Hi,
I'll deal with each question in turn, so here goes.....
Great pics esp the red squirrels. What loch is that you visit? Not seem reds this far south of Scotland, usually have to head up Aviemore direction.
These were taken in Fife, plenty of locations in the county where they can be seen
Superb nature shots. What focal length were they taken at?
Hi Steve,
thanks, all taken at 500mm with my Sigma 500mm F4.5 EX
Superb shots, particularly the squirrel (all three are excellent - couldn't choose my favourite), and the chaffys.
Is it my imagination though or is that treecreeper a little soft? (only mention it because the others are pin sharp)
Thanks, yeah the Treecreeper is a little soft but only because it was snapped quickly as it moved up the tree plus a little camera shake added for good measure due to only monopod mounted, it also a fair crop from the original.
Excellent! Check out the claws on the tree creeper. Outstanding. Looks like your hide has come in very useful.
I'd venture a tad too much contrast on the tree creeper, and I'm not so keen on the thick borders which look a little heavy. Just my humble opinion which you are free to disregard.
thanks again, these were just taken as my dad and I sat and waited in a copse of trees so no hide this time, possibly a bit too much contrast but I was trying to screw as much detail out of him as possible as it was a pretty severe crop, as for the borders I've only just started using the programme so not sure if right or not, I will try a finer black next time to compare.
Great pics.
I wonder what kind of tripod you use (heavy or light), and what kind of tripod head because you must need one which can be adjusted very precisely. If you shoot with a Sigma 500mm lens, do you line up the shot first with a zoom to find the bird/squirrel and then swap lenses (presumably on quick release plates) on you tripod once you have located the target?
The treecreeper was shot from a monopod - Manfrotto 681B and just mounted flush with no head if you know what I mean. The squirrel and chaffies were shot leaning out of a wooden hide so I just rested on the window sill. All taken at 500mm, I just have to be quick with some subjects such as the treecreeper and fire off a few shots, mind you I tend to watch out of one eye past the viewfinder and the other one is up against it ready to frame the shot, the the treecreeper I just anticipated its movement up the tree and then waited for it to come into view.
The Sigma 500mm lens isn't too heavy at just about 3kg although not great for handheld it can be done as long as I can get the speeds up
Phew, hopefully that's everyone sorted, thanks for the comments and please don't hesitate to fire off any more.
See ya,
Mike.