The excitement continues!

The other day I posed myself the question "With tens of thousands of photos in my library at the moment, when will I have taken enough?" Well, not while there are still shots like this to be had.
 

After about five years of trying to master wildlife photography, I still get excited at the prospect of gathering new and exciting photos. Maybe one day my passion will wane, but not at the moment.

The day started quietly and I only had about two hours to spare before I had to be somewhere else. I whiled away the time taking photos of anything that came into view. That is the beauty of being outside, there is always something happening.

 

I even tried to photograph the Woodpigeons that made repeated passes in front of me. It was very difficult as they were just too close, but I got this one.

As nothing much seemed to be happening - I was waiting for the Barn Owl of course - I went for a stroll to see what else was about. Caught this Grey Heron standing on a post, first just its head peeping over the reeds ...

 ... then the rest of it came into view.

Now, at this point, let me ask what you think about my new lens, the Canon EF 400mm f4 DO II? Pretty sharp most of the time I would say, but I am still getting used to it.

Despite its high spec and absolutely atronomical price however, I am still finding situations where it does not deliver. Take this Kestrel for instance.

It approached closer and closer and I thought that I was getting some good shots - I was hand holding the camera at this point. But when I looked at them on the computer screen I could see that either the autofocus or image stabilisation had failed to nail it. Many of the photos were just that little bit soft. Not what I had expected from my new set up. Maybe it was me, I will have to experiment further.

When I show my photos to audiences at my illustrated talks (had a great one at Yeovil Allotments Association last night by the way) people often say "You must have a good camera", as if that explains why I have some nice photos. Well, you couldn't do it without a camera that's for sure, but it is still a struggle sometimes no matter what equipment you have treated yourself to. In the end, it is not just the camera that gets the good shots!

You can just make out in the photo above that the Kestrel is carrying a Shrew. It flew around with it for a while as if not quite knowing what to do with it.

Anyway, all this was just by the way because it was the Barn Owl that I had come to see. Eventually, just as I had run out of time, it made an appearance. Typical bad luck for me, but I stayed on as long as I could.

It was definitely worth risking a late arrival in Bristol.

So, another brilliant outing. Can't wait for the next one.

If you live near me in Somerset you may like to book me for one of my illustrated talks - it's a lot of fun! Find the details on my website www.johncrabb.co.uk
 

Like a Bird on a Wire ...

... yes, but in this case it's a Duck on a Fence. Surely not what Leonard Cohen had in mind when he wrote his famous song.

I spotted it on a fence alongside a footpath in Devon: a drake Mallard. Thinking that it would surely fly away as I approached, I started taking photos early on and continued as I walked closer. In fact it did not move and my photos got bigger and bigger!

In the end it just muttered to itself as I walked slowly by. So much for my dramatic "launching into the air shot".

A few years ago I came across a Mallard on a thatched roof in France. I am perhaps thinking of doing a series entitled "Ducks in Strange Places". What do you think?

 
(By the way, and just while I think of it, if you have scratched your camera lens, scroll down to the bottom to see the results of my little experiment.)

It was quite a good day out actually, it started just after dawn with this Barn Owl hunting over the fields - admittedly in rather dull light.

 And here it is with some prey, a Short Tailed Field Vole.

I also made the acquaintance of this confident little Reed Warbler singing its socks off in a reed bed.

Not to be outdone, this Reed Bunting was also singing at the top of its voice.

Later this Kestrel hovered briefly overhead.

No more photos for a few days as I will be without my favourite camera lens from now on, the Canon EF 400mm F4 DO IS. I am trading it in for the upgraded version 2. Quite sad to pack it into a box ready to send off, it has served me very well over the last few years so I can only hope that I will enjoy the new one as much.

Actually, on the subject of lenses, I conducted a little experiment. As I spruced up the old lens in an attempt to get the highest possible part-exchange offer for it, I noticed again that there were a few very fine micro-scratches in the blueish lens coating. This does not make any difference to the image quality at all. To prove it I took this photo:

Then, I removed the lens hood so that I could get close to the glass and held my index finger up right in front of the lens, partially blocking it, and took the picture below. I defy anyone to spot any difference. My finger was totally invisible in the final image. So much for worrying about micro-scratches!

So, that's it, just a brief blog for today. Please visit my website to see more at  www.johncrabb.co.uk
and perhaps "like" my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/johncrabbwildlifeimages