[stylgeo]

There i was again, in the old cemetary, stalking the animals and birds. I must be quite a spectacle for passers-by, seeing a crazy guy lying on his stomach between some gravestones.
Anyhow, I really am not disrespectful towards the dead or their families, I always look where I am stepping, I never step on gravestones or infront of them. I have lost people that I love so I know what it means. It's just that I grew up near a cemetary when i was a kid and it really calms me going there. Besides there are great photo oportunities.
Anyhow I went there for a walk the other day. I didn't have my camera with me, the sky wasn' really interesting so there was no need for landscape shots and I didn't want to carry the 120-300 with me, which is quite heavy. While walking I noticed something very interesting. A small pond of rain water near some bushes. When I came close a few birds scattered away along with a couple of squirrels. Next day i was there with my gear. I hid in the bushes, tried with the tripod first, it was a bit awkward to handle at ground level, even whith the centre column in the horizontal position, so I opted for my bean bag. I lay there still for about an hour, and I managed to get these.

While lying there on the grass there was a swarm of ants walking on my right arm. I really don't mind insects, except from cockroaches, so I didn't bother. I must have been on their path so it would be useless trying anything really. Then at some time a huge jolt of pain hit my elbow, which travelled all the way up my shoulder to my spine. I roll over and see a huge ant bitting on my elbow. I've read somewhere that you shouldn't swat at the insect bitting you because you can drive the stinger, or in this case its teeth, deeper into your skin, so I just hit it with a finger. And there it was, only it's head bitting on my elbow. I grab it and throw it away. I know I am not allergic to ant bites, I've been bitten before, but this time it was different. My whole arm went numb and my elbow got black and swollen. I just sat there for about an hour, waiting for the pain to subside. It did, a little bit, but my elbow was still swollen.
That was the first hit that day.

The second one came about an hour and a half after i was bitten. I decided to change place and while walking I noticed a rabbit hole. I decided to set my gear there. I found a tall bush about 4 meters from the hole, I set my tripod, set the camera to mirror lock-up, because it was getting dark, aimed at the hole and waited. Half an hour later I see a set of rabbit ears emerging from the hole. A couple of minutes later this cute bunny comes out of the hole, facing me and starts eating some grass. I focus, thrilled that it's face was filling the frame, lock the mirror-up wait a couple of seconds and right before I press the shutter again the mirror goes down and the screen reads "Change Battery Pack". I didn't get a single shot, not even a bad one!
It was one of the most frustrating photographing days I ever had. At least I got those two shots!
Oh well, there's always another time!

[stevegreen]

You have a damn sight more patience than me!

These are both great nature studies, what lens were you using?

[stylgeo]

Well, I must say I am a really patient guy.
Sorry if this is against forum rules, but this is a link to something I posted on another forum, which was just quite new at the time i wrote that. I hope it makes for a good read and it shows some of the ways I approach some animals. I am still on a learning curve really, patience is all I've got. The skills will eventually come too, I hope

I am using the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8. These two were taken with the 2x attatched. They are not cropped, just resized!
I know the bokeh is terrible, I had to step the lens down to f/9-10. The TC degrades the quality so I get the sharpest results at that apertures, and the grass was quite close to the birds, so it wasn't rendered completely OOF

Thanks for looking steve. I still have that bite mark from that horrible ant too!

[stevegreen]

I was asking because of the bokeh.........how did you guess?

It is distracting but think that could easily be fixed in Photoshop with a touch of gaussian blur on the background

[tontoshorse]

...of a saint!

I get bored after 5 mins, well 2 actually.

Good man.

[denno75uk]

Shame you only got two out of your day, but they are solid ones. The Sigma with a X2 TC seems to be an excellent performer when you get the opportunity, though reading this and your ATP thread, it obviously requires quite some discipline to bring that opportunity your way.
Big respect for both the effort you put in and the results you get.

[Bob]

I have the greatest respect for one who suffers for his art.

Nice pics by the way.

[Holowlegs]

Hello there


I do feel for you Stylgeo, I would be gutted if it happen to me. You put in all the hard work in, for this to hapen. Have sat there myself for a few hours and came away with nothing so know what its like.

Hope the arms ok.

Nice pictures, the birds themselves are nice and detailed, just a pity about the bokeh, but like Steve has said this could be fixed.

Am thinking about replace my Sigma 70-300mm, the route I may take is a 70-200mm f2.8. But have also been looking at 300mm f2.8 prime.

Also one thing I have never got round to getting is a bean bag for when I am lying down, any suggestions.


Cheers Holo

[stylgeo]

Thanks everybody for the support and for your great comments! It's good to tell my 'grief' to people who understand me.

Yeah the 120-300 is a great piece of equipment. On its own without the 2x it's a solid performer and EXTREMELY sharp, even wide open.
I know I've posted some example photos somewhere, I can't seem to find them, so here's a wide open (or was it f/3, can't be 100% certain), handheld photo of my first outing with this lens. This is a 100% crop with no sharpening whatsoever

The thing is that i am a sucker for reach. I always try to convince myself to not take the 2x along, then i say I may need it but I wont use it unless it's absolutely necessary. And I find myself not taking it off the camera.
Having a 240-600 zoom is an absolute killer in birding. I started to save money for a long prime, possibly the 500mm f/4 but the 120-300mm f/2.8 will definitely stay in my arsenal.

Holo, thanks for your support. I too had the Sigma 70-500 APO DG and found myself limited by the small aperture and the low IQ on the long end, that's why I invested in the 120-300. I know you love your birds, I have seen some great results from you from swans and ducks and I personally think that you'll find that 200mm on the lond end will be too short for birding. What I would suggest would be to invest in a 300mm f/2.8 prime instead and get a shorter zoom to accompany it. Why not try the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8? I've used it in the store and it looks brilliant. Lightweight and sharp! and you get a constant f/2.8.
As for bean bags, i got mine from this guy on ebay. He also has an online store. Wait till he auctions one of the bigger bean bags, or PM him since there doesn't seem to be any at the moment. The one at the link is the one I bought and it's brilliant. It's lightweight at 100g and it's very useful. You can use it from your car window or on the ground. If you want some more height you can use it vertical with great success aswell!
I hope I was able to help in some way!

Thanks again everybody for your great comments!

[gpa]

Originally Posted by Holowlegs

Hello there


I do feel for you Stylgeo, I would be gutted if it happen to me. You put in all the hard work in, for this to happen. Have sat there myself for a few hours and came away with nothing so know what its like.

Hope the arms ok.

Nice pictures, the birds themselves are nice and detailed, just a pity about the bokeh, but like Steve has said this could be fixed.

Am thinking about replace my Sigma 70-300mm, the route I may take is a 70-200mm f2.8. But have also been looking at 300mm f2.8 prime.

Also one thing I have never got round to getting is a bean bag for when I am lying down, any suggestions.


Cheers Holo

Have just gone the same route as you are suggesting (£464.00 new ) I really wanted the 100-300 but i just cannot justify it or afford it at the mo since upgrading my camera. I really like the lens and it is so well built but heavy.

Couple of issues though.
1. not sure about its sharpness at 2.8 but seems to get much better at around 5.6 and above, am going to calibrate to camera tomorrow and see.

2. The lens does not like my tenko 1.4x, will not focus properly and is making some very strange noises.

Stylgeo, could I ask if the Sigma 2x you are using works in harmony with your lens, IE is quick and almost silent when focusing ?

PS pics look great

[stylgeo]

Hey gpa,
Yes the TC does work great with the lens, doesn't seem to be much problem in respect to focusing speed and accuracy, only that it does degrade quality, which is always an issue with zooms and teleconverters. I opted for the Sigma TC though, since what I've read about that particular lens, it works even better than the canon one. i suggest you went for a Sigma TC. Cheaper than Canon or Nikon and are built to work with sigma lenses.