Sometimes looking out your window reveals the familiar but when I pick up my camera my sense of observation turns the familiar into something new and exciting. I looked out my window and saw a Townsend Warbler, which is not common in my yard, so I picked my new Nikon D7100 body with my 70-200mm f/4 lens and started shooting. There were numerous birds around and a female Anna's Hummingbird flew into the tree next to me. The D7100 has a DX or crop sensor, which has it's advantages and disadvantages compared to my full frame D800. I got the camera to get longer focal lengths out of my existing telephoto lenses. The crop factor on the D7100 is 1.5 and I was also using a 1.4 teleconverter so that turned my 70-200mm zoom into about a 150-420mm zoom. The Anna's was in the shade pushing the ISO to my 1600 limit and using 1/640s at full open f/5.6 the 420mm 35mm equivalent brought the girl close to me. The smaller sensor gave me more depth of field but still allowing for the soft focus background. Shooting raw there is always some post processing required but overall I was happy with the results.
Photo of the Week 15: Anna's Hummingbird, female (Calypte anna)
EQ: D7100 f/4 70-200mm with 1.4x TC Taken: 11-22-14 13:29
Setting: 420mm, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO1600 Condition: Clouds and in shade
The Townsend Warbler is a Fall to Spring visitor to my yard. The Fox Sparrow returning in September is my sign that Fall has arrived (in Santa Cruz we only have 2 seasons: Wet and Dry). The Purple Finch is one I'm still trying to figure out. They are around all year but disappear for a few weeks starting in late August and early September. Just a few of my yard birds but remember you can find photo opportunities even looking out your window. Just pick up the camera and start shooting.
Townsend's Warbler (Setophaga townsendi)
420mm, 1/640, f/7.1, ISO1600
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)
420mm, 1/640, f/7.1, ISO1400
Fox Sparrow, Sooty (Passerella (iliaca) unalaschcensis)
420mm, 1/640, f/5.6, ISO1600
Your comments are welcomed and if you have any questions about the photo or any other questions leave me a message.