So what did I see? Well, there were lots of green woodpeckers. I've never been able to get close enough to one of these to photograph, so it's nice to break that duck (not that I do lists).
I did get a lot closer than this, and have a couple of frame fillers, but I like this one best as it shows some habitat.
The were also a great many deer. I've never seen so many on a reserve. Every 10 minutes on would appear from a bush, stare at you for a bit, then run off. This one was taken from one of the bird hides.
On the way back to the car, at dusk, I saw a barn owl flying low across a field a few hundred yards off. I decided to set up and wait, to see whether it would come my way. It did!
This one was taken just a few seconds later, when it took off and fly right toward me.
This last shot of the barn owl flying is slightly out of focus - to be fair, you can only notice this if you look real close, but you'd definitely see it on a largish print. My D300 always struggles focusing on moving objects in low light, which makes photographing Barn Owls difficult. It was really hunting last night (the camera, not the owl), and I missed a good number of chances because it couldn't acquire the subject (Barn Owls don't even fly that fast). Rather frustrating! I'm pretty sure something like a D3s/x would have done better. The next body I buy will be one of those two I hope, if not the D4/s/x when they eventually appear.
A lovely series of shots.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love Barn Owls, the Deer shot takes some beating...Beautiful colours.
Anthony