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The "Post a Picture You Took" thread


Patricio Swayze

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On 3/26/2020 at 9:51 PM, YChang said:

I know Naija is in Chicago but for those of us in Austin/Houston area... when the Covid-19 mess finally resolves and we’re not all dead or zombies. Organize a photo walk/shoot somewhere? 

Sure. I usually shoot alone. Most of my buddies have moved or are in jail (not joking). Maybe check out some abandoned spots or some street photography. This was the first weekend in a long time that I didn’t go out shooting. Not because of the virus but because of work. Hoping things calm down soon on both fronts. 

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14 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

Sure. I usually shoot alone. Most of my buddies have moved or are in jail (not joking). Maybe check out some abandoned spots or some street photography. This was the first weekend in a long time that I didn’t go out shooting. Not because of the virus but because of work. Hoping things calm down soon on both fronts. 

Yeah would be cool to learn the group. 

Edited by YChang
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B&H Photo has the factory refurbed Nikon D7500 body on sale for $599. I love mine, I think it was the same deal back last summer.  The retail list price is about twice that much so not likely to find one in like new condition for less. Huge upgrade from the entry level Nikon DSLR.  

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Are you using that 80-200 af-s you got used? I get an itch now and then to get a used 2.8 for those really low light occasions, but I have never handled that model before, always been curious about how it feels. I almost sprung for a bargain g VR for under $700, but the way things are now I'm not sure if I'll be shooting night football or indoor sports any time soon.

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Very nice work there @Patricio Swayze . I'm still messing with the birds, the little bastards are difficult to shoot so I ordered a bird feeder and picked up a sack of seed. Kinda like hunting over a baited field, lol. We'll see. Anyway, here's a couple of shots from yesterday's efforts.

 

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Edited by El Diablo
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11 hours ago, El Diablo said:

Very nice work there @Patricio Swayze . I'm still messing with the birds, the little bastards are difficult to shoot so I ordered a bird feeder and picked up a sack of seed. Kinda like hunting over a baited field, lol. We'll see. Anyway, here's a couple of shots from yesterday's efforts.

 

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Good start on the bird photography. When I started photographing birds I would find branches that looked interesting and put them in the yard near the feeders on umbrella stands and Christmas tree stands or whatever, and watch for birds perching on the sticks. It's good practice.

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Y’all have a recommendation for hosting panoramas? I’ve been on a drone kick lately, and stitching panos has been fun, but all my usual hosting sites have limits that are way below the file sizes these end up being.

I really only use Flickr. It’s worth it to me to pay the annual fee. Unlimited storage and high resolution.
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@DougO , for birding do you have a "go-to" lens? And talk to me about settings on the camera a bit if you don't mind, as in how do you approach it? Fast shutter speed frame of mind to freeze motion or low ISO knowing you're probably going to have to crop or is using dynamic focus points really important or just what goes into it. Thanks in advance, bud. 

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4 hours ago, El Diablo said:

@DougO , for birding do you have a "go-to" lens? And talk to me about settings on the camera a bit if you don't mind, as in how do you approach it? Fast shutter speed frame of mind to freeze motion or low ISO knowing you're probably going to have to crop or is using dynamic focus points really important or just what goes into it. Thanks in advance, bud. 

I'm using a 500mm lens. It's a combination of having decades of experience with long lenses and moving objects and acquiring a lot of knowledge and experience in birding in recent years. I usually start with a base ISO of 400 and try to shoot at least 1600 shutter speed when possible for most birds. Perching birds you can shoot at much slower speeds, lower ISO or poorer light, but you have to be really patient, still and quiet. I crop quite a bit, but today's DSLRs have enough resolution that allow you to do so and still maintain a high res image. As far as focus points, it varies quite a bit on the particular subject and activity, whether I'm shooting perching birds on more open paces, or small birds in brushy spots, or flying birds and constantly moving birds.

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8 hours ago, DougO said:

I'm using a 500mm lens. It's a combination of having decades of experience with long lenses and moving objects and acquiring a lot of knowledge and experience in birding in recent years. I usually start with a base ISO of 400 and try to shoot at least 1600 shutter speed when possible for most birds. Perching birds you can shoot at much slower speeds, lower ISO or poorer light, but you have to be really patient, still and quiet. I crop quite a bit, but today's DSLRs have enough resolution that allow you to do so and still maintain a high res image. As far as focus points, it varies quite a bit on the particular subject and activity, whether I'm shooting perching birds on more open paces, or small birds in brushy spots, or flying birds and constantly moving birds.

Appreciate the feedback. I've got the 70-300 which gives me the cropped equivalent of a 450 when zoomed in tight, so kinda close to your 500 I guess. Anyway, I've established a kill zone now, we'll see how it goes. Game. On.

 

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Today was a good photography day for me.  I spend so much time in Houston's 5th Ward and try to capture what day to day life is like there.  This is the first time seeing a pregnant prostitute.  Very sad, but it's reality.  I hope one day that my photo's of Houston's depressed areas can be part of a collection at UH or another institution.  Before I head home in the burbs, I walked a rail line I have walked a million times, but only once before come across travelers.  I gave them a buck each to help with their travels, and tried to get a shot of them, but the train started moving.  I ran down the tracks and turned around to capture a few shots.

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28 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

A black-and-white photo of a man with "FUCK COPS" belly ink is art inception.

 

Also: awesome caracara. Didn't know H-town was within their range.

Thanks.  Getting shots like this are challenging...at least for me.

The Caracara was close to Rosenberg, which might be the closest to Houston I have see one.

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They have been expanding north. I've seen a few in the DFW area even, although mostly outside the city itself. In the Houston area, I've seen flyovers as close to the city as 1960 and 290. If you go out to the Katy prairie, particularly Warren Ranch Lake, they are pretty regular. So are bald eagles, and white-tailed hawks, which are one of the coolest looking raptors in Texas. Unfortunately, my photography game is lacking.

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They have been expanding north. I've seen a few in the DFW area even, although mostly outside the city itself. In the Houston area, I've seen flyovers as close to the city as 1960 and 290. If you go out to the Katy prairie, particularly Warren Ranch Lake, they are pretty regular. So are bald eagles, and white-tailed hawks, which are one of the coolest looking raptors in Texas. Unfortunately, my photography game is lacking.

I grew up in Cypress, so close to the area you are talking about. I used to never see Caracaras here.

As for bald eagles, I know of nests in Cypress, Tomball and the Woodlands and I am sure there are a few more.

I am not sure I am familiar white tailed hawks. I have shots of red tailed, red shoulder, coopers, harriers and kestrels. Not shots like Dougs though.
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I used to work at North Cypress Medical Center and saw caracaras near the hospital a couple of times. White tailed hawks are generally found farther south, but if you head west of Houston a bit, you can pretty reliably find them. Paul Rushing Park is a good spot. I don't think I've ever seen them perched, always soaring, but I did once watch a pair dive bomb a bald eagle invading their territory out in that area. That was hands down the coolest wildlife encounter I've had around Houston.

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Bald eagles are really booming. It's almost becoming a common thing to see one flying around, at least near where there's some water, even just a big pond.

I never saw a caracara until a couple of years ago, didn't know anything about them. Now I see them quite a bit. But birds are funny that way. Once you become aware of certain birds it's like have dialed into their frequency and you start seeing them a lot more often. There are a ton of birds that are really amazing that are just common birds that people don't even know are around. We just don't notice them because we're not looking for them, our attention is elsewhere. That's a large part of the appeal of birding and bird photography. It's a little like learning a new language, but not with words. You sort of learning to see in a different language. It's like seeing a new dimension that was always there, but you have to know how to see it.

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