Bokeh can be beautiful. It can also be crazy. Especially when using the Minolta MD Rokkor-X 500mm mirror lens. Because the lens is not refractive it requires a careful choice of background to avoid doughnut bokeh. Catadioptric lenses use two mirrors. The secondary mirror partially blocks the main mirror blocking out the center of each light […]
Time for dragonflies! Anywhere you have a pond or a still body of water you will find dragonflies. We stalk them at various sites: Newlin Grist Mill, Hibernia Park, John Heinz NWR. All were shot with the Minolta 75-300mm and either the Sony A500 or Sony A65.
Nice surprise to find the pileated woodpecker shot by Mr. Old School is up on Flickr’s Explore! We were actually hunting the frog pond for photo ops when the pileated flew down and stated attacking the rotted stump. Had a quick window to get a couple of shots before he was chased away by a […]
Mr. Old School strikes again with his photo of a tree swallow at John Heinz NWR. Such beautiful birds. Jewel-toned, shining blue feathers. This was shot at 300mm requiring a bit of stealth and patience to get close enough for the capture. Shot with the Sony a500 and the Minolta 75-300mm at 300mm.
Sunrise at Bombay Hook NWR is a glorious thing to experience. It was absolutely worth waking up at 3:45 a.m. We hung around Raymond Pool for about an hour watching the avocets, ducks, herons, and bald eagles. Tree swallows everywhere. I totally love American coots and wasn’t disappointed. We even saw wild turkeys off along […]
I personally am not a great fan of photo contests in general. And emphatically not interested in any contest that charges a fee to enter. That being said, I do like the idea of photo contests that support and advertise the National Park system, the US Fish and Wildlife refuge system, and the National Historic […]
Swallows, snakes, nesting eagles, and turtles out of hibernation. The vibrancy of spring is returning to the refuge. Beautiful day. Clear sunny skies. A multitude of photographers and bird watchers. The orientation of the main impoundment boardwalk can be tough going. You almost lose one side of the action unless you are comfortable shooting straight […]
Mr. Old School’s gathering of turtles hits Flickr’s Explore making it to 255 in the top 500. Of course I can understand the appeal. TURTLES! Plus, it’s a great shot. From John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. Shot with a Sony a500 and the Minolta 75-300mm.
The weekly walk was productive. Tree swallows have returned to John Heinz. Shot with the Sony a65 on the Ravelli tripod using a Minolta 500mm Rokkor-X manual focus lens and the A65’s focus peaking feature. I think I need to start an album just for The Dogs of John Heinz NWR. So many dogs. So […]
More images from the Sony A65 in very low light. ISO 1600. As in, so low the only light was from a fireplace and a couple of lanterns. I didn’t expect it to do this well, especially hand-held.