B&O Across the River

I am fortunate to still be able to more around somewhat 'nimbly' when taking photos of the model trains at the DMRRC.  That is to say, I can walk hunched over, carrying camera, tripod and tablet for a very short distance.  That ain't easy trying to navigate through a four foot high 'walk' way.  But as it is, the effort is worth it.  I can take photos from angles that generally aren't available to the public.
This is one of them.
In past years, I have used a bean bag at ground level to steady the camera in order to get closer to 'eye' level of the trains.  This year I wanted to get some height off the tracks.  That would help with minimum focus issues and give me a slightly different view.  With the tripod I used which is fairly flat, the battery pack and the camera, I was about 5 inches off the track.  That was OK, but not what I really was looking for.  Next year I'll lose the battery pack and get an inch closer.  That might get the look I'm after for some of these shots.
In this shot, all that doesn't matter.  Ha.  This is shooting if not level, only slightly downward.  While the top of the train is in view, it isn't the focus of the scene.  Although the train appears to be slightly banking inward, I'm OK with it.
There is a lot of 'clean-up' from the original that is required.  I'm finding on many of the pictures from the DMRRC, the ceiling lights are casting 'ghosts' that I don't like on some surfaces.  You may not notice it until it is pointed out - but now the lights are pointed out.  There are also some loose electrical wires under the bridge that clearly needed to be removed.
This is the original with the touch up area noted:

I used clone and content aware fill tools to remove the wires and at least dull the ceiling light reflections.  Both issues will show up when the image is cropped and some color/sharpening are added in.
The final image:

ISO 100, f/6.3, 1.6 sec, 50 mm

Focus Stack - 9 Images

I like the B&O colors of these trains, so I'm a bit partial when I say this is one of the better shots of the night.

Cormorant taking Flight

This is another chapter in the lesson of patience.  
I'm guessing this is a Double Crested Cormorant.  The bird is said to be local in great numbers.  It looks like what I see in Wikipedia.
Back to patience.  As I was moving slowly through the Refuge, I could see a number of these Cormorants in various locations.  This one I saw just paddling around.  He/she/it looked like flight was soon and I decided to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Realistically it was only a few minutes, but it did seem like a long time.  And wait.
I don't have any avian transitional images.  The birds are either on the ground/water or not.  I have seen wonderful shots of avian take offs, landings and attacks.  Again, I have none of those.
I was not going to be denied at this time, I knew flight was soon by this one.
And now I have an Avian takeoff.
This was at 9:00 AM on a very cloudy morning.  The light was really crappy and cast a bad color on the water.  Hey, its Michigan.  Doesn't matter, I have my action takeoff.
With light this bad, thank goodness for RAW.  A lot of times, I will try Photomatix to help with light levels.  When I use this method, I usually end up with a harsh image which I normally like.  However with the nature shots, I'm now leaning to a softer, more realistic look.  Unless......
But I want this as real as I can get.  No funny business.

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, 450 mm

Not very colorful.  I have a few with a group of Cormorants that has better color, but for now, I have my Avian Takeoff.

Five T6s in a Turn

The series of air races is 6 to 7 laps per heat.  The race courses, depending on class are anywhere between 3 and 8 miles per lap.  That is more than enough time for the racers to sort them selves for finishes.  Much like the more popular NASCAR races, the start of the air race is closely monitored.  Every race has a 'starter' that is in a faster aircraft that is in the air at the same time of the race whose responsibility at the start is to make sure everyone is in the right place.  The radio chatter is fun to listen to, as you can hear the starter talk to each air craft and tell them to move up, back or stay in a lane.  Depending on the type of aircraft and race, the staging area is in different locations relative to the viewing grand stands.  
The two areas of staging are southeast of the stands, and to the west.
For races starting behind the stands, you can hear them coming and you see the aircraft starting the race.  For the races starting to the west, the aircraft start by crossing in front of the grand stands.  This start is usually for the races on the shorter courses.  Another reason I like the T6 races.
Like NASCAR, there are rules to the start.  There has to be some control over a number of vehicle that weigh several hundred pounds, going faster than NASCAR vehicles to get a good race start without incident.
The first two laps provide the best opportunity to catch multiple aircraft on a single frame.  As the race goes on, the aircraft space themselves.  On occasion, two or more aircraft will battle for a position, or lap a slower racer and the crowd goes nuts.
The T6 class starts their races to the west meaning that all the racers start by passing in front of the grand stands.  Bingo!
After the first day excitement of the races, I started looking for multiple aircraft in a single frame.  The more, the better.

ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/8000 sec, 225 mm

The speed of the shot is probably overkill, but by this time I'd settled on ISO 800 for the day.  Next time sunny days will be ISO 400 and I can probably keep enough speed.  Rookie stuff.  I tried to keep at f/6.3 to f/8 as that is close to the best image for the lens.

Northwestern on Trestle

One of the fascinating features, to me, at the DMRRC are the trestle bridges.  The detail involved is amazing to me.  I'd like to think the trestles were hand built - and if they're not, please don't confuse me with the facts.  All that is missing for me is the noise of the metal and wood when the trains are moving.  Takes me back to riding roller-coasters on wood frames.
I like the looks of the Northwestern Engine.   The frontal view can be seen here.  The detail lines of the Engine are so unique.  And for the most part, from what I can tell, this engine is not weathered.
I never know if everyone 'likes' my take on photographs.  This is the photograph that is available to the DMRRC club - if they like straight photographs.

ISO 100, f/6.3, 4 sec, 50 mm

Manual, 11 shot focus stack

The house and train are too clean and shiny.
To me, this scene cries out for some high contrast to bring out the rock features, the house definition and whatever I can find in the trestle.  We need to age the scene a little.
I tried Photomatix and that adventure was like Goldilocks and the Bears.  Just couldn't find the right mix to get the rocks and the train right.  There were some interesting combinations of highlight and shadow lights and I might have used one or a mix if I wanted to do a dawn or dusk scene.  I wanted to keep this light relatively even and daylight.  In my head, there is a lot of detail.
I tried my On One sharpening and color fixers, and again - just couldn't find the right mix.
As a last resort, I hit it with my favorite NIK filter - and it hit.

However, with this filter something very odd happened.  On the red roof of the house, there was a 'spot' that really didn't look natural, and unfortunately it was an eye catcher.  That spot needed to be eliminated.  Roof work can be a bit tricky to keep the look right.  I used the clone tool.  The trick is to line up the clone so the roof tile shapes stay the same.  And since there is a bit of an angle, even with the clone target directly below, the tile size didn't match exactly, but around 90%.  And if you are looking that close.......
The other interesting item is I've started sizing to 1920x1080 pixels to better fit most monitors.  For this image, that doesn't work.  There's stuff going on high, low, left and right.  I had to revert to the 5x7 format to get all the subjects in the image.
So the final image that I have, that I like, is this:

This version looks more 'real' to me.  The house has some wear, the cars on the street don't look so shiny.  And the train looks like it has been used.  A little more realistic in my view, I might see this in Johnstown, PA.

Ducks on a Fallen Tree

With the Trains and Planes taking over my recent activities, I needed to get back to nature.  And this is the shot to do it.
Although ducks are everywhere in the Refuge, it took me a few trips to'see' them.  Usually, I hear them scattering to get away from me.  They are skiddish.  But once I 'learned' to see them, they are in the most interesting places.  They can be very colorful to camouflaged. 
With much patience and a little luck, I saw this group on a fallen tree.

ISO 800, f/8, 1/400 sec, 600 mm

What really interested me about this view was the ducks appear to be 'leaning'.  In the midst of all the green, there is some blue, orange and yellow colors.
In the original photo, there were a lot of 'distractions' that required removal.  I used the content aware fill feature to remove bigger objects and clone stamping for detail work.  There were some pieces of dead wood in the water and stray leaves on the right that caught my eye that were removed.  There was also a branch on the left that crossed the left most duck that looked odd, so that had to go.
This is a fun image for me.

Reno Air Races Slideshow

I finished putting together a slideshow from some of the photos taken at the Air Races.  As all of the photos were taken on a RAW format, I had to make minor color adjustments to all.  I also went with a 1920 x 1080 pixel format.  Surprising what that crop takes out.
For the video, I also found a decent public domain sound track.  High class production!

2018 Reno Air Race Slideshow

This was interesting on fast edits to get what would otherwise be a JPG quality image.

3 T6s in a Turn

In retrospect, one of the areas of improvement for next year will be to move out of the stands.  Our seats were fantastic, except for if the airplanes were not straight an level, all I could see was underside.  The air planes were always banking away from me.  Unless there is a photo package ($$$s) available where I could get closer to some pylons on the race course, I'll have to get a be smarter on positioning for different type shots.  I'm already thinking of places to  scope out.
But until then, I have plenty of underside shots.
These are three T6s that have crossed in front of me and are heading for the first pylon.  Any clear shot with two or more air planes is good stuff.

ISO 100, f/8, 1/1000 sec, 370 mm

Aperture Priority

D7200/70-300

I changed the image format from 5x7 to 1920x1080.  Seems to fit the page nicely.

Photo Slideshow from the DMRRC Shoot

I put a slideshow together of the photos I shot at the Detroit Model Rail Road Club last week when I was out with the Flint Lensmen.
This is also an attempt at a slide show.  I tried using Lightroom, but I found that - well not so good.  not very intuitive.  I purchased a program for the West Virginia trip to put some videos together and used that program.  It worked OK.
it's short, no music.

2018 DMRRC Slideshow

These photos are just that - the raw photos.  there are a few that need some help with lights removed and maybe a new backdrop.
For the most part I was really happy with how the photo stack worked and with the 50 mm lens.

B&O and the Small Shack

Last night the photo club to which I am a member made what is turning out to be an annual trek to the Detroit Model Rail Road Club in Holly.  The club runs O scale.  This was our third year for this little adventure.  Previous posts can be seen by clicking the DMRRC link on the right.  This year, the DMRRC members really outdid themselves.  When we arrived, a number of trains were out and ready to be photographed.  The members there were more than helpful to move trains around and help set up some great scenes.  I took 28 scenes out of which around 20 are 'club' worthy.
This year I went with using a 50 mm lens.  No telephoto.  Looking back, I probably should have stuffed a 35 mm lens in my pocket for use.  I found that the 50 was a bit much for tight quarters.  During these outings, we have run of the rail road set and can get wonderful shots that the general public doesn't have access.  And some of the these areas are tighter than I thought for a 50 mm.  Lesson learned.
But the really great thing is that the images are so much sharper with the prime lenses.  I hear that all the time.
This is also my yearly dive into focus stacking.
So between the prime lens and a focus stack software upgrade my night was pretty successful, if only technically.  The aesthetic part is always open to interpretation.

ISO 100, f/6.3, 0.6 sec, 50 mm

Manual Mode, 8 shot focus stack

D7200/50 mm

In previous years, I had a number of focus mistakes by setting up too close to the subject.  This year I 'focused' on not violating the minimum distance that the lens could handle.  Much better results, but again, probably should have used the 35 mm on most shots.

(Not so) Final thoughts of the Air Races

Photographically speaking, this event was a challenge.  Stuff moves so fast.  Some of the stuff is relatively small.  Some of the stuff is relatively small and really fast.  Trying to get multiple stuff in a frame using only one eye ain't easy.  (I did try using both eyes, with my right eye in the view finder and my left eye looking for any possible trailing traffic.  Was a bit successful, but it is tiring.)
As far as equipment goes, everything worked.  The D90 and D7200 worked flawlessly.  I have attachments on each unit for an extra battery and never came close to running out of juice.  I started each day with fully changed batteries.
I shot straight RAW the entire time on both cameras.
I ran into a buffer issue once with the D90.  I was using the D90 for display photos when some action started close by and I started firing away.  It's odd when that happens as everything slows down.  For short bursts, no problems.  I never intended to use it for action sequences, so that part of the plan failed.  On the D7200, buffer was never an issue.
I did run into an interesting issue with the D7200.  The D7200 has two card slots.  I set up the second card slot for overrun.  I thought I'd have over 3k shots between both cards available.  Well, and I have to confirm this with Nikon, each card has a limit of 999 shots, regardless of size.  Apparently, I have lots of memory that can't be used.
As far as lenses go, the 18-200 and 70-300 (105-450) worked well.  I'd like to have further reach, but 450 was adequate.  (I don't like going for adequate.)  I took a few shots with the image size at 1.3 (decreased sensor size) with a reach to 600 mm but the images didn't seem to have the same quality - or I didn't handle the extra reach well.  All in all, I probably hit the shutter release 4500 times and had less than 20 out of focus images.  That's a pretty good hit rate.  I will say there were a few times a day, 3-5, where the auto focus was 'confused' by sky or clouds.
As far as framing pictures, clearly the more subjects in the frame the better.  A one airplane shot to me was usually not that interesting.  I didn't have the reach to make one airplane interesting.  When I tried to get up and tight it usually didn't work well.  When the subjects are moving that fast, unless you are perfect you need room in front and room in back.  I have more than a handful of shots, in focus, where parts of the airplane were missing.
I learned to not be afraid of daylight high ISO/high speed images.
I do plan on returning to the races next year.  I'd be OK going with same equipment, but....  I don't aim for adequate.  I'd look for bigger FF lens like Nikon's 200-500.  I'll be looking for Nikon sales.

T6 Smoke Trail

I have a lot of photos from the Reno Air Races.  Air Races, not Air Show.  Funny thing is and it is silly to say, for the most part races are races.  The colors of the aircraft change.  The aircraft positions change, but everyone is going in the same direction with very little attitude and altitude difference.  Like NASCAR, the locations where I can take pictures is somewhat limited.  To be sure, the number of aircraft in the picture can change, with more subjects I think the image is more interesting.  Airplane racing is a lot like NASCAR - only three dimensional.
Probably of no interest to the race purists would be the air show elements.  I couldn't get enough of the Heritage Flights.  I couldn't get enough of the Air Force fly-overs by the C-130s, B52 and U2.  The F16 Flight Demo was awesome.  The Patriot Jet Demo team was fantastic.
The point is, with my photos, there are a lot of race images and some will fine their way to the blog.  But the Air Show photos are much more varied.
So with that out of the way, one of the best parts of the demos was anytime the aircraft is trailing smoke.  With a photographic image, you get the instant in time.  The elusive photographic story can be told, but it is a lot easier with motion.  The smoke trail is the motion.  Viola!

ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/640 sec, 450 mm

Aperture Priority

D7200/70-300 mm

This is the far reach for my lens, I think it did just fine here.  
This is a T6, which just happened to turn 80 years old this year.  This is a World War II trainer, these days weighing in around 5,700 pounds.  The power plant is a 600 HP Pratt-Whitney radial design.  This class was my favorite to photograph.  The air frame is larger and the speeds are around 230 mph.  Faster than NASCAR, but bringing up the rear here in terms of average course speed.  The original design speed was 210 mph.
The races tend to be much closer because the modifications are very limited.  The engine size is regulated.  Much better for getting group shots.

Reno Air Races - Day Three

My trip is almost over, one day to go.
It's been a wonderful three days so far, enjoying time with friends, and making new friends.  Talking airplanes.  Talking old military tales.  Really close to paradise for me.
Photographically speaking, I've learned a lot.  There's a lot of time between races,but when the time comes it is very busy.  I've started to think faster, making adjustment quicker.  
I've become a bit more selective of shots.  I need multiple 'subjects'.  One airplane doesn't 'tell the story'.  One airplane across the start/finish line tells a story.  Two airplanes tells a story.  Three airplanes tells a better story.  Three airplane and a start/finish line tells a better story.  See where this is going?
The reality is I don't have the reach to go past the airplane level.  That is I can't drill into the cockpit, see the rivets or a loose flight control.  The equipment just isn't there.  So be the best airplane level I can be.
With this in mind, in this shot there are two air plans still in a race and being quite close. I'll have more definite information as to category and speeds later.
I chose this because the focus on the two racers is right on, the terrain in the background adds to the story and the sky is really good.

ISO 400, f/8, 1/3200 sec, 285 mm

Aperture Priority

D7200/70-300

All in all a really good day.  Looking forward to Sunday.  The weather forecast calls for excellent flying weather.  All the money is in the line.  There should be some really good racing.

Reno Air Races -Day Two (5 on 1)

Day two.  Fired off just under 1200 shots.  If I get 20 keepers, I'll really be happy.
I had issues with speed priority.  I was using it when I should not have.  And I think I missed a one time opportunity because of this.  Live and learn. Other than that, most shots came out really well.
But what I didn't miss was this.  I have some really good shots from the races, however I think my best shots for the day were taken during the Patriots Jet team show.
The Patriot jet show is akin to the Navy Blue Angles and Air Force Thunderbird shows.
For the shots of where there were to be crossing maneuvers, I'd follow one of the aircraft and just start shooting from where I thought they'd be close until I thought the jets had passed. Logically this should work.  Timing is everything, with a little luck set in.  I have the camera set up to shoot at 5 frames per second.  I tried to minimize the focus actuations, hopefully saving time so I could hit that 5 FPS rate.  I have a few good shot with this practice, I'm sure more images will find their way here. 
This is a time when five jets raced toward one jet.  And I think I nailed it.
The day had been sunny up to this point and we started to lose light as this show started.  I chose to hit this with some Photomatixto add some harshness.  For this and the of my other shots a plain photo won't do.  (There are more cameras here than I can count.)
Here are 5 jets going against one.

ISO 400, f/8, 1/3200 sec, 225 mm

Aperture Priority

D7200/70-300

Other than a little color magic, this image is not retouched in any way.  The aircraft are where they are.  I have the original file.  
This was an incredibly awesome show.

Reno Air Races - Day One

What a fantastic time today.  While watching the races and shows were fun, I met so many new friends.  Talking aircraft and related subjects was so much fun.  And although I'm not a pilot, my AF experience gave me instant cred.
Our seats are beyond fantastic.  Top row of the stands, right on the start/finish line.
Photographically speaking, 1700+ shots with both the D90 and D7200.  Call it newbie jitters.  Tomorrow I'll be more restrained.  Maybe.
At max length of 450 and the stretch 600 - that really wasn't enough for what I'd like to do.  That being said,  I have a lot of shots that are much better than I thought they'd turn out.
I'll have to get a race program for the year, just because I'm not that familiar with the classes.  I'll have to add the camera and lens to the information of each photo.
I believe this is the T-6 class.  

ISO 200, f/18, 1/160, 170 mm

Shutter priority

D90/18-200

I was shooting this sequence with speed priority to try to catch the movement of the propellers.
While I could get a number of shots with single aircraft, the most interesting to me are where I could catch multiple aircraft.
And this is only day one - the day to shake loose what configurations to use.  Three days to go.  Awesome.

Wood Duck - Full Color

This Wood Duck is like Bigfoot to me.  I've heard about them.  I've seen pictures of them.  But when you see one - and can prove it the myth disappears.  How does nature do this?  I don't know what the colors mean, maybe in time I'll find out.  I have a new color test pattern.
There is an issue that is creeping up on me, which has been mentioned before.  This image is at 600 mm.  The end of my reach.  It is cropped.  Simply this is the best I can do.  I fear another purchase.  Relatively soon.

ISO 800, f/8, 1/400 sec, 600 mm

Capturing a duck photo, for me, wasn't easy.  Ducks appear to be the most skiddish of all the creatures in the Refuge.  Just thinking about raising the camera and they'll scatter.  For this photo I had to stop the truck, kill the engine and wait for about 10 minutes for this one to appear.  Well worth the wait.  I waited by an area where I could see the ducks moving behind a log, but not on the water bank.  Eventually, this one just jumped put of the water on to the log and, just surveyed the area.  This one one didn't move for about five minutes, so I could take quite a few shots.
I need more reach.

Juvenile Eagle in the Trees

I've gone 60 years not 'getting' nature.  Or I might put it this way, not taking nature to another level past the domesticated or 'common' critters that grace my life.  Now I am getting such a thrill of seeing a number of the various birds that I've seen in the last few weeks close up and getting some photographs without disturbing them.  (I hope.)
Clearly I have a real fascination with the young Eagles.  I'll bet I'd have the same relationship with the mature Eagles, just haven't put myself in a position to see any up close.  Yet.  Seeing the Broadwing Hawk was incredibly eye opening.  I would have paid 2k or more for a bigger lens on the spot to get that beak and face with more detail.  As it is now, that budget item may get on next year's calendar, especially if I need one for the air shows as well!
This Eagle was just chillin' Saturday morning.  This is the sibling of the Eagle in Flight subject.  Same tree, same small crowd looking.  We were 20-30 feet way and not moving very much.  

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 450 mm

I was watching this pair for about 20 minutes.  I caught the other one when it was ready to fly.  This one didn't look at us much, spent most of the time looking away from where I was standing.  The wind was blowing pretty much in our faces and I'm sure it wasn't comfortable to look in this direction.
As to the wait, clearly this time with nature was worth it.  Good time to slow down, smell the roses - and look at a bird. 

The Broadwing Hawk Story

This story of the Broadwing Hawk photos is the best tale for the area since I've been going to the Refuge this year, and in the past.  By far.
At around the 4.0 mile mark of the Auto Tour, there is an observation structure called Grefe Tower.  One would think that tower would indicate a raised structure of more than four feet.  Well, it's more like a deck.  A nice deck to be sure, but a deck.  For the area, there is ample parking to not block the one lane for traffic.  Great place to take a break.  Plus within walking distance there is a 'relief' station.
So as I arrived on Saturday, I saw there was a man on the 'tower' intently looking through binoculars out at the fields.  I parked the truck and as quietly as I could, hit the trails behind the 'tower' for a little walking.  The relief station is about 100 yards off the road.  After that stop, I headed off to the Refuge photography blind.  I had been to the blind two years ago, and I was surprised it is still advertised as being there.  It was a 50/50 deal then that I would walk out to it, the deck plank wasn't that sturdy.  I was hoping it had been repaired since I had been there last.  I tried to approach the area as quiet as possible, but the wildlife net was alive and I could hear critters giving me plenty of room as they moved from my sight.  As I moved closer to the photo blind, I could see there hasn't been much repair work in the past.  This wasn't looking good.

The 50/50 proposition of walking that plank was looking more like 95/5 against.  Then it was official.

I'm not coloring outside that line.
Time to head back to the truck.  As I moved back into view of the tower, the bird watching gentleman motioned to me that he was looking at something close by.  Eventually I saw hawk, just sitting in the tree.  I started snapping away.  It took some time to close the last 20 feet from the path, crossing the road and getting the tower ramp.  Lots of shots on the way.  I found out that the hawk wasn't very skiddish, and appeared to be ignoring the other man and myself.  Some time later a car passed under the hawk, less than five feet away and the hawk just watched.  That hawk was on it's own time.  
Eventually you can shoot only so many pictures of a static subject, even accounting for making sure one of the them will be good.
I wound up talking to the Bird Watcher and turns out he's a fascinating guy.  Said he was an Aussie and had the accent to back it up.  He wasn't much of a hiker, so he was manning the tower until his wife returned from the trails.  So we chatted until she returned.  Wonderful time.
Here is the Broadwing Hawk.  Again, the Refuge site says the hawk has been seen there and from what I can find, I think that is what this is.

ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, 600 mm

Technically, this is one of the clearest photos of the day for me.  The light was cooperating which was a change from other subject locations and angles.  Any post processing would only take away from the image.  The absolute clarity of this lens continues to impress me.
Aesthetically I can now see why some folks really get caught up in wildlife photography.  Although I am having so much fun with the Eagle photos, this one is different.  Seems more at home.  The colors on this bird are very interesting to me, especially the face area.  I can see why serious birders have the lenses that they do.   At some point, may have to get serious myself.

Juvenile Eagle in Flight

Clearly the rock stars for me at the Shiawassee Refuge are the Eagles.  I've seen the adults only in the distance, but the kids for whatever reason make themselves available to the masses close up.  At some point, the young ones will be passe, but not for now.
There were two in a tree just off the road causing a traffic jam this morning.  Taking nothing away from the stars, it's a one lane, one way path so it can be done easily.
But there they were, just sitting there with a crowd gathering close by.  Okay, there were four of us there constituting a crowd, but we didn't blend in.  The young Eagles took it in stride.
Photographically speaking, this was probably the worst lighting condition you could get.  The sun, behind the high clouds, directly behind the bird.  It's not like you can ask the subject to chill while you compose a better shot.  Took a little effort to lighten up the under wing.  Doable.

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec, 450 mm

So this one is just sitting in the tree.  Just looking like flight was moments away.  And the flight moment came.  And I was ready.  Except.....  My angle as such that the branches and leaves were in the way for the first few moments.  This is the first shot clear of the distractions.
One of the change I made today was changing my low speed continuous from 5 FPS to 3 FPS.  I may have to reconsider.  For these day trips, card space is not an issue.  For the Reno trip, I may leave it set for 3 FPS.  Shot count may be an issue there.

Sandhill Cranes in Flight

So, this bird identification business is taxing.
I'm fairly certain these are Sandhill Cranes.  First, they have been seen in the Refuge.  And they pretty much match the pictures on-line.  Confidence is high.
Had a great morning at the Refuge.  I arrived just after the gates opened.  And I wasn't the first person there either.  There were quite a few ahead of me, which I wasn't expecting.  I live in a shell.
I wanted to get there early to catch the morning activities.  I wasn't disappointed.  Aside from the usual suspects, first time sights for me today were the Sandhill Cranes and a Broadwing Hawk.  I also have more juvenile Eagle and Wood Duck photos.  I have some photos of a take-off from the water (critter to be yet identified) and a Egret feeding.  Good for the Egret, not so good for the fish.  Well worth the effort to get up early.
So today's drive was much slower, I really took my time.  Probably took 90 minutes to do the 6.5 miles - not including stops and one short distance trail hike.  I was looking down in a culvert when these four caught my eye.  They aren't as fast as the duck, so I had some time to recover and get these four in flight.

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec, 165 mm

The weather, according the Weather Channel said it was mostly sunny.  I need to look up the definition of 'mostly'.  I will say it was better lighting that last weekend.

Reno - A few days out

So let's get a weather update.

Looks like I won't be using this as an excuse for missed shots.

I've been going through Youtube for a number of topics, ranging from past air races to anyone with an opinion on what set ups are best for aircraft photography.

So here are some of the ideas I'll probably soon forget.

Auto-Focus:  One thing I've been thinking about a lot is how to set up the AF?  Is AF even necessary - set to infinity and go.  That's one option.  And I'm talking in-flight here, not static displays.  Turns out the D7200 has a tracking option called 3D.  (Hint: Helps to know your equipment.)  So the short of this is you lock on to your target in the center of the screen and as the target moves within the screen, you are locked on.  The focus follows the target.  I tested this with stretching my arm out and locking on to my finger.  As I'd move my arm around, as long as my finger stayed in the view finder, the AF was locked on.  I need to try this out.
Mode:  I usually shoot manual, but I do miss a few shots when rushed.  Although it appears the shooting conditions will be stable, I'd hate to lose a shot because I was chimping.  The other mode I'm comfortable with is Aperture priority.  When you think about, for in flight shots that isn't a good idea either.  Really need to get comfortable with Speed priority.  For prop driven aircraft seems a good point to start with is 1/180 second.  We'll see how that works.  I figure to be shooting with a focal length of 300 to 450.  Again we'll see how that works.
Equipment:  I'm taking two camera bodies, the D7200 and D90.  My original thought was to carry both, the D7200 / 70-300 and the D90 / 18-200.  I'm not a fan of changing lens in the outdoors.  I'm not sure how far away our parking will be (storage of equipment), but I'll have to make it work.  On thought was to use the 18-200 on the first day to get all the walk around stuff and the 70-300 for the rest.  That thought is gone.  On Thursday there will be a B52 flyover which is one of the few events that is not repeated every day.  Can't miss that.
So Saturday, I'll head out to the Refuge and try the 3D AF and Speed priority.  With any luck, I'll get a good bird shot or two.

DMRRC - Mountain Cut

Rumor has it that the Photo Club of which I'm a member will return to the Detroit Model Railroad Club later this month.  With that in mind, I started looking for any photos I hadn't played with from previous visits.
I'm not sure why I didn't work this photo before.  Looks like it came out OK.  This is a five shot focus stack.  It looks like everything is in focus as expected.  When I saw this angle, I thought it would be different, coming up from under the train.

ISO 200, F/8, 1.0 Sec, 60 mm

5 Shot Focus Stack

I hit this with a little extra contrast, but not too much.  It was tough to dial the contrast back, I did like a really hard shot on this - but that's only me.  At this contrast level, the rock looks good.
Unfortunately the room ceiling lights are reflected.  Note to self, take something that can block light next time.
This was taken with a 18-200 lens.  When I return to the building in a few weeks, my intention is to use my AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/3.5G ED VR.  I've been very happy that lens and have one train shot with it that came out very well.

Lower Tahquamenon Falls

Holiday Weekend.  I can't drift too far from home because of the paying job, so I decided to go through/reorganize a lot of the photos I've taken in the past.  I'm trying to thin out shots I'll never use, which aren't many.  I don't say that I take that many good shots, but over the years I know what I can work with and what's not worth the effort.  These shots are difficult mostly due to flat skies or a focus I just can't work with.  I also know that what I may not work with today, I can do something with at another time.  So I am very careful on what goes away.
Because I'm careful on what gets tossed, I came across this little gem.

ISO 400, f/9, 1/320 sec, 18 mm

This was taken in August of 2009.  Thank the stars for RAW files.  In 2009, the camera was a Nikon D80.  The lens was 18-135 mm, no VR.  And the photographer was probably lucky to know which way to point the glass part of the lens.
I do remember for the most part in the early days, I was waffling on whether to use RAW or JPG.  I didn't know the difference.    
I'm guessing I was using Elements back then - with no idea on what I was doing with that either.
So let's come forward 9 years.  The RAW file is just as good as it was then.  Thankfully the basic file processing hasn't changed in that time.
I used Photomatix (Vivid) to bring out the mid-greens.  It also brought out some definition in the sky, as well as sharpened.  I used ACR to bring out the greens even more and the copper/browns.
I stopped using Photomatix for a while, but lately have returned to it to set my light levels.  Photoshop does a lot of things very well, but can be cumbersome.  Photomatix has been around for a number of years and the results are so much better for me.  I am really against halos between the sky and the trees.  And here there is little/no halo.  Also in my old age, for some of my filters I only go a percentage of the effect in opacity.  Sometimes less is more?