Sunday Surprise

[purplehaze]

I went down to the beach early with the idea of shooting the pelicans in the light of the rising sun, which I did, but the first thing I spied was this character standing on a rock out in the water. I was thrilled as I had never seen a Great Blue Heron on the mainland, but only on the island north of us. I slowly waded towards it to get a decent crop, and was able to peel off several dozen frames before it eventually took off, which shots I missed entirely, but I was too happy with what I had got to care.

All images shot with the Nikkor 300 mm f/4 PF lens and 1.4 teleconverter on the Nikon D750. C&C welcome.

#1 The obligatory one-legged shot



f/8 @ 1/320, 400 ISO

#2 Two-legged shot



f/8 @ 1/250, 280 ISO

#3 Leg stretch



f/8 @ 1/250, 280 ISO

#4 Ruffled feathers



f/8 @ 1/250, 220 ISO

[dje]

Hi Janis that is a fine looking bird and your shots are excellent. Great work.

Dave

[rpcrowe]

Very nice captures. Don't you love the 300mm f/4... I loved my Canon version!

[Shadowman]

Nice series, just enough background visible to give a pleasant contrast.

[lesno1]

Fantastic set love number 3

[pschlute]

Smashing set, and yes number 3 is my fave.

[Wavelength]

Your model offered you a variety of stands...all look fine !!!

[DanK]

Very nice images. I like the last best because it is so unusual.

[Manfred M]

Well done Janice. Nice, simple and sharp. The background is definitely working out in your favour because it is so simple. The water and the sky seem to almost merge, which is part of what is so effective in these shots. The diffuse light is definitely working to your advantage here as the texture of the birds feathers are beautifully lit.

[billtils]

Super set Janis! And a great testament to the 300PF (and how it handles the 1.4TC despite what some naysayers would have you believe).

[purplehaze]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, I was lucky with the light. I am greatly enjoying this lens, Richard. I probably would not have been able to handle the original, but the Phase Fresnel version is light enough for me to use handheld. I am of course coveting the new 500 mm version, but it is out of reach for me until I start working again. Bill, it's a good thing I didn't run across any of the naysayers or I might not have bought this lens. I almost always use it with the TC; I think of it as the poor girl's 400 mm. I did not realize you also had it; I will have to look for some of your sample images. The one thing about this lens is that it seems to have a character that is almost non-photographic. People often say to me about images shot with this lens that they don't look "real". A disadvantage for some, I guess, but a plus for me.

[Manfred M]

The one thing about this lens is that it seems to have a character that is almost non-photographic. People often say to me about images shot with this lens that they don't look "real". A disadvantage for some, I guess, but a plus for me.

Now fire up your printer and print this image on a cotton rag paper and your image will have an even more painterly look and feel to it.

[billtils]

Bill, it's a good thing I didn't run across any of the naysayers or I might not have bought this lens. I almost always use it with the TC; I think of it as the poor girl's 400 mm. I did not realize you also had it;

Janis, it's a superb lens - it is the TC that has attracted some negativity but I've not had any issues with the combo, so much so that I'm tempted to have a look at the latest TC2.0. This link will take you to an album in flickr (red kites, all with the 300 + 1.4TC) but once there you can pick up my ID and follow me to see more. "More" includes some macros with the combo that have led to me dumping my macro lens. And I'm about to post a dragonfly shot here, taken today with the 300 and no TC.

[purplehaze]

Did you forget to include the link, Bill?

[billtils]

Did you forget to include the link, Bill?

Oops: here.

[purplehaze]

You have some very nice captures there, Bill; thanks for sharing. I am envious of the detail you get with the D810.