Those who have knowledge of
photographic conditions and opportunities (for nature and
especially for bird photography) in early fall in the Boston,
Massachusetts region, are asked to call or e-mail. I am
especially interested in speaking to those who have an intimate
knowledge of either Parker River or Great Meadows NWRs.
Do note that both In-the-Field
Workshops held in conjunction with the Boston Photo Weekend are
filled, but that there is lots of room in the Saturday Seminar:
"The Art of Nature Photography." Please see the web site for
details and a registration form.
Arctic Hare, Churchill,
Manitoba Copyright 2002 Linda East/BUNNIES AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens, D-30
camera.
When as we descended towards
the Churchill Airport on May 29, we were aghast. It seemed as if
the entire world was frozen solid. Though there was some open
water, most ponds and lakes, the Churchill River, and Hudson Bay
were frozen. Snow covered most of the tundra with drifts in
places more than 4 feet deep. Locals felt that the season was at
least two weeks behind the past (globally warmed) decade.
Snow Bunting--male, Churchill,
Manitoba Copyright 2002 Linda East/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens,
1.4XII TC, D-30, fill flash with Better Beamer
Moss transplanted to feeding
station (pretty clever, hey?)
Then it got colder. On the
mornings of June 6-8 temperatures ranged from 24 to 26 degrees
F. We did have some wonderful opportunities with Willow
Ptarmigan, Snow Bunting in various plumages, Lapland Longspur,
Hudsonian Godwit, and Oldsquaw. (Sorry, I just cannot stomach
"Long-tailed Duck.) One of the highlights was a tame arctic hare
that we encountered at the old rocket range.
Horned Lark, Churchill,
Manitoba Copyright 2002 Linda East/BIRDS AS ART
Canon 500mm f/4 L IS lens,
1.4XII TC, D-30, fill flash with Better Beamer
It did get warmer for two days
before we left on June 10, but Hudson Bay and the river and most
lakes and ponds were still frozen solid. While we did manage to
get some chances with species that we thought would be
easy (like Semipalmated Plover, golden-plover, and especially
Arctic Tern), we were all somewhat disappointed. But nature
photography is just that, nature photography. When Mother Nature
decides to deal you a hand of unseasonably cold or just plain bad
weather, then all that you can do is make the best of the
situation and the opportunities presented to you.
As we explored the possibility
of continuing on to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it became
apparent that we would be unable to complete our flight
reservations, so we somewhat reluctantly had to cancel the final
leg of our journey. (The thought of arriving at a wilderness camp
with 6 large pieces of checked luggage and four carry-ons between
us had been somewhat terrifying...)
D-30/60 QUESTION
Bulletin subscriber Phil
Weiskittel asked: "Every review I've read of the D60 has centered
on the image quality; I have not seen a review that even mentioned
the autofocus or metering. I trust your opinion as a working pro
doing the same type of photography as I do. Have you had any
experience with the D30/60? What did you think of the autofocus
and metering?
Here is my answer:
I have no personal experience with the
D-60, but have followed along closely as Linda has worked with her
D-30. In addition, I have learned a bit about metering on the D-60
from folks on my IPTs that have been using them and from others as
well. The evaluative metering in the D-60 and the D-30 is
extremely different from the evaluative metering systems in Canon
film cameras (like the EOS 1v). But an intelligent photographer
should have no problem learning to make properly exposed images
(with and without flash) in short order just as Linda has done.
You simply take an image, look at the histogram, and then dial in
a bit of plus or minus (usually minus) exposure compensation if
need be. You do need to understand how to evaluate a histogram
but if you do some reading or have someone show you that it takes
about 30 seconds to get the hang of it. So even though the D-30
meter is "different," it is still easy to learn what it is doing
and make great images along the way.
As for the AF, one shot AF, and AI
Servo with slowly moving subjects (like swimming ducks), is
accurate and acquires fairly quickly as long as their is some
contrast in the subject (just as with film cameras). For flight
photography, the D-30's AF system encounters great
difficulty. Linda was able to make some in-focus flight images but
attempting to do so was extremely frustrating at times. (She
found that pre-focusing on an object at about the same distance as
the flying bird is likely to be was helpful.) The AF with the 1D
is far superior for flight shooting.
NECCC CONFERENCE
