Friday, November 09, 2007

Bohemian Waxwings - 500mm handheld !






I was out birding today and lucked into a flock of about 250 Bohemian Waxwings. I've been wanting to shoot this northern species for years, but have never had a good chance. The birds were jumpy, so I decided to try to stalk the flock with my gear handheld. With a slow and cautious approach, I was able to get very close. This was the first time I've seriously tried the 500IS handheld, and I was amazed to get sharp photos in the overcast light, especially given the effective focal length of 800mm (factoring in the 1.6x factor of my temporary Rebel XTi body). There's no way I could have done this without an Image Stabilized lens.

Techs: ISO 400; f/4; 1/500s

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:41 AM

    Nice - detail right down to the twig - wet where they were dripping from the bath. Amazing for the handheld shot!

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  3. Dang! Those are a couple of hot shots you got there. I can't get a good bird image out in the field to save my life. I'm so jealous!

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  4. Anonymous2:14 AM

    Wonderful shots. The 4/500L is an awesome lens. I bought mine recently and are now trying to do a lot of flight photography hand held. It works pretty well and the AF on the 40D together with the 4/500 is pretty good.

    Markus

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