Practice with the new toy...... :)

Bill Baburchak November 7, 2017

We went to the NYC Photo Expo last weekend and I was a very lucky man! They had a copy of the lens that I was looking for and I saved $300 in the process!!
Now it was time to begin to learn a new lens. This lens is the Tamron 15-30 2.8. A really wide, really sharp landscape lens. I have never been able to shoot this wide before and it's going to take some time to learn the idiosyncrasies of this lens.

I was able to get to the Lindsay Parsons Biodiversity preserve in Danby to get some early morning practice in. This was the first time I had been to this particular area of the preserve so I wasn't really expecting much. But when you least expect it, Lady Luck throws you a bone. The sunrise was fairly nice and it gave me a chance to see what I could do with this lens. Take a look and let me know what you think....

If you click on the image and enlarge it, you will find several ducks and geese in the picture, but it was so early they weren't saying much.

Same spot, but opened up to 15mm... now this is a wide angle!

And last but not least, the best time for a vertical is right after a horizontal!
It's going to take some time, but I think I'm going to like this new lens!

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At Brick Pond.....

Bill Baburchak September 16, 2017

I've been spending more time at Brick Pond lately. Small, easy and quick to get to, and it has a fair amount of opportunities if you are patient. Make sure you are wearing boots that can handle water and muck!

The other day I was watching a juvenile Green Heron trying to swallow a small Bullhead with little success. The Bullhead has sharp spines that stick out from the sides of its body and the spines stuck out so far that the Heron couldn't find a way to get the fish down its throat! Eventually it abandoned the fish on the shore and flew off. Probably went to look for Mom to come and help!

The same morning I spent a considerable amount of time keeping an eye on a GBH who was fishing near the beaver lodge. He (or she) just wouldn't move completely out in the open for a clear shot, but I think having the lodge in the shot adds a sense of perspective to the image.

If you go: Wear knee high rubber boots or hip waders. The best hiding spots seem to be the wettest spots also! Camouflage or a small portable blind wouldn't be a bad idea either. And take a thermos of coffee. It sometimes takes a while for the action to heat up and you need to have patience. Most of all, just enjoy the beauty of a spot that is so close to home.....

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Practice, Practice, Practice......

Bill Baburchak August 14, 2017

If you think about it, photo ops happen all the time. It's just that many times we are not prepared to take advantage of them. And many times we are not prepared because we did not take the time to practice. Just plain simple practice. It does not have to be anything special either. Take the image below as an example. We were eating dinner the other night out in the sunroom when this little guy showed up at the feeder. At first I thought it was just one of the many Dark Eyed Juncos that grace us with their presence, but something was different about this bird. Luckily, he stuck around long enough for me to go get the camera and put the 200-500 on. Now this is a pretty new lens to me so a good picture was not guaranteed. But one of the many I took was good enough to show up on this page. Is it a great image? Nope. But when I get a chance to get a killer pic of a Kingfisher, I will have a better chance because I took the time to practice on this little bird.

Like Wayne Gretzky said, "You will miss 100% of the shots that you don't take". So get out there and practice!!!

The same with the next picture. I was learning how to use a set of extension tubes. They allow you to use your lens to get a larger than Macro image. But it takes some time to learn the idiosyncracies of the tubes. Take the time to practice before the shot of a lifetime comes your way. Because it won't wait around, it will go find someone else........

This is an abstract of a Canna Lily. This is a stretch for me but I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone! I kinda like it.....

More to come....

Back to the Fair....

Bill Baburchak August 7, 2017

I was able to get back to the Tioga County Fair this year to see what was happening. Unfortunately, between the weather and some bad luck, I missed the best day of the horse show! But that was okay because I knew I would be able to find something interesting to shoot. And I really wanted a chance to practice with my new camera. It usually takes me a good year and a half to really learn how to use anew camera. So the Fair would be good practice.

The first day I spent some time at the Lumberjack competition. The people with the hot saws were first. A hot saw is a souped up version of a regular chain saw and they are loud and fast!!

But the most interesting event for me was the next one, called the Springboard Chop. A discipline based on the need for old-time loggers to establish a cutting platform above the massive root bases of old growth trees, the competitor uses an axe to chop pockets into a 9-foot poplar pole and then place 6-inch wide springboard platforms into the pockets. The following series of images shows the competitors progression up the pole, culminating in cutting the "tree" down.

Looks like an awful lot of work to me!!!

On Sunday I was joined by my friend and horse whisperer Mary Lou at the Horse Show. We had missed the barrel racing earlier in the week but wanted to get a chance to see what was on the schedule for today. The following pics are some from the days events.
What really struck me is how young these kids are and how big the horses are compared to the kids!! But these kids knew their stuff and made handling these huge horses look easy!! We had a blast and I'm already looking forward to next year!!!

More to come.....

Dogging It.....

Bill Baburchak July 30, 2017

So last weekend was the Dog Show at BCC. Dave and I have been shooting this for several years now and this year his younger son Tyler was there to help us with the tagging and editing. Which was a HUGE help, because it is a genuine PIA to tag several thousand photographs quickly. But Tyler did a great job!
This is an indoor shoot with fairly dim lighting, so we were shooting at ISO 3200-5000. There is definitely some grain, but nothing disastrous.
There are several poses of the dogs as they are competing in the ring, but everyone wants to see the jumps so that is what I am posting.

Just trying to be one of the big dogs....

A great way to spend the weekend and catch up with some of my furry friends!

Been Too Long......

Bill Baburchak July 28, 2017

Once again I am way behind on my posting. Maybe someday I'll get the hang of it!

Anyhow, back in June, Dave and Becky and I were lucky enough to be picked to shoot the NYS HIgh School Championships in Baseball and in Track and Field. On the same day. At the same time! While the track and field was in one venue, the baseball tournament was scattered on five fields from NYSEG Stadium to UE High School! But we made the best of it and had a great time shooting! It looks like they will be back here next year. Let's hope it's not on the same weekend!!!

MORE TO COME.......

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky......

Bill Baburchak April 3, 2017

Last weekend Mel and I were at home when I heard her call me from the sunroom out back. It was in a tone of voice that I immediately recognized as the "come here quick there is something you will want to see" voice. So I went to the back door as quickly and quietly as I could. She pointed to the tree between our house and the neighbors and here was this Coopers Hawk just sitting there quietly staring at us. The hawk is a frequent visitor to our house, frequently snacking on the Doves and Sparrows that frequent our birdfeeders.

I really didn't think he would sit there while I went to get my camera, but he did just that! So that just goes to prove that sometimes, you just gotta get lucky!!

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Back In The Saddle.....

Bill Baburchak March 23, 2017

Once again, it's been too long since I posted anything! I will try and make up for it.....

Dave and I had the chance to shoot the NYS Boys High School Basketball Championships at The Arena last weekend. Lots of games and lots of pics!!! Here are a few of the 5000+ that we shot over the weekend.....

A little soft, but I like the composition. Heavily cropped.

Eventually I will post a gallery of several of the best shots. Until then.......

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Something new.....

Bill Baburchak July 10, 2016

I can't believe it has been 3 months since my last post!!!

Actually, I can.... For a while there my motivation wasn't where I wanted it to be. I had no plans to give up photography, but I just couldn't get excited about shooting. I needed something to give me a swift kick in the ass. I'm hoping I found that last weekend at the Tioga County Fair.

I hadn't been to a fair since I was a kid, but there I was last weekend. What drew me to the fair was the Equestrian events. Most of the competitors were kids and what struck me most was their command of their horses. Most of these kids didn't weigh more than a hundred pounds and here they were bossing around a 1200 pound horse!! I had never shot horses before and I wasn't sure I would get anything worth keeping, but take a look below and see what you think.....

Just so you know, sometimes they are not perfect. On occasion they actually fall!!! This young lady was more embarrassed than hurt.....

Little Estero Island.....

Bill Baburchak March 13, 2016

Mel and I have been shooting at Little Estero for the last two days. Little Estero is a critical management area due to the number of shorebirds that nest in the area. We've photographed here before and it used to be a photographer's dream. Below is an image from a few years ago:

Unfortunately the last two years the pool was no longer being supplied with water from the Gulf of Mexico, and it was turning into a stagnant pool of dead water. I don't know what happened but the pool seems to be making a comeback!! Below are some pics from the pool.
Click on the images to enlarge.

We had a great time, and it's good to see the Estero Pool back to normal!!

At the Rookery

Bill Baburchak March 13, 2016

We were able to visit the Venice Rookery again this year and just like last year we had some great shooting. The Rookery is a small mangrove island in a small pond in the middle of Venice, FL. If you didn't know it was there, you would probably drive right by it! Below are some of the images from that trip. Click on the images to enlarge.

All in all we had a great day! I would go back anytime! There is no place that I know of where you can see such a concentration of different birds in nesting season.

Fun Day at Myakka....

Bill Baburchak March 11, 2016

We had a chance to visit with some old friends on Wednesday after our trip to the Venice Rookery. (more on that later) We met our friends Joyce and Jim for a nice relaxing afternoon at Myakka River State Park. They are from the Zephyr Hills area, so Myakka was about midway between them and us. Of course we brought our cameras, just in case.
We took the airboat tour of the lake, so all of theses pics are from the moving boat. Of course there were 30 other people on the boat so it made for an interesting photo exercise!

Click on the images to enlarge.

A great way to end the day...... Thanks Joyce & Jim! See you next year!

An Egret Kind of Day......

Bill Baburchak March 10, 2016

I was on the beach at first light and it didn't look like it was going to be much of a day. No birds, no Dolphins, not much going on. I was considering going back home for a cup of coffee. I stopped for a minute to talk to a lady about how slow it was this morning when somebody flipped a switch somewhere and the beach started waking up!
I got these pics of a Reddish Egret because the baitfish were nice enough to wander by me and brought the birds with them!
Post-processing was very minimal. When I get back home I will spend more time with them and pretty them up!

Click on the images to enlarge. More to come.....

Getting There....

Bill Baburchak March 7, 2016

Another day with the 200-500. I'm beginning to learn the idiosyncrasies of this lens and learning how to hand-hold such a monster! As long as you have good light this lens focuses very quickly. Not as quick as my 70-200, but I didn't expect it to be.

This image is not bad, but I need to put some practice hours in with this lens. Then I'll be able to get the best out of this lens.

If anybody knows what this bird is, please let me know. He (or she) has been a companion with me on the beach the last few days. Both of these images were shot at 500mm at ISO 800. Click on the images to enlarge.

More to come....

Slow Day.....

Bill Baburchak March 4, 2016

Very windy today, not much in the way of birdlife. I did manage to get a couple of decent pics to share.....

I like the mood of this image. It was early morning and the sun was just peeking over the horizon, giving off this very warm, pinkish light that just added the right tone to this image. Click on the image to enlarge.

This one is just a classic pose down here on the shore. What you can't see is there is a fisherman about 20 feet away and the GBH is waiting for a handout from him!

A Real Fisherman.....

Bill Baburchak March 4, 2016

We had a chance to tag along with some friends of ours who went fishing yesterday and I decided to bring the camera "just in case", and I am glad I did! This guy showed up right when they started catching fish and was happy to accept the smaller ones the guys were throwing back! All images taken with a Nikon D810 and Tamron 28-75. Click on images to enlarge.

More to come.....

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Work, Work, Work.....

Bill Baburchak March 3, 2016

Another shitty day in paradise!
Mel and I were on the beach this morning looking for bird life and the birds didn't disappoint.

These images were shot at ISO 2500, so I think they came out pretty good. Normal post-processing with some noise reduction applied. Click on images to enlarge

More to come.......

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First Impressions.....

Bill Baburchak March 2, 2016

I got a chance to try out the new 200-500 this morning. I wanted to see exactly what I had gotten myself into. The extra reach doesn't mean a thing if it can't focus quickly and accurately.
First of all, this is a big, heavy lens! I doubt that I will be handholding this lens. It will be a tripod or at the least, a monopod for this bad boy. Your arms and back will thank you!
What I found out is that if you have decent light, this lens will make you smile. The sharpness is good and the reach is impressive. Below is one of the first that I got this morning. I used my normal post-processing workflow with nothing special added. Click on the image to enlarge.
More to come......

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Bringing Out the Big Guns.....

Bill Baburchak February 23, 2016

I finally went and did it. For my bird and wildlife photography I had been using the 70-200 with a 1.7 tele-extender. But number one it still wasn't long enough and the quality wasn't what I thought it should be. So I saved my pennies and bought the Nikon 200-500 f5.6.

What a beast!!! I'm going to have to hire a sherpa to carry it for me! Let's hope the image quality is as good as most of the reviews say it is!

I'll be heading to Florida in the near future and I'm sure I'll give it a good workout there! I'll post pics when I get back.....

Giving Back.....

Bill Baburchak November 8, 2015

We've been running our yearly beginners photography class at the club and this last weekend we took the students to Chenango Valley State Park for some hands-on sessions. They all did quite well and I am impressed with their progress!
There is nothing more satisfying as an instructor than the moment when your students really begin to grasp the concepts we have been trying to get them to understand. When you see a student "get it" and the light bulb comes on over their head, it's a great feeling! I don't know about the other instructors but for me helping the students is as much fun as taking my own pictures! I am also "paying it forward" for all the help I received when I was learning. Maybe we can run another class in the Spring......

And just by pure luck, they were having the Polar Plunge that day at the swimming area at the park. This is a charity event to raise money for the Special Olympics. There were plenty of people willing to brave the cool weather and the cold water to help out a worthy cause. Our own Bill Bay was in the water taking pictures of the participants. You can see him on the left in this picture.