An Old Farts Outdoor Thread

[Mark1T]

Man of the Mountains, that is a beautiful photo. Very fortunate.

Very humbling. I appreciate that more than you know, brother.

[Mark1T]

Gab, thanks for that recipe.

[Gabbar99]

Gab, beautiful backyard.

Thanks. Here's a shot looking down from where that deer was. It's been trial and error trying to get the wildflowers like we want them, but we'll try again next year.

[Gabbar99]

We were on a 2 week fly in fishing trip, after we set up camp we noticed a pair of eagles had a nest about 300 yards away.

Majestic

[Mark1T]

Gab, gorgeous back of the home and yard. Very East Coast??

[OldFartTom]

... ... ... Magnificent bird.

Great pic, but I'm still in awe of that animated gif, that's what you call a chickadee?

[mtpockets]

Great pic, but I'm still in awe of that animated gif, that's what you call a chickadee?

Yep, it's a Chickadee, in some areas they are called to a "Tit"



Here's another one I made, they lose so much quality converting them to gif

[Gabbar99]

Gab, gorgeous back of the home and yard. Very East Coast??

Eastish.

Central Pennsylvania.

[Mark1T]

Eastish.

Central Pennsylvania.

That counts

MT, that is amazing and you have mastered the gif.

[mtpockets]

Nuthatches are difficult to get shots of (at least for me) They don't stay still long and are always hopping from tree to tree. They are cute little fukkers that spend more time upside down than right side up. here's a couple of shots that I did manage to get.






A red breasted nut hatch








A white breasted nuthatch






Here's a video (not mine) that gives some interesting facts about the nuthatch!

[Mark1T]

MT, those Nuthatch look very close to the Carolina Wren we have here, year-round. Very cute, always hyper-active.

I love them.

[JustTheDad]

Might sound silly, but I ran out of Christmas present ideas and decided to make my kids Go Bags. If I post a thread in this forum with what I got for each bag, would you guys do me a favor and tell me what I've missed? Also what I've already got that's stupid?

[OldFartTom]

Might sound silly, but I ran out of Christmas present ideas and decided to make my kids Go Bags. If I post a thread in this forum with what I got for each bag, would you guys do me a favor and tell me what I've missed? Also what I've already got that's stupid?

Can you get these in the US? At first you'll think it's an ordinary survival bag and think yeah yeah already covered. But despite its size and weight it has a similar warmth to a medium sleeping bag. It wouldn't be a pleasant sleep because it's impermeable so you'll get damp and condensation, but it saves lives, you get snowed in (stuck car) or need to sleep in a snow hole unexpectedly - this will save your rear. A lot of UK mountain rescue teams carry them. I carry one in winter conditions if out in mountains, not had to use it so far so thankfully can't give you full feedback

https://www.blizzardsurvival.com/sho...-survival-bag/

[Gabbar99]

MT, those Nuthatch look very close to the Carolina Wren we have here, year-round. Very cute, always hyper-active.

I love them.

My daughter is a birder. We get house wrens and are on the very northern end of the Carolina Wren range and get a few of those. We are also exactly on the boundary of the Carolina Chickadee and the very similar Black-Capped Chickadee, which supposedly don't overlap, but we're pretty sure we get both.

Last year some wrens made a home in our bathroom vent. Tiny birds but very noisy. They'd finished one brood and then before we could clear them out they started another one. In winter I cleaned out the poopy mess and put a screen on it. This year they made their nest in the top of the propane tank a few feet away. I got a wren house and hung it nearby, but it was too late for anybody to use it this year. Hopefully they'll choose that next year.

[mtpockets]

Might sound silly, but I ran out of Christmas present ideas and decided to make my kids Go Bags. If I post a thread in this forum with what I got for each bag, would you guys do me a favor and tell me what I've missed? Also what I've already got that's stupid?

Howdy JTD, Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. The Go Bags is a great idea. I look forward to seeing what you have in them. One thing that I would include would be a water filtration system.

There are many great types on the Market, below is one that I like, but it's all about personal preference. I would chose one with a backflush capability, most have this these days but it's something to keep in mind.











I know that you understand this but for those who don't, a water filter isn't always necessary, you can boil the water to clean it but that takes time and less convenient than a filtration system.

The rule of thumb for boiling water is...

Big Bubble = No Trouble

Get that fukker to a raging boil, big bubbles for at least a minute, I always do at least two minutes.

No matter how clean a water source looks, never drink it without cleaning. There could be things in that water that can make someone sh!t through a screen door for weeks straight. If people feel like playing Russian roulette, this is their chance.

A buddy of mine picked up beaver fever (Giardia) while we were on a month long canoe trip, luckily it was towards the end of the trip because it was in an era before Satellite phones and sos devices were popular. It put him down hard.

Again that's a wonderful Idea JTD..

[Gabbar99]

Howdy JTD, Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. The Go Bags is a great idea. I look forward to seeing what you have in them. One thing that I would include would be a water filtration system.

There are many great types on the Market, below is one that I like, but it's all about personal preference. I would chose one with a backflush capability, most have this these days but it's something to keep in mind.

Sawyer filters work. I did research for them where we ran the equivalent of 30 years of household use through them and they still worked. Also did field research for them in Bolivia and Fiji. They have a huge charitable arm of their company that distributes millions of free or below cost filters around the world.

https://www.sawyer.com/international

[Mark1T]

My daughter is a birder. We get house wrens and are on the very northern end of the Carolina Wren range and get a few of those. We are also exactly on the boundary of the Carolina Chickadee and the very similar Black-Capped Chickadee, which supposedly don't overlap, but we're pretty sure we get both.

Last year some wrens made a home in our bathroom vent. Tiny birds but very noisy. They'd finished one brood and then before we could clear them out they started another one. In winter I cleaned out the poopy mess and put a screen on it. This year they made their nest in the top of the propane tank a few feet away. I got a wren house and hung it nearby, but it was too late for anybody to use it this year. Hopefully they'll choose that next year.

Those little birds will build a nest almost anywhere. On my porch in a vase, a hanging picture or wherever. I don't like it when they build nests on my porch table because Rat Snakes can smell them a mile away. Many times I have seen those 5 to 6-foot snakes on my porch.

_______________________

Got a fat Beaver last night. This is part of our lake management. Beavers are extremely destructive, as are River Otters and Nutria. I do not kill for pleasure.

Not the biggest, but not the smallest I have trapped.

[steffo99]

So much life in this thread! Great pics of the birds pockets - maybe you should upgrade gear given the talents you have to make them come in like that.

A few pics from yesterday. First time properly out with the new D850 and the new second hand Sigma 500/4.5. Really happy overall and feel I'm getting to where I'd like to be in terms of gear and what it can do. Now it's just up to me to do the rest and get better. The cubs were in poor light/shade, but so cute I had to include em. Might post some more in the coming days.

[Mark1T]

steffo, awesome pics. That Nikon D850 is one of the best on the market. Do you have a zoom lens?

I will be in the market for one sometime next year. I was waiting for the quality and megapixels to increase and the D850 is it.

[steffo99]

steffo, awesome pics. That Nikon D850 is one of the best on the market. Do you have a zoom lens?

I will be in the market for one sometime next year. I was waiting for the quality and megapixels to increase and the D850 is it.

Thanks, yeah I believe it will be great for some time still..many think it is the best DSLR ever made. I think I will step away from zoom lenses and carry 2 camera bodies with different prime lenses instead. Did this this weekend with the d810 and a smaller lens legendary for portraits. It will be more challenging sometimes, but so far for me these primes do seem to give that extra something in image quality. I'm satified just getting one or 2 good ones when out anyways. Will try to sell off a 200-500 mm lens, a 35 mm and some other stuff I don't need anymore. Hopefully it can pay for my vacation hotels for next year - still haven't paid those.

[Mark1T]

Thanks, yeah I believe it will be great for some time still..many think it is the best DSLR ever made. I think I will step away from zoom lenses and carry 2 camera bodies with different prime lenses instead. Did this this weekend with the d810 and a smaller lens legendary for portraits. It will be more challenging sometimes, but so far for me these primes do seem to give that extra something in image quality. I'm satified just getting one or 2 good ones when out anyways. Will try to sell off a 200-500 mm lens, a 35 mm and some other stuff I don't need anymore. Hopefully it can pay for my vacation hotels for next year - still haven't paid those.

Makes sense. You use cameras that fit your particular photography needs. For me, since I am not a pro, I am looking at the Nikon Coolpix1000 with 125X zoom. I need that to take photos of birds and animals that you cannot get within 100 yards of without them bailing.

But, I may shop around.

[JustTheDad]

Wow. You guys are pretty amazing. I get excited if I find black bear scat on the trails in our development, much less see one, but you guys are literally out there with lions and eagles and bears. Heck, Pockets seems to be calling birds to eat out of his hand. I'm beyond impressed with the pictures you guys post. Both the subject matter and the photography.

Pockets, I have a Sawyer squeeze and 2 1L Smart Water bottles in my go bag. Also a Sawyer mini. Went with LifeStraw Peak series for kids bags as KISS principle. It works with the Smartwater bottles too.

This is what I got for the kids bags. It's a loooooong list.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1694663413

Thanks!

[steffo99]

Makes sense. You use cameras that fit your particular photography needs. For me, since I am not a pro, I am looking at the Nikon Coolpix1000 with 125X zoom. I need that to take photos of birds and animals that you cannot get within 100 yards of without them bailing.

But, I may shop around.

True. Those superzooms seem like good starting cameras at times, but just know the sensors in them are tiny so won't collect much light needed for any higher quality shots. If I started from nothing, I would do what I did I guess , lol. Getting a second hand full frame or aps-c (crop sensor) and the lens I had till now 200-500 nikon due to lower price. If mainly concerened about getting distant subject like small birds etc I would get the Nikon D500 (or new Canon R7 mirrorless), where it becomes much a thing of pixel density or how many pixels you get on the target. The D500 is known to have great autofocus system to lock on to targets as well.You can buy the D850 and its better overall, but if focus on distant subjects, the d500 can be better in some respects and cost way less. One can set crop mode on the 850 for 19 mp or so, almost same as the d500, but the D500 still has slightly better autofocus or the same, and faster frames per sec if need. For me tho who want portrait type shots , the full frames like the d850 will give much better background/creamy etc. With those crop sensor (aps-c) cameras like the d500, they always only advertise the 1.5x "reach", but never mention that you also get the same rate 1.5x in aperture, which affects how the background look in potraits etc.

The new Canon R7 mirrorless is new tech and seem to be the first one to be better than the older nikon d500 and realatively "low" price, but nikon has more old and used glass of great quality. I would go with one of these, can't go wrong either way.

[mtpockets]

Wow. You guys are pretty amazing. I get excited if I find black bear scat on the trails in our development, much less see one, but you guys are literally out there with lions and eagles and bears. Heck, Pockets seems to be calling birds to eat out of his hand. I'm beyond impressed with the pictures you guys post. Both the subject matter and the photography.

Pockets, I have a Sawyer squeeze and 2 1L Smart Water bottles in my go bag. Also a Sawyer mini. Went with LifeStraw Peak series for kids bags as KISS principle. It works with the Smartwater bottles too.

This is what I got for the kids bags. It's a loooooong list.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1694663413

Thanks!

I saw the list and responded in the thread. You did an awesome job my man... I like it a lot.

Makes sense. You use cameras that fit your particular photography needs. For me, since I am not a pro, I am looking at the Nikon Coolpix1000 with 125X zoom. I need that to take photos of birds and animals that you cannot get within 100 yards of without them bailing.

But, I may shop around.

Mark I have the Nikon P510 43 x zoom. I am looking to upgrade as well

I looked at the P1000 and like the idea of the 125 x zoom for the same reasons as you mentioned the only drawback that I see is the size, I do a lot of hiking and packing. It's huge. If I wasn't travelling with it, it would be a no brainer. A holster for it may be an option though, I am not ruling it out totally. the 125X is mighty appealing.

As of now I think I will go with the P950 which has an 83X zoom.


However I am not upgrading until I get better at taking pictures and will continue with my P510 until I feel that I am worthy ha ha

True. Those superzooms seem like good starting cameras at times, but just know the sensors in them are tiny so won't collect much light needed for any higher quality shots.

I believe this to be my problem when trying to take pictures of birds in flight. It's day light but when I raise the shutter speed it comes out dark...

I am shooting in the bush but there is still lots of light but not enough for the camera. If I go midday with the sun right over top of me or if I am in an open area, no problem, I can crank the shutter speed up to max and still get a good shot..

Is this the problem you mentioned? or am I way off base.


If I can't coax the birds to come to an open area or feed at mid day, I may just have to look at other people's birds in flight pictures ha ha

[Mark1T]

True. Those superzooms seem like good starting cameras at times, but just know the sensors in them are tiny so won't collect much light needed for any higher quality shots. If I started from nothing, I would do what I did I guess , lol. Getting a second hand full frame or aps-c (crop sensor) and the lens I had till now 200-500 nikon due to lower price. If mainly concerened about getting distant subject like small birds etc I would get the Nikon D500 (or new Canon R7 mirrorless), where it becomes much a thing of pixel density or how many pixels you get on the target. The D500 is known to have great autofocus system to lock on to targets as well.You can buy the D850 and its better overall, but if focus on distant subjects, the d500 can be better in some respects and cost way less. One can set crop mode on the 850 for 19 mp or so, almost same as the d500, but the D500 still has slightly better autofocus or the same, and faster frames per sec if need. For me tho who want portrait type shots , the full frames like the d850 will give much better background/creamy etc. With those crop sensor (aps-c) cameras like the d500, they always only advertise the 1.5x "reach", but never mention that you also get the same rate 1.5x in aperture, which affects how the background look in potraits etc.

The new Canon R7 mirrorless is new tech and seem to be the first one to be better than the older nikon d500 and realatively "low" price, but nikon has more old and used glass of great quality. I would go with one of these, can't go wrong either way.

Excellent. Thank you.
________________________

MT, thanks for that information. You make some great points. It's good to bounce ideas off of each other.

[steffo99]

Yes, pockets...I mean I do get the very same issue with the gear I have. It all deteriorates very quickly for everyone.

The options you have to increase it is either by larger sensors...or more expensive lenses that can open up more and gather more light. But going by aperture numbers as relative beginner as myself can be deceiving as well. I had the nikon 200-500 mm f 5.6 for example, and with this new sigma 500 f4.5, the numbers don't seem to differ much but in this table, wide open, it takes in 2/3 of a stop more light or 66% more light still.
https://havecamerawilltravel.com/f-s...ens-apertures/

That is why those new long lenses with 2.8 cost the same as a car basically, lol.
You need 2.8 for anything indoor like sports etc, f4 will be so so.

Recently watched a vid where the guy measured the light indoors vs outdoors on a regular day, and even though it seemed like decently lit indoors, it was just 1/30th of the amt of light outdoors.

And yes, doubling the shutter speed will cut the amt of light gathered in half etc.

This whole thing is a game of compromises and how much you can spend lol.

[OldFartTom]

...This whole thing is a game of compromises and how much you can spend lol.

Now I can't take photos even close to you, so I'm all talk and no substance on this topic.

In the mid 90s I went to an exhibition of the photography of Willy Ronis, and he was there giving a talk. I was at the back of a big crowd so hard to see and hear but he talked about his life as a fashion/magazine cover photographer to earn money and then the stuff he really enjoyed, like those Paris street scenes he's famous for. He was pretty ancient by the time I saw him, but still able to speak in public.

He showed some of the cameras he used, they were viewfinder not slr/through the lens and some had a turret setup with 3 lens to rotate like on a microscope.
It was depressing in a way because he had what we'd consider terrible cameras and he could capture such amazing shots better than I could ever dream of.

[steffo99]

This buffalo had me laughing at the time (just cause I was safe) , but at my camera noise he turned right away to me and looked at me like "come on me mate, what you want bish, let's go!" He was just locked on to me for a few minutes.



Stupid cow things need to relax.

[mtpockets]

Thanks for the info Steffo, love the shots bro..
I book marked that link you gave me and will look at it in depth later.

Thanks.

Got a fat Beaver last night. This is part of our lake management. Beavers are extremely destructive, as are River Otters and Nutria. I do not kill for pleasure.

Not the biggest, but not the smallest I have trapped.

Well done Mark, one less nuisance on your lake, that didn't take long. Your set did the trick. looks like the 330 and castor did it;s job. Awesome job!

[steffo99]

Now I can't take photos even close to you, so I'm all talk and no substance on this topic.

In the mid 90s I went to an exhibition of the photography of Willy Ronis, and he was there giving a talk. I was at the back of a big crowd so hard to see and hear but he talked about his life as a fashion/magazine cover photographer to earn money and then the stuff he really enjoyed, like those Paris street scenes he's famous for. He was pretty ancient by the time I saw him, but still able to speak in public.

He showed some of the cameras he used, they were viewfinder not slr/through the lens and some had a turret setup with 3 lens to rotate like on a microscope.
It was depressing in a way because he had what we'd consider terrible cameras and he could capture such amazing shots better than I could ever dream of.

Aye, and that's how it is I guess. I left it out cause assume ppl think like I do. For me after 2-3 years and following many so called pros etc, I personally see it as you can achieve a potential level with certain gear , but it's in no way certain. I buy the potential and hope I can climb a bit after that. Many keep saying gear don't matter. I get the point they try to make but don't agree. Just like any field or even training like over here, several parts are needed. Most will be about the person and not the gear though, when it comes comes to those top guys. Just think it is a strange thing to tell beginners, which they do.