While we're talking a close look at the eyes on that Blue Heron, here's another shot that has been zoomed into show the eye...

You'll notice that today's shot isn't quite as sharp as the ones I shared yesterday. However, this shot has an exposure of 1/50th of a second at f/11; whereas the shots from yesterday had 1/320th of a second at f/8. The significance here is that while this image zoomed to 100% does show a very slight amount of softness too it, it is still acceptable for sharing on the web... Here's the uncropped version:

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm, 1/50 sec at f/11. ISO 320. IS Mode 1. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Previously, there would have been no way I would have been able to shoot at 400mm with a shutter speed as slow as 1/50th of a second. Granted I was using a monopod and the best technique I could to keep the camera steady, but this definitely shows a very high level of precision provided by the upgraded Image Stabilization that the Mark II version of this lens has. Canon claims a 4-stop improvement from this new IS system (up from 2-stop on the original version of this lens), and I'll be honest and say I think they made good on their claims.

I definitely look forward to using this lens for many many years!

- Bill

The new lens provided me a glimpse at a very cool feature of that Blue Heron that I was shooting the other day... Its nictitating membrane.

A nictitating membrane (yeah, I know that is a hard word to stay) or sometimes referred to as a third eyelid is a semi-transparent lens that certain animals have to protect their eyes. I've seen them on lizards, frogs, and birds... but even some mammals have them. Basically they act as a way for the animal to still be able to see in conditions that might damage their eyes. In a heron's case that would be likely when they're stabbing their beaks into water to catch prey.

I could see this heron blinking his nictitating membrane and managed to get several sharp photos showing it. These are cropped at 100% just to show the effect, but they also do a decent job of showing the sharpness achieved with this new lens.

Open	Half-way	Closed

Technical Data:Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm, 1/320 sec at f/8. ISO 320. IS Mode 1. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Cool stuff, no?

- Bill

Ok - I suppose technically this isn't an entirely new lens. I've been borrowing my buddy Tom's Canon 100-400mm lens for about the past year (huge thanks, Tom!), and I have finally managed to buy my own. However, I purchased the newer version of that lens - the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. The Mark II version has upgraded Image Stabilization, a shorter minimum focusing distance, better weather sealing, a twist zoom ring (instead of the push/pull zoom of the Mark I) as well as an updated zoom tension adjustment ring, upgraded lens hood and tripod mount, and probably a bunch of other improvements I'm missing. I honestly had my doubts as to whether the Mark II version would be worth the added price, but so far the new IS system alone appears to be well worth every penny.

We took the lens out to Goddard State Park the other day, and while subjects were hard to find, I did get some time with a patient Great Blue Heron that allowed me to reposition several times and get fairly close (down to about 21 meters) for some decent shots.

400mm, 1/320 sec at f/8	400mm, 1/400 sec at f/8	400mm, 1/80 sec at f/8	300mm, 1/60 sec at f/8

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at various focal lengths and exposures as listed. ISO 320. IS Mode 1. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

I've got a couple more cool things to share from this little outing, so stay tuned.

- Bill

So far this spring, we've had far too many geese on the pond, but we've also had visits from mergansers with their ducklings, and a wood duck and her young (I didn't get to see them, but Anya did), and this mallard mother and her nine offspring. I've tried to get photos of the others, but these are the only ones I got, and even these were pretty lucky and in poor conditions.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/320th sec at f/8. ISO 400. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/500th sec at f/8. ISO 400. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/250th sec at f/8. ISO 400. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Maybe next year...

- Bill

So this was a bit of a treat. I've only ever seen Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) twice - once back in our old house in Pittsburgh and I managed to get just enough of a blurry shot to prove to Anya that I'd seen it, and this second time just the other day. I debated waiting till another day to try and get photos, but I decided against that and went and got the camera and sat and took photos for almost an hour while the woodpecker hopped around in several trees in our backyard. I'm glad I did too, because we haven't seen it again since!

I couldn't get super close, but I think for such a rare bird (they're nearing threatened status), that these are pretty good. I really hope it comes back more frequently and I can get some more shots and hopefully a bit closer, but this is definitely a reminder of seizing the moment and not letting opportunities pass you by.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/200th sec at f/11. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Oftentimes, folks confuse the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) with the Red-headed Woodpecker because the Red-bellied also has red feathers on its head, but once you see the Red-headed, you definitely realize why this one got the name it did!

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/500th sec at f/8. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Bill

Ok - so much for posting on a regular basis... work has been absolutely insane recently, and by the time I get home I am completely exhausted; add to that the need to mow the grass every five days and that we had one night with strong storms and that we went away this past weekend, and you've got a recipe for me not getting to post all the cool stuff I'd wanted to.

Anyway, that just means you get one big post today. So after getting the cool encounter with the owl on Friday evening, we then went to Jennings Environmental Center Saturday morning. Jennings is one of those places that really wasn't convenient to get to on a regular basis when we lived in the city, but now it is only fifteen minutes away, so we can pop on over there whenever we like.

This particular morning, we were looking for birds and flowers, and we found some of both.

First, we noticed this pair of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/640th sec at f/11. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Both the male and the female were making repeated trips to and from the nest box with bits of sticks and grass to line their nest to get ready to lay some eggs...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/1250th sec at f/11. ISO 1600. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/1250th sec at f/11. ISO 1600. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

We looked for pink lady-slipper flowers, but couldn't find any... but we did find a couple patches of trillium - one of my favorite flowers.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/640th sec at f/11. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

We also saw a pair of Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) feeding on the nectar in some tree blossoms (unfortunately I never got a good shot of the male).

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/2000th sec at f/8. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Finally, we had seen a couple of these Common Yellow-throats (Geothlypis trichas) at the beginning of the day, but this one we managed to get in pretty close to and get some nicer shots of. He liked to sing to mark the boundaries of his territory, so I tried to wait until just the right moment to catch him mid-song.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/400th sec at f/8. ISO 400. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

At this point, I have a nice back-log of stuff to process and share, so stay tuned... hopefully I can post more frequently than once a week!

- Bill

As much as I like the Barred Owl photo with the branches and leaves partially obscuring the owl, there is definitely something to be said for crisp clean close-ups. I was amazed with how cooperative this owl was, and though the six minutes went by really fast, I also felt that it lasted forever at the same time.

The lighting was a bit odd as it was getting on towards sunset, and the camera picked up the color temperature in an odd way. When I got home, I wanted to process the photos to look like how I remembered it - a bit warm due to the orange-ish setting sun. However, the camera had picked up a cooler 4300K color temp that just looked a bit too cool for my tastes. I tried several different settings, and personally I liked the 5200K the best, but I intentionally processed some extras to share here to show the difference.

Mouse-over the thumbnails to compare how the different color temperatures affect the photo...

4300K	4700K	5200K	5500K

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/400th sec at f/6.3. ISO 1600. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

While I was processing the photos, Anya came in and said she thought this photo would also look nice processed as a black & white. When I fired up Silver Efex Pro to see what it would look like in B&W, I found that I was just as happy with multiple versions of the photo that way too. I processed a couple in a "high key" (brighter with more whites) style and a couple in a "high structure" (darker with more contrast and sharper lines) style.

Same thing applies, mouseover the thumbnails to see the different versions...

High Key 2 Preset	Fine Art Preset	Fully Dynamic (Harsh) Preset	High Structure Preset

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/400th sec at f/6.3. ISO 1600. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Now comes the fun part (as if looking at a bunch of cool photos of an awesome bird wasn't fun enough)! Pick the versions you like best and vote for them below. I've opened up the voting so that you can vote for as many versions as you like, but ideally, I'd suggest picking one color and one B&W... but honestly, if you can't narrow your choice down to just one of each, feel free to vote for as many as you like!

So this encounter with this owl was just the beginning to a very productive photography weekend, so be sure to check back frequently as I'll hopefully be posting daily for a bit to get through all this rush of new material I have (and hopefully I'll also be out collecting more as well)!

- Bill

Ok - as promised. A photo of something that has eight eyes and eight legs... ;)

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/500th sec at f/8. ISO 400. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Happy Mother's Day!

- Bill

Ok - this isn't the promised Mother's Day post with eight eyes and eight legs. That'll come tomorrow, so be sure to stop back for that.

Hopefully Mom doesn't take the title of this post the wrong way, but it does indeed tie directly to today's subject. This evening as Anya and I were driving up to the compost heap, Anya spotted an owl sitting in the trees just off the side of the road. The kicker was that I had debated bringing my camera and didn't (shame on me!). Anya got a few snaps with her iPhone, we then dropped off our grass clippings and saw the owl was still in the same spot on our way out. So we decided to run home, grab the DSLR and head back up in the hopes that it would still be there.

Sure enough, it was! I managed to get just a handful of shots in the six minutes that the owl tolerated us being there (ok, and me being nosy and trying to sneak in closer and closer).

Oh - and the subject of the post? The Barred Owls have a very distinctive call, and it sounds just like someone saying "Who, who cooks for you?" - and seriously, on Mother's Day I guess we could all show a little appreciation for Mom's cooking!

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/400th sec at f/6.3. ISO 1600. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for another special Mother's Day post!

- Bill

Ok - I'm getting better and better results with my bird photography every time I head out. Normally I'd try to spread these out, but I'm just going to do a nice long post today with the top results from my last outting. I am still cropping, but as you'll see, it is less dramatic (mouseover the images for the original uncropped versions).

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/200th sec at f/8. ISO 500. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/250th sec at f/8. ISO 500. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/800th sec at f/8. ISO 500. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla)

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (borrowed) at 400mm, 1/1600th sec at f/8. ISO 800. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

Hope you're enjoying the bird photographs. Eventually here it will warm up and we'll start getting back into the bugs and spiders... and hopefully a dive trip is in the not too distant future and we can get some underwater fun too! But for now, the improved results with the bird photography is really fun!

- Bill