Everybody enjoys a good-looking butt. I watched this particular Coot dive and tip for about 15 minutes before I decided it might make a decent capture. The shot was made with a Pentax 400mm f/4.5 Super Takumar and my Sony NEX-5N.
Tag: Sony NEX-5N
A Flicker
A couple of weeks ago I put my Konica Hexanon 300mm f/4.5 telephoto lens on my Sony NEX-5N and the tripod. I have a Vanguard TBH-250 on top of a set of Manfrotto 3021 legs. It’s a good combination of ball head and sturdy legs. It’s a lot stronger than I need for the Sony, but it’s very stable with that combination.
I put a polarizing filter on the lens and then watched the birds working the feeder on the side fence. Wife and I used to love watching these birds work and kept the feeders full. I thought this bird to be a European Starling, but my friend Leslaw tells me it’s a Northern Flicker. It’s related to the Red-Headed Woodpecker. (And that reminds me of a Wife story…)
The Hexanon is a very good telephoto lens. I was shooting at about f/8, ISO 400, and probably about 1/2,000th of a second. Enjoy…
Prospector Pete
On my way to Reno Saturday, I elected to take the old U.S. 395 through Washoe City. There, next to the Chocolate Nugget (sounds nasty, doesn’t it?), resides Prospector Pete. He’s a very patient model and quietly posed for me while I worked the light.
The Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AIS is a great lens. It’s sharp and contrasty throughout its aperture range.
Chinon 135/2.8 Test
My friend Jimmy loaned me this Chinon 135mm f2.8 lens in Konica AR mount. It’s a beautiful build with a really unique shape. It’s a little broad at the aperture ring and tapers a bit at both ends. It’s a beautiful lens and worth having just for those characteristics.
I’ve been carrying it on walkies the last couple of days. Yesterday morning the light was right on this small flower. The lens doesn’t focus particularly close (about five feet), but with a 200mm equivalent focal length on the Sony’s APS-C sensor it’s still close enough for a decent image. The bokeh of this lens is very smooth and it’s plenty sharp wide open.
I think it’s a keeper, even if I already have four or five (or more) 135mm lenses.
Flutterbye Reprise
Wednesday near noon I took a short break. The Girl was bored and wanted some time together playing in the backyard. We played a bit, then returned to the house so I could work.
On my way back from refilling my water bottle, I glanced out the back door and saw another flutterbye. The lens on my NEX was the Yashica 135/2.8. It’s good glass but doesn’t focus as closely as either the Pentacon or the Kiron (macro, of course). Nonetheless, it was what I had at hand, so I grabbed it and slipped out the back door.
The insect only allowed me a couple of frames. I took what I could get.
Later, as I ate lunch, I wondered to myself whether Wife is sending these creature to me. I love to watch them and they are so beautiful.
Soon it will be time for the quail to come around again. I’ll start putting out bird food near the end of October as the days grow shorter, colder, and there is less forage for the little creatures. I’m going to move the feeders around so I can get pictures of the birds as they work. I have tools that will let me get close. I’m looking forward to those images as well.