I have stolen only a little time to work with my long glass for shooting
hummingbirds. During the first try my old Focal tripod (don't laugh! - I
have to do this on the cheap) proved woefully inadequate to handle the
load of so much lens. Results from the first session were, not
surprisingly, woeful. Today I had another try, first with the old Focal,
but that try ended when the tripod broke while I was moving it - it
really was overloaded. In the time since the first try I found another
old Focal tripod, but much beefier, at Goodwill, and it was a
significant improvement.
Shooting the hummingbird with the Rokinon 650-1300mm was quite a
challenge. With a straight-on shot the camera was backed up against the
refrigerator, and the shortest focal length that would focus on the
feeder was 1100mm. That turned out to be too long a lens for a view as
wide as I wanted.
My favorite visitor is my only adult male, who arrived while I was still
getting things framed, so I did not get a good shot.
https://plymouthcolony.net/photos/images/IMGP0773.jpg
After I got the shot set up I didn't get anybody on the two "flowers"
closest to the camera - everybody used the back "flowers".
https://plymouthcolony.net/photos/images/IMGP0792.jpg
The only subjects who I got good shots of were the insects. Does anyone
know what kind of wasp (or hornet) this is?
https://plymouthcolony.net/photos/images/IMGP0799.jpg
Focus on that long lens is touchy, and it has little depth of field due
to its focal-length-related fixed aperture. For the next try I will move
some of the kitchen furniture to allow a shorter zoom and a wider field
of view. Getting used to this glass is a lot more work than I expected.
I am also saving up for a much better tripod and head.
--
Dale H. Cook, decades as 35mm SLR photographer, now
Pentax K-70 w/ Pentax-DA 18-270mm walking-around lens
https://plymouthcolony.net/photos/index.html
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