Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

    The temp of 62° today tied the record for this date in 1927. It was breezy, but truly felt like spring.
I walked the loop trail at the CJ Brown Overlook and tried out my new Op Tech USA camera harness. I have adapted it to use with one camera rather than 2, so that I can hike without having to hold on to my camera. 
    It worked quite well for my purposes, and attached to the lens tripod mount plate. This is important because attaching it to the camera can lead to breaking the lens mount on the camera; particularly with heavier lenses. The Olympus Zuiko 300 F4 Pro isn't heavy by any means (2.8#), but I wanted the ablility to support the lens and camera separately. This lets me change lenses without worries of dropping the camera or lens. Overall, it was very comfortable to hike with!
    Here's a few images I shot with the Olympus EM5 Mark 3 and Zuiko 300mm. I am more and more impressed with the autofocus and sharpness of this lens each time I'm out. Because of the EM5-M3 crop factor of 2x; this lens is actually a 600mm equivalent. 

Golden-Crowned Kinglet. Olympus EM5M3, Zuiko 300mm F4, ISO 250, 1/400, F4.5. Spot metering, handheld.



Golden-Crowned Kinglet. Olympus EM5M3, Zuiko 300mm F4, ISO 250, 1/400, F4. Spot metering, handheld.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet. Olympus EM5M3, Zuiko 300mm F4, ISO 250, 1/400, F4. Center Priority metering, handheld.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet. Olympus EM5M3, Zuiko 300mm F4, ISO 800, 1/2500, F4.0. Center Priority metering, handheld. This image was shot using the Olympus Pro Cap mode. 

Monday, January 13, 2020

Quick Drive

A quick drive through Old Reid, Buck Creek and CJ Brown late this afternoon....

Old Reid....Robin enjoying the transient sun. 


One of the feral cats at Old Reid. 


What are you doing out, little fellow? Seen wandering around Buck Creek SP. Hope he's not ill.


Pretty doe!!


Last stop was the beach area at CJ Brown. Cars driving across Robert Eastman Rd. looked like they were driving across the sun!









Tuesday, December 24, 2019


  Continuing to test the Olympus EM5 Miii and Zuiko 300mm f4 Pro combo. Distance 164 feet. 




Distance 256 feet. 

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Deer Season


Deer gun season was in full session yesterday. I was surprised to see do many deer out with the sounds of shots being fired in the public hunting areas of Buck Creek State Park. 
This girl was in the no-hunt area, in a strip of woods sandwiched between a prime feeding lot and the state park main road. The rising sun nicely backlit her. I love the steam from her breath and the icy whiskers. This was shot with the Olympus EM5 Mark III and Zuiko 300mm with 2x converter. 


Some Winter Birds

   I am trying a new mirrorless system....the Olympus EM5 Mark III combined with the Zuiko 300mm Pro lens. The weight of this combo is a fourth of the weight of the Canon DSLR and 500 F4 combo I've used for many years. 
   In addition, the Olympus body has IBIS (in-body image stabilization) allowing sharp images as low shutter speeds....a real boon for hand-holding while tracking little birds.  
   Another bonus of the Oly camer is that it is a micro 4/3 system...meaning that it has a 2x crop factor...making the 300mm lens a 35mm equivalent of 600mm. I added the 1.4x and 2x converters, but most likely won't need them for much of my imaging. 
   Yesterday, here in Ohio, we had a beautiful, sunny day. Cold, but great light for testing out the new combo on winter birds. I headed to Buck Creek State Park at the Overlook area. Here's some of my walk around images. 

Golden-Crowned Kinglet


White-Breasted Nuthatch


Tufted Titmouse


Carolina Chickadee


Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Downy Woodpecker