March Draws to a Close

As March draws to a close, the weather was cooperative to allow some shooting time before the storms come in tomorrow. A few shots....

White-Throated Sparrow

Great Horned Owl

Carolina Wren

Mrs. Wood Duck

And Mr. Wood Duck

Turtles & Swallow

Pied-Billed Grebe

Sigma 150-600mm

I was testing a new lens....the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. Despite poor lighting, images look pretty good. More to follow....

Brown Creeper

Another shot from Buck Creek yesterday....love these fast little creepers!

Cardinal

A Northern Cardinal from Buck Creek today.

Northern Flicker

A Northern Flicker from Buck Creek State Park today.

Huffman Prairie Flying Field Harriers

We took a mid-winter break today and visited the Huffman Prairie Flying Field off of Rt 444. While we were hoping to get some good shots of Short Eared Owls, they didn't begin hunting until the light was gone....but we did get some shots of Northern Harriers.

A few ducks from Old Reid.

Lava Sky

A beautiful sunset at Buck Creek State Park.

#2

Barn Swallow

A cooperative Barn Swallow from Huffman Flying Field.

Barn Swallow

A cooperative Barn Swallow from Huffman Flying Field.

Crescent Moon

X-T10 Butterflies

Some images shot with the Fuji X-T10 and the 50-230mm lens with 16mm extension tube. Focus distance is about 3 feet; a great working distance for butterflies.

Fuji X-T10 First Images

     Over the last 15 years, I have collected quite an array of Canon SLRs and lenses. In fact, I have a difficult time traveling without taking all of my gear. This is a problem when we're taking a short trip for family visits, but you just never know when a photo op in going to come along. 
     Last summer, I picked up a Fuji S1; a "superzoom bridge" camera specifically for a trip to San Diego. I planned on using it for mostly family shots, but wanted the availability for long focal length if the opportunity presented. The S1 is weatherproof, and is lightweight. It has an advertised zoom of 24mm-1200mm. It shoots RAW and handles high ISO fairly well. 
     Little did I know how much I would come to enjoy using this camera! Not only did it handle shooting during that trip; including HD video and some long focal length shots at La Jolla, but I quickly began using it as my carry around camera....including shooting from the back of the Spyder.

Fujifilm Finepix S1; Dynamic Filter

     I felt as though I had rediscovered the joy in just shooting for the creative aspect. Using some of the filters in the S1 fired up my creativity and I began to redefine my photography. These days, I find so much enjoyment and satisfaction in shooting a gorgeous sunset using the S1's Dynamic Range filter.

Image shot with the Fuji Finepix S1

     That doesn't mean that I'm ready to sell off my Canon gear....I know that there will still be many times when I want to capture amazing images with the sharpness that only a long focal length prime and super fast focusing like the Canon 500F4 can capture. I plan on keeping it and all of my other primes available.
     For now, though, I am wanting to "go light." And while the S1 is a fun camera, I really desired portability, but also desired maximal features and good low-light capabilties. 
     With these criteria in mind, I picked up the Fuji X-T10; a newly released mirrorless 16 megapixel CMOS sensor camera with interchangeable lenses. I fell in love with the retro look (my first camera was an Olympus Pen 35mm half frame), and it has the features I was looking for, including most of the filters available on the S1. 
     Along with the X-T10, I picked up the kit lens (XF 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 R LM OIS) and the XF 55-200mm f:3.5-4.8 R LM OIS Zoom Lens. I've ordered the EOS adaptor for the X-T10, which will allow me to use my Canon wide angle zoom (10-22mm) and my Sigma 180 macro when situations call for them. This is a compact and flexible package which will fit in my travel bag with plenty of room to spare. 
     I'll provide more of a review after I use this combo on an upcoming trip. For now, I'm getting familiar with the menus and controls. Here's a shot from today using the 55-230 at 230mm (350mm equivalent). 

Shot with the Fuji X-T10 and 55-230mm zoom. Handheld at 230mm. 1/180, f9, ISO 640.

Shot with the Fuji X-T10 and 55-230mm zoom. Handheld at 230mm. 1/480, f8, ISO 1000.

    

Bobolinks!

Northern Parula

 David and I worked on getting the motorhome ready for our upcoming trip today.  Once we were done with the chores, we took a ride to test it out. We ended up at  John Bryan State Park where we saw and photographed a Northern Parula warbler.
 This small warbler winters in Central America and America  and the southern tip of Florida and  returns to the northern states and Canada each summer to breed.

Screech Owl

Driving through Snyder Park, I passed a sycamore tree then backed up to take a second look. There, in an opening in the tree trunk, a red morph screech owl napped. 

Shawnee Lookout Birds

We spent the day at Shawnee Lookout, a park located east of Cincinnati.
Here are a few of our favorites....

Cerulean Warbler

Blue-Winged Warbler

Summer Tanager

Yellow-Throated Warbler

Spring Birds

What a beautiful day we had yesterday! The sun was shining, and the temperature hit 70. I couldn't resist heading out to see what I could find at CJ Bown and Buck Creek SP.

Yellow-Throated Warblers are harbingers of spring, and hearing them high in the treetops signal that spring and the migration is truly happening. Normally I get a glimpse or them flitting high up in the Sycamore trees, but yesterday I was quite fortunate to encounter one that came down to the creek bed near the trail I was walking. 

Yellow-Throated Warbler

Purple Finch

 White-Throated Sparrow

Greater White Fronted Goose

This goose was in Old Reid Park feeding with some Canada Geese. We had excellent looks, as he was only a few feet from the roadway.

April 1rst

It was a beautiful day first the first of April, and I spent most of the day out and about checking for migrating ducks. My first stop was Old Reid, where I saw 8 Pied-Billed Grebes along with the usual cast of characters who inhabit the park.

6 of the 8 Pied-Billed Grebes seen at Old Reid Park this morning.

From there, I traveled east to visit with Lynda at Prairie's End. We walked and chatted, and saw a few inhabitants of her property.

This Song Sparrow was enjoying the warm, sunny day.

And a Titmouse whose iconic song is a sure sign of spring!

Assorted ducks seen behind First Christian Church on Middle Urbana Rd.



Blue Winged Teal seen on Bosart Rd. 

Before I pulled into the driveway, and stopped to check the field pond down the road, and was fortunate to find some Blue-Winged Teal dabbling. This one did a wing flap to show me the blue on his wings.

Red-tail Day

No new ducks today, but we saw several Red-tail Hawks on our jaunt. 
  

This one was at the Moorefield and Morris Rd intersection feasting on a squirrel.

    

 This bird was on Neer Rd.

    

All images are copyrighted, and may not be used without our consent!