Friday, May 16, 2014

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Feels like a long time since i've posted anything so i'll remedy that now.

Weeks ago i mentioned that i was upgrading my operating software and post-processing software to deal with native D7100 RAW files (since my camera switch).
It turned into a bit of a disaster when my computer still kept shutting down frequently.
I had brought this computer "back to life" once already and decided to take it out of commission and just start fresh.
This meant an impulsive purchase on my credit card one day, a new computer. Win 8, up to date now and running 64bi.

A bird photog i know had mentioned as well about upgrading her PS5 to 6 through Adobe, i had been under the impression that it was all cloud now and i wasn't interested in subscribing, that's for sure. Sure enough though, i found a PS6 upgrade and am now running this with the latest RAW converter, which sees D7100 files.
I even found a Legacy 64bit upgrade for my trusty Noise Ninja PS filter, which makes me happy (i notice they don't market it anymore, now something new that looks like Lightroom) :)

One last kind of major thing that happened when switching computers was that i lost my Blurb book (the one i have been working on for what seems like years now :lol: ), it wouldn't load into the new software so i was stuck recreating the book, i had all the hi res images saved so it as just a matter of plunking them back into the template (had the luxury of updating some images with more current and better ones this time round as well) so once i put some text in we will see where it goes from there.
That's kind of why i've been out of commission this last while.

Anyways, since last i posted shots i've been out unsuccessfully for the Prairie Falcon twice, the Gyrfalcon by Second Narrows bridge, the Eurasian (Common) Teal at Burnaby Lake (quite cold that morning), the owl, and a couple of uneventful visits to Maplewood Flats.

Lonsdale Quay has been active the last while though with Pigeon Guillemots by the pier. This time of year the plumage isn't as nice as in breeding colours but there is a neat kind of variety to them all. I always choose the wrong time of day when i visit for some reason and the sun is always a challenge, i think late afternoon would be ideal.

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As well, when at Burnaby Lake spotted a Varied Thrush in a tree, was packing up to go but got a couple of shots off anyways, kind of cluttered.

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On the weekend i decided to focus on a "target bird", and decided on Red-breasted Sapsucker, a cool bird and one i haven't shot in a while.
Living on the north shore i know of a few locations where one might run into one and decided to give a location in West Van a shot. I had spotted one at Kloochman Park the first time we ever visited years ago and had noted that a few birders recently had mentioned seeing one there when posting their birding days.
I figured that it would likely be in the same location (maybe even same bird?) and sure enough when we hiked down the trail a bit, there it was :)
I love it when a plan comes together.

The low light in the woods meant a true test of the D7100 capabilities and while in the past i may have used fill flash with the D300 decided to hike the ISO above 1000 sans flash and see what quality was like.
Not bad, but this bird's head was moving the whole time i swear :lol:
Need to get up to speed with the remote shutter capabilities of this camera, haven't got that dialed yet and these shots could have benefited from it.

Looking at shots now if i was going to re-process them again might knock the red back a bit :P but whatever.

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Here's an old digiscoped shot from same location 2008 :)

Thanks for looking eh :)

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The Waiting Area

The Waiting Area