When Was The Last Time? - 21 Jan 2019

When was the last time I photographed a Mallard? Or a fly-by Herring Gull? Ages...

I spent some time at Dingell Park in Wayne Co. just to play with shooting the Nikon D500 and 300/2.8 VRII using Manual Priority. The idea was to set Aperture, Auto-ISO, and get used to adjusting shutter speeds to minimize noise via Auto-ISO.  It was a fun exercise in frigid temperatures.

1/3200 sec. f4.5 ISO 220 EFL~630mm

I did learn some things. Shooting w/ the 300/2.8 VRII+1.4TCII wide open (f4) produced AWFUL images. Continuous-AF kept bouncing around, even on this drake Mallard. I couldn't lock focus on fly-by Herring Gulls. As soon as I switched back to f5.6 I got razor-sharp images again. I can only guess that moisture in the air was messing w/ autofocus at f4.

1/3200 sec. f5.6 ISO 200 EFL~630mm

Just another lesson to confuse my already-confused mind.

Dingell Park (formally Ecorse Park), Wayne, Michigan, US
Jan 21, 2019 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Stationary
2 species

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  6
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S160876569

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

I got home just as this Cooper's Hawk flew into the yard and perched in the back hedge. With sunlight disappearing it was a much different exposure. The Auto-ISO saved me as I was still shooting 1/3200 sec. at f5.6 (through the back window).

1/3200 sec. f5.6 ISO 3200 EFL~630mm

Brownton Abbey, 26340 Higgins Way, Wayne, Michigan, US
Jan 21, 2019 4:00 PM - 4:05 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Yard
1 species

Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S160876698

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)