1000 Shot Weekend May 24

Well, we went up to the Logan lake and Lac Le Jeune area of the interior this past weekend and saw a lot of rain, so much that our plans for boating after loons on Sunday morning followed by a session with a local guide in the afternoon were both a wash, luckily i was able to get most of my shooting done on saturday.
Lac le Jeune Lodge has a famous stump perch out front that attracts a lot of birds, (peanut butter helps as well), apologies for the same perch in every shot 

























I can't say enough nice things about the D500 camera 

When the guide fell through for sunday afternoon (i didn't know he had tried to call me to say 'some other time' since it was pouring rain and was fully prepared for the wet weather wearing chest waders and waiting patiently at the front door of the lodge until around 4:30, when i finally figured out that he wasn't coming) we decided suddenly after dinner at 7pm that we should just drive home now instead of spending the night, we were going to check out early the next morning anyways, so that's what we did, driving through the rain until we were back in our own bed in north van just after 10pm 

Weekend Birds May 16

Another weekend spent getting out in the early mornings, next weekend will be a small 2 night trip to the Kamloops area but this weekend it was about getting out to Iona and Terra Nova and also Grouse mountain.




two shots from friday at a spot i have in North Vancouver.











I had actually visualized the Yellowthroat landing on the yellow bush when i first arrived at Terra Nova so i was surprised when it happened  







Iona birds

Sunday morning i headed up to Grouse mountain.







Bonus critter



All in all not too bad a weekend, thanks for looking!

A Weekend with the D500 - May 09

Well, my weekend started on Thursday when i unsuccessfully looked for Quintin's Lapland Longspur in North Vancouver, i went straight after work to the park it was at but could only come away with some shots of a White-crowned Sparrow.
Until it was pointed out that the bird had a bill deformity i hadn't even noticed.

When i upgraded my Photoshop i lost the nifty Noise Ninja software i used to use with noise, picked up some different software (yes, even the D500 does show some grain at higher ISO's but it's easily dealt with), this shot looking at later i wasn't as happy with and tweaked my settings, a new camera is always a learning process.

Friday after work i headed up to Cypress Mountain, i wanted to head up to the x country area (powerlines) but realized on the drive up that i was short on gas and thought it best to go no further than the picnic area, i always have luck finding Townsend's warbler there, this time was no different but i did run into two birders from Philadelphia as well and enjoyed chatting briefly, they had seen the Red-throated Pipit on the island and were looking for a few more birds before heading to the airport, i suggested they check out Iona.

for a minute i thought this was a "honky-talk" warbler (Nashville) but it was of course an Orange-crowned with a greyer head than we usually see around here.

Saturday morning i headed off to Pitt Meadows and walked the nature trail at Grant Narrows hoping for warblers, other than coming across one birder i knew i came up short, did see a Bullocks Oriole but didn't get any shots because it was directly above me in a tree  


a splash of colour

On the way out i ran across a kestrel on the wires, was able to grab a shot before it had enough of me and flew



Colony Farm was next and while i didn't see any Lazuli buntings it wasn't a big deal as i have had them full frame in past years at that location.


Common Yellowthroats were abundant.

Sunday morning i got up at 5am and headed back up Cypress, i had a fuller tank of gas and was determined to make it up to the x country ski area.
When i arrived it was quite windy, chilly and covered in low cloud, not the best conditions but i didn't need to leave the car. 
My beanbag was propped on the window-sill and i was able to witness a male Sooty grouse displaying to a female who was playing 'hard to get", the shooting didn't get much easier than that i gotta say and provided the most satisfying shots of the weekend.









Afterwards i headed back down the hill to the picnic area and visited the Townsend's warblers again, the branch the bird was on when i took these shots was swaying so much from the wind that i thought i was on a pelagic  
pretty happy with these two poses





Can't wait to get out again! 

Finally Back in Action - May 02

Hey all, since the last time i posted here i broke my D7100 body and the 1.4x tele it was attached to when i slipped and fell over backwards on the little wooden bridge at Hastings park. I was talking to a lovely older lady about birds when it happened but thankfully my body survived without injury and most importantly my 500mm f4 lens survived the fall as well.
So the ordeal of sending D7100 back to Nikon in Ontario for repair began. 
Kind of wish Nikon still had their office in Richmond but they closed it for some reason and i had to do the shipping myself this time, which i did. 
They returned the lens in around 3 weeks but it cost $400 to repair. 
I didn't bother getting the 1.4x tele repaired but i did find it difficult to find a replacement but did find a used one on B&H (the new teleconverter Nikon released a while back doesn't work with my older 500mm f4 alas).
Months ago i wrote about the new Nikon D500 camera body and after a prolonged wait (it was supposed to be released in March but was delayed until the end of April) i finally got one in my hands this weekend.
I was able to take a small sample of shots but realized that the new RAW files wouldn't work with Photoshop CS 6 (much like D7100 RAW files wouldn't open in CS5) so i broke down and signed my life away to Photoshop CC (the monthly paid Cloud version - i figure it costs about the same as Netflix monthly, i can handle that).
I wasted my time waiting for the new camera on Facebook, sharing old shots there for the first time to a few bird groups, it was cool but i knew that i would much rather share new shots on here and now finally i can.
I feel better mentally about stuff too, talking a little break here and there from it all is something i need to do sometimes, i think of myself as a phoenix rising from the ashes, striving to be a better person, friend etc.
So first impressions of the new D500 are positive, i know i made the right choice. 
I'm still waiting for the pre-ordered battery grip to ship, Nikon is behind with the accessories.

Checked out Burnaby Lake on Sunday morning













On Saturday i was so out of practice that i forgot to bring my lens hood for the 500f4 along, doh, took shots anyways while re-visiting Hastings park (where it all broke down originally).





Nothing too special as far as shots go but i was kind of easing into it again, as well as getting to know the new camera, next weekend i'll be spreading my wings a bit more.

Birds and some thoughts on a Monday Morning - Mar 21

Regarding the Birding in BC forum -
Been a few weeks since i've posted anything and i've even thought of finding some other place to post because the forum just hasn't been feeling as healthy as it has in the past.
I thought to myself though that i've been a part of this community for 10 years now and i still like posting here for the most part so no point taking my toys and playing somewhere else just yet (i'm not going to go "pro attitude" on you guys and pretend that this place isn't "worthy" of posting my shots to either because of course it still is), some people have claimed that all the good photogs left the forum, but who are those "good photogs"?
I still see quality shots posted here by very good bird photogs.
This place is, what it is, a lot of different personalities, it's not the same forum it was years ago but i guess that's ok, things chance and it's best to just ride the surf sometimes right? 
In a lot of ways it's a better place  

Some shots from North and West Vancouver, having fun not driving all over the place.

















Thanks for looking.