Don't Leave Home Without It!

[ddt0725]

Today I finally had alittle time to stop by the state park to get my vehicle permit. I always have my gear bag with me but was planning on just getting the permit and leaving. When I got there, it was like I entered bird paradise! Of course, I quickly got my camera out but...I didn't have my tripod with me! So needless to say, of the MANY pictures I took, a majoritywere blurry![]

Word of advice ...ALWAYS have your tripod with the rest of your gear!

Here's a few of the better ones ...C&C welcome! So sad, these are about as good as it gets for me today!

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[Brendan7]

Hmm.....I don't know for sure, but I think something besides lack of a tripod is making your images soft. Maybe a focus microadjustment is needed? Im not sure, but you definitely don't NEED a tripod to get sharp images.


Anyway, #1 and then the last one are the best here. It appears you need to use a narrower aperture, because on the last two you focused on the tail, breast and the head is slightly OOF from what I can see.


just my 2¢


brendan

[ddt0725]

Im not sure, but you definitely don't NEED a tripod to get sharp images.

With the 7D & 100-400mm ...this woman NEEDS a tripod! Like I said, this is as good as it gets for me today for a 5 min. rush job with no time to check settings...run in, get my sticker, take some shots, leave. That's why they are not in "Post your Best Bird Shots". I just thought it was cool for me to get so many variety in a quick 5 mins.

Denise

[neuroanatomist]

RE: Don't Leave Home Without It!


Well, you didn't:

I always have my gear bag with me

The first shot is a great one!


True, without all your gear, you're going to miss some shots. But as long as you have your camera and a lens, there's something to shoot. IMO, if you go out planning to shoot, you bring what you need for the type of shooting you're planning to do, and if there's room left in your bag, add some things that might come in handy if a different opportunity presents itself. Now, if you have only one lens, it's easy - you bring that. But if you have more than one and other gear, you need to make choices - and a tripod might be one of them, but might not. On the other hand, if you're going out not planning to shoot, but have your camera and some of your gear just because you make it a habit to carry them, then any shots you get are value added.


Think about it - you had your camera and a good lens, and you got some keepers. So, it was a good <span style="text-decoration: line-through;"]day of 5 minutes of shooting!! []

[ddt0725]

The first shot is a great one!


True, without all your gear, you're going to miss some shots. On the other hand, if you're going out not planning to shoot, but have your camera and some of your gear just because you make it a habit to carry them, then any shots you get are value added.


Think about it - you had your camera and a good lens, and you got some keepers. So, it was a good <span style="text-decoration: line-through;"]day of 5 minutes of shooting!! [img]/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]
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Thanks, John!
I got my state sticker, was able to see what the place was like since I'd never been to that park and I got a few keepers ...not bad for spur of the moment! The place is HUGE so better pics to come!

As far as carrying my gear with me, I grew tired of always saying, Dang, I wish I had my camera! Missing ALL the shots is a true downer! Now I even take my bag to the office everyday! We have a lot of trees and wildlife behind our building so one of the engineers took the screens off his window and keeps an eye out for me! Most wildlife are gone though by the time I stroll in in the morning!

[neuroanatomist]

As far as carrying my gear with me, I grew tired of always saying, Dang, I wish I had my camera! Now I even take my bag to the office everyday!

That's a great idea, Denise! I take my camera to work some days, when I know I'll have a bit of free time during the day. But, mid-day shooting is not that great, IMO. I'm an early riser, usually, so sometimes when I have a free morning I'll head to an Audubon preserve nearby, before sunrise, and hike in for a while, getting scenic/landscape shots before and during sunrise, then shooting some wildlife on the way back to the car as the early morning activity gets going.

[Brendan7]

Like I said, this is as good as it gets for me today for a 5 min. rush job with no time to check settings...run in, get my sticker, take some shots, leave.

Ooh. With those time constraints I'd barely set my gear up and I would have to leave. [8o|] kudos.

[andnowimbroke]

Hey, we were in different State Parks together! I thought you did pretty good considering some were taken from 400mm at 1/100 sec. I actually brought my tripod. Someone let me use his for awhile. It was my first outing EVER with one and love it. Thought I'd try HDR stuff. I know, it's sooo ninties. Anyway, my camera was acting stupid (prolly me is more like it) and not letting me adjust brackets. I settled for a regular shot instead. Even though it was still set on AV, it was reading 1/5 sec. Never having been able to play with slow speeds on water either, I took a chance. After that, my brackets started working again. I guess the camera does know best afer all. Never did play with the HDR files once I got home. I opened LR3 and slapped a quick adjustment on this (prolly need abit more vignetting to hide the tree branch better) and I was done...enough...until I figure out what I'm doin'.


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