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markkardos

Another sloppy drinker

NIKON D7100

settings

Aperture 63/10 ISO 500 Shutter 10/10000 Focal Length 6000/10

upload_date

Oct, 2018

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2981

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+662

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Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 38

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+25

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+19

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Behind The Lens

Location

The photo was taken at Point Holmes, located at the end of the Comox Peninsula on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. There is a small creek that flows into the ocean right beside a boat ramp. At low tide, when the water is guaranteed to be fresh, pretty well every type of bird in the area will spend time there drinking and bathing.

Time

The photo was taken at 10:47 the morning of March 25, 2017.

Lighting

The orientation of the coastline at this location has you shooting into the sun until quite late in the day. At the time this photo was taken, I had to walk down to waters edge to get beside the eagle. Any other position and it would have been backlit.

Equipment

I used a Nikon D7100 attached to a Sigma 150-600 mm lens. The lens was mounted onto a monopod. The exposure was at 1/1000 sec, f6.3, at ISO 500. Focal length was 600 mm.

Inspiration

This spot is excellent for photographing eagles and I check it out on a regular basis. Spring and summer are the best times to spend there. On this day, only one eagle was in the creek when I arrived. I took several photos from the roadside, then moved in an arc around it down to the shore. This eagle was aware of my presence, but I give birds their space and let the lens do the work.

Editing

The only processing was to crop it from the original 6000 x 4000 to 3296 x 2294 to better highlight the eagle.

In my camera bag

I normally have three cameras in my vehicle and grab the appropriate one depending on the photographic circumstances. Those cameras are Nikons. A D7100 with a Nikon 10-24 mm lens, a D7100 with a Sigma 150-600 mm lens, and the one I use the most, a D7200 with a 28-300 mm lens. I carry a remote shutter release and an extra battery. I have an external flash but only carry it if I absolutely know I'm going to use it. I prefer natural light photography.

Feedback

For this situation, I was using the camera set to the "sport" mode. It lets you set the point of focus and keeps the shutter speed higher. I only use the vibration resistance mode on the lens when shooting stationary targets. I'm getting good at flipping that switch off as soon as the target begins to move.

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markkardos

markkardos

Another sloppy drinker

Behind The Lens

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