Bogley

gonzo · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 788

I am sure glad I went up again on Sunday with my tripod. I got much better shot. And since I accidentally setup next to Carpey I got to meet a few people.

Here's some of the better shots:

This is only barn owl shot I managed to grab. Those suckers move fast!

waltny · Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 293 Location: Hill AFB, UT

Keith and Kris I love the shots of them fighting. :2thumbs: I tried so hard to capture that I tracked them evertime a few got close and they were screaming at each other. I just dont have the frame per seconds in RAW....

That barn owl shot of Dan's looks fake, the lighting is surreal. :2thumbs:

Anyhow good job to all, Ive still got a few more to look through and hopefully get up.

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1722 Location: Fairbanks, AK

waltny wrote: That barn owl shot of Dan's looks fake, the lighting is surreal. :2thumbs:

Thank god for digital! Photoshopped the whole thing. Glad you like it. I tried to put a moon in behind it as well, but... :lol8:

All kidding aside, the owls are awesome. Fast buggers though.

Uncle Rico · Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 12 Location: Davis County

I went out Saturday and had a blast. It was a lot cooler then I expected. Now I just need to learn to take pictures like some of you.

PhotoHound · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Clinton, UT

Hey, great captures guys. :2thumbs: I stopped by Sunday afternoon too, and mainly just shot from the cab of my truck because my back was bugging me. I think I did see some of you guys grouped together around some serious artillery :assault: on the south side of the bridge. I would have :cripple: hobbled over and said hello :wavey:, but unfortunately I had suddenly developed a severe case of lens-size...envy...? :ne_nau:

:naughty:

It was a nice enough show; I think I got some fairly decent eagle-catching-fish shots. I'll have to post some once I finish going through them. I would love to go again today (which is looking pretty good as far as lighting goes), but my back won't let me go again for a while. Besides, it may be even more crowded today due to the holiday than it was with yesterday's Sunday crowd... :popcorn:

Anyway, great shots everyone, I look forward to seeing some more!

gonzo · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 788

PhotoHound: you have some great Alaska pics on your site - I loved all of the Northern Lights pics. Someday I will make it up to Alaska before it all melts...hopefully.

That was probably us on the south end of the bridge. You should have come over and said "hi". I can't vouch for Carpey, hallkc, or waltny, but I don't bite. And don't worry about the lens envy, most of us had to rent those things. It was a like a Farmington Bay reunion at Pictureline this morning.

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1722 Location: Fairbanks, AK

Here's a few of mine. I tried to get different behaviors than last time, but I eventually gave up and headed down to the barn owls.

Full galleries are here:

Barn Owls: http://www.danransom.com/TripReports/?p=149

Eagles: http://www.danransom.com/TripReports/?p=148

And now the pics. Eagles:

Barn Owls

Summit42 · Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 1937 Location: 127.0.0.1

Nice pics Carpet Biter.

LJ · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:02 pm Post subject:

I am just blown away by the barn owl pics!

waltny · Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 293 Location: Hill AFB, UT

Somehow I sense slight sarcasm on that photoshop comment Dan, buts its ok either way we all must make do with what we got.... :ne_nau:

Anyhow nice captures once again, I like the one you got of the eagle mucking through the mire. Those barn owls are fast and are twice as hard to track as the eagles. :2thumbs: for catching any.

Here is the best one I got of them fighting

and a OH :eek2: moment. As a side note on this, I left the gulls in the back of this crop to show depth.

I might have only a few more unique ones left.

gonzo · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 788

I think I have the follow-up to your "Oh" moment:

Keith and Dan: your shots are so crisp. Am I seeing the difference between a fixed length lens and the telezoom that I was using? Or is it more likely a shutter speed/aperture setting? I've tried my best to sharpen in post-processing, but I'm guessing Picasa isn't the tool of choice for that.

waltny · Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 293 Location: Hill AFB, UT

Good call on that :2thumbs:

BTW Kris what are you shooting with? I have a older model that really isnt suited for that shooting we were doing out there. My AF is softer and takes a bit longer than Keith's. He let me use his for a while after he left early after you guys left. I was FLOORED at how much of a difference there was. IM sure if your using an older model like myself your going to see a huge gap in yours and Dan's like I do in Keith's and mine. Its one of those :ne_nau: , what you going to do but upgrade things....

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1722 Location: Fairbanks, AK

kris247 wrote: I think I have the follow-up to your "Oh" moment:

Keith and Dan: your shots are so crisp. Am I seeing the difference between a fixed length lens and the telezoom that I was using? Or is it more likely a shutter speed/aperture setting? I've tried my best to sharpen in post-processing, but I'm guessing Picasa isn't the tool of choice for that.

I thought yours looked pretty good for that lens, actually. The lens has something to do with it, but when they are resized so small for the web, they should sharpen up pretty nice.

Chances are though, it is more that our pictures are a little larger, and that they are sharpened one more time before posting on the web. I batch process all mine, so some actually are too sharpened, some not enough. I haven't used picasa much, but I'd say yours look pretty good.

gonzo · Joined: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 788

waltny wrote: ...BTW Kris what are you shooting with?

I'm shooting with an older Canon Rebel XT (EOS 350). I know it's certainly not a pro level camera, but it's light, manageable, and most importantly: what I could afford. I rented a Canon 100-400 telezoom for the weekend. But, in retrospect I should have gotten the 400mm fixed length lens. (Although, that would have cost more than twice as much as the 100-400).

waltny wrote: ...if your using an older model like myself your going to see a huge gap in yours and Dan's like I do in Keith's and mine. Its one of those :ne_nau: , what you going to do but upgrade things....

Yeah, good luck selling that idea to my wife. :)

In reality, I'm sure the reason my images aren't as sharp is as much inexperience as it is equipment. I'm just starting to learn how to use a "real" camera, and what I don't know about photography could fill a book. (A little secret: when Dan let me look through his lens I noted his aperture and exposure time settings and copied them on my camera!)

waltny · Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 293 Location: Hill AFB, UT

kris247 wrote: waltny wrote: ...BTW Kris what are you shooting with?

I'm shooting with an older Canon Rebel XT (EOS 350). I know it's certainly not a pro level camera, but it's light, manageable, and most importantly: what I could afford. I rented a Canon 100-400 telezoom for the weekend. But, in retrospect I should have gotten the 400mm fixed length lens. (Although, that would have cost more than twice as much as the 100-400).

waltny wrote: ...if your using an older model like myself your going to see a huge gap in yours and Dan's like I do in Keith's and mine. Its one of those :ne_nau: , what you going to do but upgrade things....

Yeah, good luck selling that idea to my wife. :)

In reality, I'm sure the reason my images aren't as sharp is as much inexperience as it is equipment. I'm just starting to learn how to use a "real" camera, and what I don't know about photography could fill a book. (A little secret: when Dan let me look through his lens I noted his aperture and exposure time settings and copied them on my camera!)

I hear you about being on the cheap, I got a deal on my body, a D70s(camera of the year 2005, buts its 2008.....) and everytime I bring up camera stuff the wife goes :frustrated: almost immediately.

I think I got the fundenmentals down fairly well, but I think but it is amazing that you learn something new every time out(to include digial workflow). I also have learned to shoot to my cameras strengths and know its weakness which makes the digail workflow(ViewNX>CaptureNX>CS2) so much more smoother.