Cardinal, Female
Santa Baby was amazing this year and gave me a new Canon 500mm f/4.0 L IS lens for my birding photography. Yeah Santa !
We’re having a small snow, sleet, rain storm on the bay today, and it was a great photo opportunity to capture Birds in the Snow. So I set up my new lens, with my Canon 7D, and the used Gitzo G410 tripod I found on ebay. Using an affordable gimbal type head made by Manfrotto 393 Heavy Duty Lens Support, I stood just inside an open doorway.
Without first checking, my first images were out of focus. The shot above is wonderful, but out of focus ! Leaving the aperture wide open at f/4.0, I see wonderful bokeh, or shallow depth of field. But I had forgotten to use the center weighted focus points, so I quickly changed that setting, and added +2/3 exposure compensation due to the gray day.
Dark Eye Junco
I was having a charming time photography these sweet song birds and all of sudden there was a huge flutter. All of the little birds scattered and in swooped a hawk. Just moments in the tree, it then took off. Of course..I missed the shot. 😦
Still wanting to get the birds in the snow, I then opened up a side window so that I could get a different perspective. Mind you, this is a very old house, and the windows were painted shut a while ago. So with a screw driver, and a hammer, I was able to open it.
I also set out some fresh bird feed on the bench to encourage the little song birds to return. That it was safe and no big bad hawk was going to get them today. Of course, one of the first visitors was one of my big fat squirrels. Now my squirrels are starting to get really fat as I have feed set out for them daily. They waste no time to get into the food, but that still doesn’t stop them from planting a few seeds in case they need them in hard times.
Does anyone know any good squirrel recipes?
My Big Fat Squirrels
The goldfinches are also starting to hang around in droves. They too are getting fat as I watch them eat constantly throughout the day. I have plenty of feeders out, but still need to refill them every other day.
Goldfinch
My favorite ones of course are the Cardinals as their bright red stands out in the winter storm.
Cardinal, Male
Cardinal, Male
Both the House Sparrow, and Purple Finch refuse to be outdone by the red cardinals and show up to share their bright color.
Purple Finch
Purple Finch
But the biggest group of little birds at the manor are the White-Throated Sparrows. They also eat all day, dodging in and out of the bush and prefer to eat on the ground.
White-Throated Sparrow
I had great fun playing with my new lens, and can’t wait to practice more with it. Lots of photos were out of focus (sigh) but at least I had the exposure right ! Aperture Priority, ISO 1000, f4.0, +2/3 exposure compensation, daylight white balance.
However, I wasn’t too much of a fan of the Manfrotto gimbal type head. After experiencing the high dollar Wimberley Gimbal Head when I rented it in November, I found the Manfrotto to wobble a bit. Next photo shoot will be with a Wimberley Side kick and ball head mount. Let’s see if more photos are keepers from that set.
Have a wonderful wintery day and hope your Santa was as great to you as mine was to me.
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
Beautiful Captures – thanks for sharing:) Have a Great One!
It’s my pleasure Renee ! Now I can go visit the Bald Eagle whenever I want to!
I LOVE the purple finch!!! I really wish I had a house so I could see birds like this. I hate Apartment living!
I thought that once as well. But see the virtures of a small place – less cleaning & maintenance! Do you have a porch? You can try to set out some bird seed and see what happens.
That’s true I should try. My cats would LOVE that!!
Wow! What a Merry Christmas you are having! A 500 4!! Holy Crap! What a great lens! Lucky you!
I’m sure you will enjoy it greatly and get many wonderful pics with ti!
So…when are you going to start shooting in Manul exposure? 😉 😀 😎
Manul…isn’t that in Brazil? 🙂 I do shoot manual with my birding photography when I have a little more time to shoot and the weather conditions are more favorable. I was going the lazy man way today. I definitely shot Manual with the Bald Eagles to have consistent results.
Not Brazil, I think he is in Barcelona. 😀 I know you shoot manul, heh, I was just giving you a hard time becuae I’m envious of your new 500. 😳 🙂
Rightly so Phil. That’s ok..I’ll let you play with it. 🙂
Of course I meant “Manual”. Jeez, wish we could edit comments here. 😦
I am so glad that you were on the “nice” list! That means the rest of us will be seeing what miracles this lens can do!!!! Thank you Santa baby!!!
Big learning curve – hope I can meet your expectations Rebecca. 🙂 I thank Santa Baby several times daily and will do so for many years to come.
Wonderful photos! Could it be that the wobbly gimbal type head allowed some camera motion as the mirror locked up and the shutter did its thing which caused the photos to seem a little out of focus? I went tripod shopping the other day, and was not impressed with either the ball head or pistol grip heads of any brands they tried to sell me. I went for the traditional head for a solid mount for my camera to prevent any motion.
I do think that is what happened. When you loosen up the panning knob of the Manfrotto wimberley type head, it rocks side to side, so I tightened it a bit, which help. The pics got better after that.
It’s so hard to find the perfect tripod setup for what you are doing. I have more than one tripod based on what type of photography I’ll be doing.
Congratulations, Emily, and Merry Christmas. A 500 mm L-series is really great! Very nice birds here. Love the red head punk… 😉
Thank you so much Bente ! Merry Christmas to you as well. Hope you had a fantastic white Christmas and perhaps did some caroling. I would have so much fun birding where you are. Perhaps one day.
So lovely captured, so beautiful colors of the birds… 🙂
Thank you so much Drake ! I love how mother nature painted these darling flying creatures.
Yeah agree , colors of birds they are often so amazing… 🙂
How fun to have a new toy. Enjoy!!
It’s amazing..I’ll continue to be amazed for a while. Thanks for stopping by!
Looking forward to your images.
Wow, lucky, lucky YOU! 500mm is a nice lens for bird shots.
Isn’t it though? Now to learn how to use it!
Emily, you are so lucky!! Or should I say lucky us 🙂
These pictures are incredible. When I saw the first one, my mouth dropped; glorious! Then I kept reading and scrolling down and could not believe how gorgeous every shot was. Thank your for taking the time from your window in the cold & snow and sharing these with us. Absolutely delightful and beautiful!!
Thank you so much Judy ! I love the first shot too ! Just wish it was in focus. I’m going to have to wait for the next snow storm to try again. All of the snow is gone already. I did go and add clothing as I was hanging around in my workout gear..brrrr.
Very a cute birds, so beautiful colors.Absolutely awesome!
Happy New Year to you!
Thank you so much Rimas ! Bet you have different birds where you are. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well.
Beautiful photos, Emily. What fun you’re having with your new toys. 😀
You have no idea Sylvia ! I’m giddy every time I look at that lens. Hope to get out this weekend and get some tundra swans on film.
Wow congrats on the new lens! What an amazing piece of glass! I could only dream of one. 🙂
Thank you so very much Rick ! Indeed, I am now officially spoiled rotten, it really is an awesome lens. Now to learn how to use it properly so that I can serve it justice.
Beautiful shots!!!
Thank you so very much Rexlin. I truly appreciate your kind comment.
It looks like winter there, very cold. Nice.
I think not Leanne. This year I don’t want to be cold…..
Way to go, Santa!! Great pictures Emily, how wonderful to get sharp, good images of these small birds!! They are lovely. 🙂
My Santa Rocks this year ! I’m getting there for what I call gallery worthy. Now to wait for the next snow storm. 🙂
What a super series of shots. Way to go Santa indeed! I was interested thread that you hired a tripod. I too like to hire before I buy. It avoids expensive mistakes! I am currently trying the Sony NEX-7 as I am looking to buy a more lightweight camera for hiking.
Hi Rachel ! I can’t wait to see what you think of the Sony NEX-7 – by all means post a review will you? it looks cool and fun.
I love the Gitzo, but talk about HEAVY ! I got so lucky and found a gently used one for only $200 on ebay. Now I may need to save pennies for the Wimberley Gimbal head. I really liked it.
Thanks for you compliments on these photos. It’s a work in progress.
Just when I thought your photos couldn’t get any better. These are gorgeous. That camera was the perfect present for you, wasn’t it?
Oh you have no idea ! I am just giddy with happiness with this new lens and can’t wait to really take it out on lots of photo field trips. You are sweet with your comments, I’m trying to get photos like the glorious ones I see in magazines. practice, practice, practice will get me there.
Beautiful set of photos, I particularly like the ones of the red admiral – the colours really stand out against the snow.
You love my favorite as well ! Would you believe that I did little changing to the color in post processing. That’s mother nature’s red.
Wonderful shots! Congrats on the new lens. Looking forward to seeing you put it to work.
I sure am trying – you were far more successful than I. I tried it again in the snow yesterday. A little better results, but I still need lots of practice!
SO lovely… Purple finch, I’ve never seen one! What a cutie-patootie! And CONGRATS again on your most magnificent lens. Wooooo-hoooooo! Let’s put that baby to good use. 🙂
I hope the Purple finch stays throughout the year as their red becomes much more purple. They are easily confused with the House Sparrow. I’m scheming to bring the lens baby to St. Augustine in April – we’ll definitely play with it!
These are wonderful, Emily. You are certainly putting your Christmas pressie to good use. The first shot doesn’t look out of focus at all, but then what do I do know? They all look fantastic to me!!!
Sometimes we can be our worst critics. I zoom into the photo 100% in lightroom and can see that all is fuzzy. Not a crisp line. 😦 I’ll keep trying though.
Thanks for doi f the hard work and givi g us a “birds eye view” of these beauties !!! :-))
Congrats on getting the new lens. I have the same set-up, except I have the Wimberley head. A solid tripod is a must, of course. Personally, I use auto-white balance and auto-ISO. The 7D has been doing it’s job and so far it has worked okay for me. I also try to keep my shutter speeds on the birds as close to 1/2000 a I can. That lens should be giving you tack-sharp images. Also, check out the adjustment on that little black-wheel by the view-finder on your 7D. I forget what it is called as I don’t have the book in front of me, but it does help to have that adjusted properly., (I think). 🙂
Hi Bob ! Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. It’s the diopter that you’re referring to. Yes, I yearn for the Wimberley head, it works so much better. I was using Auto white balance a while and have decided to have more control and it’s been working well. I also use Auto ISO with poor lighting conditions, but like to bring it down as much as I can when I have a sunny day. Thanks for your insight.
Yes, it was the diopter that I was thinking of. I had a senior moment there. 🙂
I may start experimenting with the White Balance. I do also bring the ISO down sometimes when I remember in the bright sun.
Spectacular photos! You say the top cardinal shot is out of focus…I think it is brilliant, and I love how it makes a dreamy, snowy background. Kudos!
It’s beautiful …great job…loved the birds and great angles and clarity..