird is exposed perfectly and lovely HA. I agree that it would have been lovely if you could have gotten lower to get rid of the second mound of mussels. Perhaps it is time to buy a wetsuit and snorkel?
    One question-why such a small aperture?
    Gail

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    Someone had a write up recently on (about a year ago) that the minimum shutter speed should be 1/500 sec. with Canon 600 lens shooting from a Gitzo tripod, Winberley head combo.
    It seems to me that you are consistently doing fine with the 800 plus 1.4x TC at a much longer shutter speed, Artie.
    Great looking picture, by the way with perfect sharpness and details.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Rambaut View Post
    Was there any sun at all? + 2 1/3 EV would suggest it was very overcast would it not? Sharp and this has me reaching for my USA bird ID book - interesting bill shape.
    Hey Tom, It was a UK type of afternoon, pitch dark :). There are many races of Dunlin with varying bill lengths. This one is one of the longer billed races and a female to boot.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Quote Originally Posted by gail bisson View Post
    Hi Artie, I really like the front mussel mountain. Bird is exposed perfectly and lovely HA. I agree that it would have been lovely if you could have gotten lower to get rid of the second mound of mussels. Perhaps it is time to buy a wetsuit and snorkel? One question-why such a small aperture? Gail
    I would have needed a snorkel after using a jackhammer.... I had been using the 1.4X III TC where wide open was f/8.... In part, I was just pushing the limits. (I wound up shooting one harlequin head portrait at 1/8 sec. and got a few sharp ones.... ) On the other hand, the closer you are to a subject the smaller the d-o-f so always a good idea to stop down somewhat. Furthermore, with big glass at close range d-o-f is measured in very small fractions of an inch. See here.

    Good question!
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Karl Egressy View Post
    Someone had a write up recently on (about a year ago) that the minimum shutter speed should be 1/500 sec. with Canon 600 lens shooting from a Gitzo tripod, Winberley head combo. It seems to me that you are consistently doing fine with the 800 plus 1.4x TC at a much longer shutter speed, Artie. Great looking picture, by the way with perfect sharpness and details.
    Yes, I have been doing just fine. As I mentioned above I made some sharp head portraits yesterday at 1/8 sec. with the 800 and the 1.4X TC.... It sounds as if you are relying on one of those internet experts.... I wrote in ABP II: skilled folks who practice perfect sharpness technique should be able to consistently create sharp images with a 600 IS and the 2X TC (with a 1.3X body) at shutter speeds down to 1/60 sec. With the 800's new 4-stop IS even slower is easily attainable... The 500 and 600 f/4 L IS II lenses will both feature 4-stop IS.

    BTW, thanks Karl :).
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Great picture. Well done to get sharp at 1 / 60. I am comfortable with the angle. Shell was maybe a bit of blue on the inside. I envy you the 800mm lens, here in Norway it costs $ 18,800.
    Regards Geir Jensen

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Hey Tom, It was a UK type of afternoon, pitch dark :). There are many races of Dunlin with varying bill lengths. This one is one of the longer billed races and a female to boot.
    A UK type of afternoon? As a long-time Londoner, I know just what you mean! It's why I spend so much time on this forum!!
    Thanks for sharing all these amazing images. (They help me deal with UK afternoons!)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Geir Jensen View Post
    Great picture. Well done to get sharp at 1 / 60. I am comfortable with the angle. Shell was maybe a bit of blue on the inside. I envy you the 800mm lens, here in Norway it costs $ 18,800. Regards Geir Jensen
    Thanks Geir, The insides of the mussel shells are actually quite blue. For me the 800 is just a good tool.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

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