Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Texas
Female Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Pushing the Limits
It was very early morning when we spotted this young lion. He has been through some territorial fights - see the scars. The sun had not risen and I was not sure if I could get a decent image. Captured with the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the S Pro 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens. I had the ISO on "auto", and I set the shutter speed to 1/160 sec (i wanted to be as close to one over the focal length I was at). The focal length was at 130mm. The aperture was set at f/2.8 and the camera set the ISO to 16000. Typically I set the limit at ISO 6400 but there would be no image at that sensitivity.
The image a direct conversion from RAW to JPG - no adjustments at all except a crop for composition. The noise reduction is at 0, sharpening at 0. Image processed using Capture One 12.
Please do click on the image to view it larger.
IMPRESSIVE!!!
Lumix S Pro 70-200 f/2.8 hand-held
One of the greatest features of Lumix cameras, the G and the S series is the incredibly good image stabilization. On the S1R was rated at 6 stops. With firmware version v1.1, the in-body IS system will reduce shake by an additional 1/2-stop, for a total of 6 stops with non-stabilized lenses and 6.5 stops with Dual IS-compatible glass. With the new S Pro 70-200 f/2.8, the stabilization is rated at 7 stops.
This image was captured hand-held with the S1R and the S Pro 70-200 and a 2X Teleconverter. The combined focal length was 400mm. Exposure triad f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 800.
Click on the image to view a larger rendition.
Lilac Breasted Roller
This bird is one of my absolute favorites. This avian lives in acacia country where there are well-spaced trees, bushy game lands, riverside areas, and cultivated lands. However, they do not associate with human habitation. They are about 14 in. long.
The Lilac Breasted Roller is also referred to as the Fork Tailed Roller or Mosilikatze's Roller. They typically perch at high points of trees, poles, etc. so the can spot thir prey close to ground level. they will swoop down to grab insects, scorpions, lizards and even small birds.
This specimen was photographed with the Panasonic G9, the Leica 50-200 lens with the 2X tele-adaptor. Exposure triad: f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 250.
My impressions of the new 70-200 mm L mount zoom lens - LUMIX S PRO 70-200 O.I.S (S-E70200)
I had the pleasure of using two of these lenses, albeit pre-production, with two Lumix S1R bodies while on my trip to Tanzania. I used these with and without the 1.4X and 2X teleconverters in order to extend the reach as needed. With the high resolution of the S1R cropping is a viable option.
The Pro S 70-200 has one of the best image quality performance I have seen in a zoom lens in the range. The lens surely must meet or exceed certain stringent standards to be certified by Leica.
Leopard resting
Exposure triad f/63, 1/500 sec, ISO 2000
Tech details: 22 elements in 17 groups, the use of 2 UED (Ultra Extra-low Dispersion) lenses, 3 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses. Magnification .21X with a close focus distance of .95m. Focus range switchable from Full to .95m-5m and 5m to Limit. The lens is 208.6mm (8.2 in) long with a max diameter of 94.4 mm (3.72 in)and weighs 1,570 gm (3.46 lb). Filter diameter 82mm. It is dust and splash resistant and has a working temperature range of -10 C to 40 C (14 F to 104 F). The focus speed is rated at 0.12 sec. at the extended focal length of 200 mm. It has a focus clutch to allow manual - autofocus switching and the lens barrel has three programmable focus buttons. Dual IS - when coupled with a Dual IS2 body the overall image stabilization is rated at 7 stops. The provided lens collar has an Arca Swiss compatible foot.
African Elephant and Calf
Exposure triad f/8, 1/1000 sec, ISO 500
I found that the lens had exceptional focusing speed and now understand why. The lens uses a double focus system. A large linear motor is used for long-throw adjustments and a stepper motor is used for small incremental strokes. All focusing is internal and the focusing lenses are light so as to allow rapid movement during focusing. The focus frame rate is 480 FPS and the lens tracks subjects incredibly well. This combination clearly has the fastest focusing I have experienced in the Lumix lens line-up. The close focus distance is .95m or about 3 feet. Even at this close range, there is no visible distortion. in-fact the has little to no distortion over its entire zoom range even wide open at f/2.8.
Impala Stag
Exposure triad f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400
Cheetah Yawn
Exposure triad f/8, 1/1300 sec, ISO 3200
Wildebeast Migration
Exposure triad f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 250
Wildebeast (Connochaetes gnou)
Impala on the run (one of the fastest four-legged animals)
Exposure triad f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 320
Juvenile African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer).
Exposure triad f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO400
Lion Family on Kill
Exposure triad f/8, 1/800 sec, ISO 2500
Serval Cat (Leptailurus serval)- 2x teleconverter used. Exposure triad f/5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO12800
For the duration of the Tanzania safari, I never mounted either S1R on a tripod or any other clamp or mount. All images were captured hand-held and the image stabilization was amazing even at slow shutter speeds.
Note: Some images have been cropped and some have a vignette applied for presentation purposes.
Barred Owl - Corkscrew Swamp
The barred owl, also known as northern barred owl or hoot owl, at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida this afternoon. The swamp has way too much water and as a result, the number of birds is minimum. This owl remained with its eyes closed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, when the park staff came by to say we had to leave, I stopped by to get this image.
MINWR Field Workshop
January 25, 2019 - 7:00 AM field trip to Merrit Island National
This year the number of Glossy Ibis in the reserve is exceptional. I have never seen so many flocks of 20 Ibis or more.
On the other hand, the Roseate Spoonbills are not as abundant as in past years.
Leica 50-200mm f/2.8-f/4 on the G9 with 2X Tele-extender
This is a crop from the image below. I wanted to see how well the Leica 50-200 mm performed when used with 2X tele-extender. The image was shot at ISO 16000 and as you can see the noise performance is great. The cropped image has a small amount of Lightroom noise reduction applied. Though the flash did fire the distance to the bird was beyond the flash units reach.
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
It was a rare but awesome opportunity to see this pair of Carmine Bee-eaters in Botswana. The Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides) is primarily found in sub-equatorial African region. These are migratory birds that spend the winter August to November (breeding season) in Zimbabwe. They move south to Botswana and South Africa for the summer and then migrate to equatorial Africa from March to August.
African Skies 2 - A Timelapse Video
Gunther Wegner the developer of LRTimelapse software has just released African Skies 2. This excellent time-lapse video showcases the beauty of the African landscapes and animals in film and time lapse sequences, that have never been seen before.The production took more than half a year - and has been compiled from 4 terabytes of raw-data. All editing (time lapse and even video) was done, using the new LRTimelapse 3.2 and Lightroom 5.2. !The video sequence can be seen on Vimeo but is available at a nominal cost as a HD video and a 4K video. The sale proceeds will be used to fund and support the African wildlife and environmental protection organizations. This funding was done from proceeds from the video too and I commend Gunther for his efforts. we decided to sell the film as download in much higher quality in Full HD and even 4K. With the revenue we again want to support local animal and environmental protection organizations.Click here to be directed to the LRTimelapse Web and then use the African Skies Tab to purchase it if you would like to support the cause.Please share this post with your family and friends. Gunther has created an excellent video and I hope this can be viewed by all. Please click on HD and open it in full screen view.[video type="vimeo" id="78610518" width="400" height="200"] Click here to be directed to the LRTimelapse Web and then use the African Skies Tab to view the video and purchase it if you would like to support the cause.
India Photo Workshops and Tours - February and March 2013
After a very successful trip this past February we now have a trip that gives you a unique opportunity to photograph three endangered species, The Asiatic Lions, Wild Asses and Black Buck. In addition to these mammals we will have opportunities to photograph over 300 species of birds, other mammals, reptiles and insects. We will photograph ancient monuments including the Taj Mahal, and have a lot of opportunity to photograph village people and their ways.
SW Florida Workshop - Day 2
Day two of the workshop was an early trip to Ding Darling WR. We were at the entrance soon after it opened. One of the members in the group was a car length ahead of ours and was fortunate to see a Bobcat scurry by in front of his vehicle.The first stretch of the drive had a yellow crowned night heron hunting along fairly dark mangroves - we took a few shots for the record.The next stop was the first turnout where we were greeted by a large flock of American White Pelicans, Brow Pelicans, a Reddish Egret and Tricolor FIshing.
As the morning progressed the Red Breasted Mergansers and Pied Billed Grebes were showing up every where.
After a productive morning at Ding Darling - we went to Sanibel fishing pier for some diving pelicans.
Lots of fun. Now on to a bit of exploring we headed back to Fort Myers Beach and went further to check out Harnes Marsh.It is a lot of walking as no motorized vehicles are allowed. Saw a few Snail Kites and a pair of Sandhill Cranes with young.
That was day two. Day three to come
SW Florida Workshop - Day 0
An early morning uneventful but bumpy flight to Fort Myers got us in on time. We collected our bags, rented the car and off to Fort Myers Beach. The workshop included a trip to Cape Coral for burrowing owls so day zero required a scouting trip to the area. The typical locations were devoid of owls but the vacant lots yielded some active burrows.Here are some images from this scouting trip:
India Trip Report 4 and Final
This is the last of the India trip reports but I will continue to update the blog with additional images as I process them. Just got back from an awesome workshop in SW Florida - look out for the next batch of reports and images.
So we arrived in Kanha for a three-night stay. The plan was for five safaris but with the unpredictability of the airline we were booked on, we changed our tickets to depart from Nagpur instead of Jubalpur. This meant a 5 to 6 hour travel time from the lodge instead of 2 to 3 hours.Kanha is about 3 times the size of Bandhavgarh resulting in a sparse distribution of both safari jeeps and animals. It is however a prettier jungle and has a few species that are not found in Bandhavgarh – the Indian Bison or Gaur, the Indian wild dog, and swamp deer. We saw and photographed all but the wild dog.The Earth Lodge in Kanha is one of the nicest places to stay. Very modern facilities, beautiful stone construction, an infinity swimming pool and awesome food.Here are a few images of the lodge photographed by Hal Oliver:
Here are some images from Kanha:
It is now February 26th and the eve of our departure. We fly from Nagpur to Delhi on Indigo Airlines – an upcoming and ranked number one in India. It was a pleasure to leave a bit ahead of schedule and land on time – a very pleasant experience.We decided to do a bit of sightseeing on the last day. A trip to Delhi Haat that is more like a permanent craft fair. Handicrafts and native foods from the various states of India are the main attraction.The next Photo Tour will include a visit to photograph Asiatic Lions. Custom trips to India can be requested both for Cultural and Wildlife opportunities.
India Trip Report - 3
Landing in Jabalpur we were greeted by a very courteous group of Kingfisher staff and were soon on our way driving to Bandhavgarh. We checked in at the Nature Heritage Lodge, a quick lunch an off to our first safari. Bandhavgarh is divided into three zones with only two being active. The zone closest to the resort is TALA and the one farthest is MAGDI. Our first safari was in Magdi the second zone.
Our first creature was a wild boar, actually a whole family of about 8 boars. A number of Hanuman Langurs, Chital (Spotted deer), peacocks and peahens were in abundance as were owls, raptors and a numerous species of awesome birds. The next three days were spent in the TALA zone – each day presented us with a variety of wildlife but unfortunately no tigers. One had been located by an elephant scouting team and accessible only by traveling on elephant back. We decided not to do the viewing and hope for better luck by jeep.The fourth day’s AM safari was in the Magdi zone and did not yield any tigers but a potential as one of the jeeps had heard two tigers growling and crunching on a kill. The next safari yielded an extended viewing of one of the two tigers. The following day the safari was even better when each one did a 40 to 45 minute show. With the success of viewing tigers we decided to extend another day in Bandhavgarh and reduce the Kanha excursion by a day.Rather than showing individual images here is a slide show gallery representing the two zones in Bandhavgarh, scenes from the safari, a village in the area and its people:
Africa Photo Safari - Nov 2013
We have just finalized the plans and itinerary for the Africa Photo Safari to Namibia and Botswana. The safari is limited to a minimum of 9 participants and a maximum of 11. Due mainly to the high season in this region reservations and an initial deposit is required by the end of November.
Africa 2013 PDF BrochureAll the details are in the documents as follows:Africa 2013Registration Form SVP AfricaEnrollment SVP AfricaRelease Form SVP
ALASKA - Lake Clark
Have been so busy with the workshops and collecting entries for the PSA International that I have had barely any time to review and process the images from the Alaska Tour. Blogging for each day may not be feasible so I will cover the trip in short individual blogs interspersed with all my other crazy activities. Part one of the tour was Lake Clark a relatively small area Southwest of Anchorage. Lake Clark is at the junction of three mountain ranges with two volcanoes Iliama and Redoubt. The east coast has rain forests while the West is is tundra and lakes. There are no roads to the park so we flew in from Anchorage in small planes that landed on the beach.Day one, as we approached the the lodge, high in the pines we sighted our first Bald Eagle.
Bald Eagle - Day 1
After a quick instructional lecture we headed off to vast areas of sedges and beach. The later part of June is too early for salmon runs so the Coastal Brown Bear feed on sedge grass and will also go the the beach to hunt for clams. the following are a few Coastal Brown Bears from Day 1.
Coastal Brown Bear eating sedge
Coastal Brown Bear Searching for Clams
Sow and First Year Cub Playing in Sedges
Day two to follow soon.................