Indulging in a new hobby...

[geek23ka]

Nice pics Jeff and cool hobby. I was once a "professional" photographer meaning I got paid to take pics. Taking nature pics looks tranquil.

that's what i'm thinking, too. of course tranquil is in high demand for you and i, so of course our brains would go there. kids are chaos incarnate. hahaa

[Jtbny]

that's what i'm thinking, too. of course tranquil is in high demand for you and i, so of course our brains would go there. kids are chaos incarnate. hahaa

I have taken to driving to the gym with the radio off and windows up...so peaceful

[DocHoss]

Wow, I'm really impressed! Not much learning curve - you're starting out at the top.


My lens only goes up to 300. I think I have aperture envy . . .

[geek23ka]

yeah, acc is like that. for a uneducated whiny oversensitive privileged white male (am i missing any crews?), he is really really good at immersing himself in material and absorbing what is truly useful and then implementing it. kinda like how he did with lifting and nutrition.

~~always in awe of jeff's brain crew~~

[Frnkd]

I was hoping to hear more about some *()& bird closing the construction..........

Great photos. and with digital nowadays, you can see the results and make adjustments accordingly.
enjoy.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Great Pics!

We love capturing life's moments

[Frnkd]

I wouldn't say I'm into it but I do like to mess around, though certainly not enough to buy quality equipment like you have! It's fun to snap a few hundred shots and see if I manage to frame a good shot!!





It's infinitely bit easier to take shots like above than getting high quality live nature shots like yours!

I forgot that you were into photography!

Somewhere deep in the recesses of this forum your other pics lay to one day be resurrected again.
They were quite good if I may say so myself.

[Caesura75]

Love the first photo! The blueness of the sky really completes the overall photo. About as American as it gets!

You need to put this on an instagram account and stick in hashtags such as #bald #eagle #sky #followme #pleasefollowme #whywontyoufkinfollowme etc. You'll be famous in no time!

[UnaChispita]

so what do bald eagles taste like ?

I don't even...





Jeff-

Great contrast of bird and sky in both shots. Love the crispness of the eagle's nest against his soft feathers. You have a good eye. Wings on the heron have nice movement.

Really beautiful!

[acrawlingchaos]

Awesome pics OP! Great colors too..

Beautiful pics! Incredible birds, they never fail to impress me!

Wow, those are great pictures.

Very nice pics

Great Pics!

We love capturing life's moments

Thank you... and I only wish I had started sooner BSG.

And you're not even Asian..

Not yet man... soon!

Great hobby to have - had my own darkroom for a while as a teenager. Now I can barely operate a digital camera.
Mostly took pictures at track meets but also tried to bring back some old photos from the 50's - my parents still had the
negatives. Would be fun to take some sports photos again though.

If you understand the basics of exposure... understanding a real DSLR will be easier than you think.

in all seriousness "heffrey", those are pretty cool pics !

Why thank Heffrey (with a g)

I've always been fascinated by the Bald eagle, I've read that the Golden eagle is the larger of the two, but I still think the bald eagle is fierce looking.

I know Golden Eagles occasionally make their way here.... I'll try to find some to compare.

The lighting on the Heron shots is excellent.

Perhaps drop the ISO to reduce digital noise noticeable in the Eagle shots. Now that you know where the nest is, look for the best vantage point and think about optimal lighting (time of day).

Good luck with your future outings; looking forward to seeing more of those Eagles.

Thanks for the input... Ya... still learning the basics of cleaning noise. The lens is a "bright day lens, with the biggest aperture being 7.1 @ 500mm. I did think about timing, and looks like probably setting the alarm for the early AM may be in order.

me, too. i loved it. now i just point and shoot to get pics of my kids.

i want to get back into it and acc's pictures are really spurring me. NICE. show them the pre-storm one!

I will have to re-process that one. It was far too overdone.... common mistake for those who are new to the post process.

Nice pics. I got my wife a T3 Rebel a few years ago because the all in ones just weren't cutting it anymore, especially for family pics. Have a few different lenses... I should probably use it more.

Those blue heron are cool, we have a ton around here. Great pest control. It's always a treat to see them swallow a full grown rat.

Let me tell... it's been a great way for me to introduce exercise in the form of something I really enjoy. I've tried a bit of everything, from landscape to nightscape to birds... and it keeps me moving. The T3 isn't the highest quality camera, but it can produce great photos if you do your homework.

Fantastic shots. I have a friend who is a professional photographer in Aus. Some of the equipment she has just blows me away. I cant even focus an iPhone camera properly, but I do love looking at beautiful photography.

TY.... enable autofocus. You're welcome. :P

Amazing Eagle pics, Jeff. Only ever saw one Bald Eagle IRL; it was on the wing, and was huge.

TY IW... I'm hoping to get some action shoots soon.

Nice pics Jeff and cool hobby. I was once a "professional" photographer meaning I got paid to take pics. Taking nature pics looks tranquil.

that's what i'm thinking, too. of course tranquil is in high demand for you and i, so of course our brains would go there. kids are chaos incarnate. hahaa

I have taken to driving to the gym with the radio off and windows up...so peaceful

Let me tell you... the peace and quiet has been refreshing... and I drive with the radio off and windows down (with heat on for comfort).

Wow, I'm really impressed! Not much learning curve - you're starting out at the top.


My lens only goes up to 300. I think I have aperture envy . . .

I'm lucky enough to be able to learn while at work... post process does a world of wonders as well.

What camera and lens are you using?

I was hoping to hear more about some *()& bird closing the construction..........

Great photos. and with digital nowadays, you can see the results and make adjustments accordingly.
enjoy.

A road being closed because of the bird is speculation... though I will have to research to confirm.

Being able to post process and develop photos digitally makes photography so much easier to learn than film for that reason alone. I can shoot, sort, process and even print in such a short time. It makes learning from your mistakes easier.

I forgot that you were into photography!

Somewhere deep in the recesses of this forum your other pics lay to one day be resurrected again.
They were quite good if I may say so myself.

Maybe we should start an 035 photo crew

Love the first photo! The blueness of the sky really completes the overall photo. About as American as it gets!

You need to put this on an instagram account and stick in hashtags such as #bald #eagle #sky #followme #pleasefollowme #whywontyoufkinfollowme etc. You'll be famous in no time!

I eventually want to create an online gallery. First I need to figure out all the basics.... then invest in serious equipment.

Great contrast of bird and sky in both shots. Love the crispness of the eagle's nest against his soft feathers. You have a good eye. Wings on the heron have nice movement.

Really beautiful!

I'm glad you appreciate them.

[acrawlingchaos]

Caught her out at the nest again... decided to process a few black and whites. These are also full resolution 4200 x 2800 so I these will be able to be printed to 16 x 20.

[Fishman15]

Caught her out at the nest again... decided to process a few black and whites. These are also full resolution 4200 x 2800 so I these will be able to be printed to 16 x 20.

Spectacular birds aren't they? We see them quite often out here in Washington usually up high in the sky though. Very common to see folks just stop whatever they are doing outdoors and watch them for a few seconds. There are areas along some of our rivers where you might see several of them together flying over hunting/fishing grounds looking for something to eat...impressive. You simply can't grasp how large they are until you see one up close in real life. Thanks for sharing...

[Frnkd]

Caught her out at the nest again... decided to process a few black and whites. These are also full resolution 4200 x 2800 so I these will be able to be printed to 16 x 20.

Beautiful pics! B&W makes your subject just pop out and grab you.
Keep'em coming.

[TubbyDad]

You should definitely shop one of those eagles perching in your shoulder as a new avi.

[JRT6]

I took a crime scene photog class because I had to get mandated training and the class seemed easy. But I'm glad I took it; I'm so into photography now and I really enjoy taking action shots of my kids. When they swim I adjust the shutter speed to get the water spray as individual droplets and all together like a giant ice sickle.

[MartinMaggie]

It is ringed. From other shots, can you see ring better? Could be useful for ornithologists and such.

Caught her out at the nest again... decided to process a few black and whites. These are also full resolution 4200 x 2800 so I these will be able to be printed to 16 x 20.

[Frnkd]

I took a crime scene photog class because I had to get mandated training and the class seemed easy. But I'm glad I took it; I'm so into photography now and I really enjoy taking action shots of my kids. When they swim I adjust the shutter speed to get the water spray as individual droplets and all together like a giant ice sickle.

would love to see some examples.

[kimm4]

What beautiful pics!

[TubbyDad]

It is ringed. From other shots, can you see ring better? Could be useful for ornithologists and such.

Wow, good eye!

[acrawlingchaos]

I noticed this the other day. She is #5099 it seems. Here are a few more from today... the young ones seemed to be a bit curious this morning.

[Phattso]

Excellent. Amazing how the chicks go from being not so pretty to beautiful.

[ChazWood]

Excellent. Amazing how the chicks go from being not so pretty to beautiful.

hehe, "not so pretty" is being kind. Those things are ugly as fuk.

Awesome shots ACC. Any chance you can gain a higher vantage point? Without having your face ripped off of course.

[acrawlingchaos]

hehe, "not so pretty" is being kind. Those things are ugly as fuk.

Awesome shots ACC. Any chance you can gain a higher vantage point? Without having your face ripped off of course.

.... I've been looking... and it would be difficult at best. He is right at the waters edge, so that limits the direction to shoot from and it seems a lot of the trees are small or have high branches.

I was considering trying to scale one of them and pull the camera up by rope behind me.

I will be trying to find a spot on the edge and try to get action shots... just need to wake my ass up.

[ChazWood]

.... I've been looking... and it would be difficult at best. He is right at the waters edge, so that limits the direction to shoot from and it seems a lot of the trees are small or have high branches.

I was considering trying to scale one of them and pull the camera up by rope behind me.

I will be trying to find a spot on the edge and try to get action shots... just need to wake my ass up.

IMHO, any effort you make that doesn't involve breaking your neck or being attacked, will be worth it. You've got a rare opportunity to capture really compelling images of that magnificent creature with it's young. Opportunities like this don't come around very often.

Looking forward to MOAR.

[FlaIronMind]

Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing them.

Have been lucky enough to see many Bald Eagles throughout my life, with a ton being up in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, near Soldotna. Also have some Bald Eagles near my place on the west coast of Florida. About two years ago, I was heading out one morning in my boat and caught a dogfight between a Bald Eagle and...I forget what the other bird was. The other bird had snagged what was probably a trout and was flying off. That's when the fight ensued. It was spectacular - diving, turns, nearly vertical ascents/descents...amazing. Ended up that the Bald Eagle was only able to steal away half of that trout.

[Geoff Richards]

beautiful pics AAC !
love the clarity,you have done a great job

might be time for a photography thread,I for one would like to be able to ask questions
about photography,I cant even take a close up without blur :/

[JRT6]

would love to see some examples.

The real good photos are on my wife's cloud device so I only have this one on hand. It was taken with a mega zoom Cannon with manual controls. A good starter camera for anyone wanting to learn aperture, iso, etc (there is a forum member here named ISO.. because he's all into photography). I use a Nikon now. None the less you can still see what I was talking about when using a really fast shutter and film speed. The limitations of the cannon shows both the, almost but not quite, individual drops and the glacier effect in this photo,

[DocHoss]

What camera and lens are you using?

I've been using Nikons. Easy to connect to the computer - no software needed, just plug it in and shows up as a hard drive.

My current camera is a D5100, which I like because it also has a video mode and a time-lapse mode. I have it set up right now to take a picture of the tortoises every 30 seconds. I still have my old D90, but I need to take it in for cleaning and service. It's taken over 100k pictures. My main lens is 18-135 zoom, and I have a 70-300 and a 40 mm macro. I also have a mount for my telescope, which is the equivalent of a 1250, but it's too bulky to carry around much and focusing is really tough. That's what i used for my eclipse and transit photos. Sometimes I get lucky and a bird sits long enough for me to get it with that.

I also have a Coolpix 8700, which has excellent close-up abilities and a really nice image quality.

Maybe we should start an 035 photo crew

I'm in!

[Frnkd]

The real good photos are on my wife's cloud device so I only have this one on hand. It was taken with a mega zoom Cannon with manual controls. A good starter camera for anyone wanting to learn aperture, iso, etc (there is a forum member here named ISO.. because he's all into photography). I use a Nikon now. None the less you can still see what I was talking about when using a really fast shutter and film speed. The limitations of the cannon shows both the, almost but not quite, individual drops and the glacier effect in this photo,

amazing.the water coming off her finger tips. I like taking water falls, rough water and waves. These kinds of shots really give a sense of motion and fluidity in this case.

thanks for sharing.

[Frnkd]

I noticed this the other day. She is #5099 it seems. Here are a few more from today... the young ones seemed to be a bit curious this morning.

another set of amazing pics....would be interested to see a non-zoom pic to get a perspective of how far you are.