It started as a bird chase

All week I'd been thinking of taking a suitable camera/lens combo to a bird stand I found during last week's nature hike.  I wanted sunny skies and 70 degrees - but would accept 50.  Maybe 40.  It's January.  I'd been looking at the Weather Channel website all week.  Sunny skies from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  Wind around 5 MPH.  Whoo Hoo!  Temp - 18 at 8:00 AM.  24 at noon.  No one said this would be easy.

There were multiple objectives for today's outing.  First - birds.  I'll settle for birds at rest - or not in flight.  Second objective was to work with a monopod.  A late entry for the third objective was to say warm.

Woke up this morning to cloudy skies.  Dammit.  And 18 degrees.  Well, they got that part right.  Dammit.

Ten o'clock arrived, so did the sunny skies and 20 degrees.  Time to go.

I found a lot of robins in the bird stand.  I took multiple photos of the robins that would be later deleted.  Technically OK, but they could have been seagulls and been just as interesting.  Practice.  What I did find out was using the monopod was easy.  But getting it there and walking around with it ain't fun.  Logistics.

I took the monopod back to the truck, then took off for other parts of the park.  The park paths were covered with ice, but the sides were OK with a crusty snow or solid ground.  Still had to look down a lot to stay off the ice.  But I wanted to keep my eyes to the skies.  Looking for anything in the trees.  I wasn't expecting to find...

Squirrels.

The squirrels I saw must have been deaf.  I was crunching on lots of snow.  So I was off the walking path, walking in the snow, out of the ice, looking down.  I stopped at some point to scan the trees, and this one couldn't have been more than 20 feet away.  Sitting in a tree, doing its thing.  Eating.  And keeping one eye on me.

Nothing to see here

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f5.6E ED VR

500 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 (AUTO)

EV +.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

OK, its a squirrel, but....  That D850 takes a good shot when coupled with the 200-500 lens.  This was hand held.  Close enough to see the nose whiskers.  I'm good with that.

I tried to find a way around the squirrel without disturbing it.  No luck.  When I did get by, the squirrel moved from the tree, crossing the path above my head.  Not sure what the squirrel was thinking.  There were many possibilities.  Like, I got you pegged man.  Or real nature photographers use Canon.  Loser.

Eye in the Sky

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f5.6E ED VR

500 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 (AUTO)

EV +.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Still lots of great detail.  Love it when the sun hits the area.

And another squirrel saw me coming.  I thought it was yelling at me, but just was carrying around lunch.

Keep Moving Pal

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f5.6E ED VR

500 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 900 (AUTO)

EV +.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

You can miss a lot when you have to keep your eyes on the path.  So stop and look up every once in a while.

I wanted to make one last pass through the bird stand before calling it a day.  This was a little past noon.  No activity at all.  Squirrels must have warned them.  But I didn't leave empty handed.  I saw a few deer in a clearing just off the path.  And then I saw this framed shot.

Framed Deer

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f5.6E ED VR

410 mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

I didn't notice it at the time, but the front legs have something odd going on.  There are some knees not going in the right direction.  Do I need a Bernie in a chair in front of the deer?

Good time to get out of the house.  Turned out to be a nice day to walk around.  Close to noon probably isn't a good bird hour.  Needs to be in the 8 to 9 area.  My guess.  Thankfully there are more weekends coming up.

Owl Prowl and Nature Walk

2021 seems to be starting out well.  Getting the Flint River kayak photo was a great way to start the year.  There was a wintery mix forecasted for yesterday that might have added to scenery for today's hike.  Never happened.  Michigan gray today.  And spoiler alert - no owl photos.

One of the county parks here is For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum.  I've only been living here for twenty some odd years and I'm just finding out about these places.   To be fair, to me, I've know about the location but not about some of the interesting things you can do here.  And on this weekend's schedule was a Friday night owl prowl and Saturday morning nature Photo Hike.

The owl prowl was very interesting to me.  I am owl ignorant.  I could only go up from here.  It was way too dark for photos and I really just wanted to know about the owls who lived down the road from me.  There will be other photo opportunities.  I learned about owl calls.  I learned where they were in the area.  And more importantly I got out of the house for a few hours.  If you ever get a chance to go on an owl prowl, take it!  We had two screech owls fly past our group.  We were able to find where one perched so I have now seen an owl in the wild.  I do need to get out more.  And as much as I learned about owls in the wild, one of the more interesting facts of the night was turkeys sleep in trees.  Yep, what you can learn when you get out of the house.

In the category of other learned lessons, I need to up my technology.  In the field of of night lighting.  Subcatagory: Flashlights.  I was carrying around a 20+ year old, 3 D Cell mag light.  Dim dirty yellow.  And the batteries were new.  Nothing like an old, cold flashlight.  And for $10 I could have had a AA LED.  Ha.

This morning's nature photography hike was nice.  Temps just below freezing.  No wind.  And I bundled up like Charlie Brown.  Maybe 75% Charlie Brown.  The guides from the owl prowl were the guides for the nature hike.  What a neat job!  Something for retirement?  I liked the opening briefing.  The guides started out by talking about getting off the AUTO setting and moving to Manual.  Magnificent.  We walked around a bit, didn't appear to a set pattern.  Again, just good to get out of the house and talk to people.  Socially distanced people.

Since this was my first photo hike at For-Mar, and I could only guess what was going to happen, I spent way too much time over-thinking what camera/lens combo I needed.  The widest range lens I have is a 18-200 DX.  The first 'upgrade' lens.  Eleven years ago, I added that to my collection for use with a D90.  With all the upgrades in the last few years, that lens has not seen much duty lately.  Still a good lens.  So that was the front end on the D500 for the hike.  Most of the shots ended up being over 70 mm.  Next time out, the 70-200 will do.

There wasn't much going on, nature wise. What I do know about 'naturing' is that the critters are much more active at feeding time.  And 9:00 AM may be a bit late for the breakfast shift.  And middle of winter sort of cuts down on the residency numbers as well.  But there are full time residents.

Turkey Two Trot

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

105 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1100 (AUTO)

EV +0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

In aircraft terms, the Turkeys are in the T-6 class for me.  Big, slow, easy to photograph.  And somewhat colorful.  I stood still for a while, less than five minutes, and these two walked less than ten feet away from me.

During the hike, one of the hikees who wasn't watching where they were going spotted a solo hawk flying through the trees.  The entire group watched it for a while as it tried to keep us from watching.  At one point, the hawk was marginally close to us and this was the best I could get.

Far Off Hawk

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

200 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 (AUTO)

EV +0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

After the hike was over, I did some extra exploring.  Why waste a good Charlie Brown get up?  I found myself in a grove of trees with a lot of little birdie wildlife.  Small and fast.  Sport class.  Among the bird I recognized was the common Robin.  Lots of those around here.  And to be honest, I wasn't interested it wasting disk space on one.  But while I was in target acquisition mode, the Robin departed.  Definitely a press and pray.  I may have had the best shot of the day for me.

Robin Exit Flight

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

135 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 (AUTO)

EV +0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

And in the final category for the day's events, something new.  Cedar Waxwing.  I have never seen one before.  Or maybe I have and thought it was a Robin?  With the Robin shot and this one, I almost feel like a real birder.  If they only made the noise of two Pratt and Whitneys in full AB.  Probably better that they are mostly quiet in case they decide to buzz the house.

Cedar Waxwing

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

200 mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640 (AUTO)

EV +0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

All in all a real good day and a fun evening spent in the park.  Really need to take the big lens out there.  Time to get comfortable with a monopod.  And practice patience.

The Aperture Factor - Path to a sharper image

 Over the years I've had many philosophies on how to approach my everyday photography.  With every new venture out in the field, or new subject identified, that philosophy changes.  Usually just a little bit at a time.  Some time ago, I started to drift into getting the sharpest image possible.  That sounds bad, like I started with getting the most out of focus image I could and I would be happy with it.  Like all things photography, we're talking degrees.  If we understand how and why aperture is a factor in our environment - those degrees will start to fall in our favor.  And the path to a sharper image started.

First, what is aperture?  Aperture, along with shutter speed and ISO are the three main factors that balance our images.  Aperture is what controls the amount of light in the process.  In my opinion, in most circumstances, control of aperture is the most important factor in the balance.  You would think that in shooting my favorite subjects shutter speed would be my initial consideration, but it is not.  And I'll cover how I got to that statement.  

Technically, aperture is the term associated with the opening of the lens diaphragm.  Sorry if this takes you back to high school but the opening measurement is a geometry thing.  The measurement of the opening (area) is pi = radius squared.  Same for all lenses.  That number becomes part of the focal ratio.  It is the number we control in this ratio.  The second number in the ratio is related to the focal plane and some higher level physics that honestly confuses me.  So, since I can't do much about it - I ignore it.  But the focal ratio morphs into the term we associate to aperture setting, f-number.  The f-number is the reciprocal of the relative aperture (the aperture diameter divided by focal length (1)).  And in photography slang, f-stop.

And what a photographer needs to know in the field as a camera operator is the lower the number the camera displays the larger the diaphragm opening.

And what a camera operator needs to know in the field as a photographer is how the diaphragm opening affects the photographic process.

And here is where we get into degrees.  In some of these areas, we're going to get into trade-offs.  If you gain here, you might lose something there.  

What does having a lower f-stop value do for you?  Easy answer, lets in more light.  I'm a big fan of more light.  More light, faster shutter speed and lower ISO.  It's all good - except.  Yea, that pesky Depth of Field thingie.  I could probably do an entire post on DOF but for now at the most simple definition is DOF is what is sharp in a photo.  Small f-stop number, large diaphragm opening, short DOF.  Physics, nothing artsy about it.  

The characteristics of the lens are very important.  Your purchase of a lens is based on the max aperture (largest diaphragm opening).  The max aperture is part of the lens name.  I could devote another post on how to read how lens' name.

But DOF is the easy answer when asking what does the aperture setting control.  However there are other considerations when answering that question as well.  And this is where we get into degrees.  Most of the degrees we're talking about here can't be seen, unless you are looking for them.

A camera lens is designed to let light through.  But the last object on light's way through the lens is the restricting diaphragm which is controlled by the f-stop set by the photographer.  And that's where the light gremlins strike.  A small (maybe) list of other aperture setting characteristics.

Auto-Focus:  Most newer cameras autofocus with the aperture wide open.  Right before the shutter is activated, the diaphragm moves as selected.  If your camera's auto focus does not do this, as the aperture is closed down autofocus may suffer.  When looking at reviews for the 200-500, I considered Tamron and Sigma's lenses in the same category.  Many of the reviewers would go into AF and the best situations for each lens.  Again, degrees.

Diffraction: Diffraction is a physics concept that happens when the path light takes to the sensor is altered.  Light is 'managed' through the lens by various internal lenses.  The path is is even more complicated in a zoom lens configuration.  But light is managed until it hits the diaphragm.  You can think about light going through a lens like water going through a hose.  With no attachment at the end of a hose, water flows freely in a smooth stream.  Put any attachment at the end of the hose, and the water flow is altered disrupting the smooth stream.  From this analogy you can tell that the more restrictive the opening at the end of the hose, the more the water flow is altered.  In a previous discussion we had about noise on the sensor, this also disturbs the light on the sensor.  Remember, we're talking about degrees of disruption here.  A photo shot at f/22 is still useable.  There are situations where f/22 might be a necessity such as everything needs to be in focus.  But if you're using f/22 for something else, there are probably alternatives.  Diffraction isn’t a huge problem, but it exists. For me, I try not to drift above f/8.  I try to be conscious of what my DOF needs to be and change accordingly strictly for diffraction considerations.  But if I need to make the DOF tradeoff, I will.  And the photo will still be fine.  Just when pixel peeped, not as fine.

Added diffraction note:  There is a multiplied effect on a sensor smaller than full frame.  On my D500, the crop factor is 1.5.  With a full frame lens, 50 mm is 75 mm.  With a DX lens on the D500, f/11 would be roughly equivalent to f/17 in a full frame environment.  Not sure what the effect is when I use a FX lens on a DX sensor.  As most diffraction occurs around the edges of the frame, the smaller sensor takes it's light from the center of what light is let through the lens.  Edges are not captured because it falls outside the sensor area.  The situation is probably close to a wash.  Degrees again.

Lens quality/Aberrations:  Aberrations are fun to talk about.  For me, aberrations are issues with photos that I didn't cause by poor technique or over thinking the situation.  Aberrations for this discussion can be characterized as optical issues.  Stuff you can't fix.  Hubble telescope, original version, stuff.  As mentioned in the previous paragraph, aberrations are more common in the corners of the frame.  Some common aberration types are spherical aberration, field curvature, coma, distortion, astigmatism, color fringing.  So how does the aperture setting inflict this much damage?  Simple, the diaphragm blocks light by closing the light path area from the outside.  Take light away from the outside edges.  The edges of the frame is where the disruption happens.

Dust specs:  Dust specs tend to show up more with smaller aperture openings.  For dust specs on your lens, mostly DOF.  A dust spec that close to the sensor is a bit larger that a dust spec at 10 feet.  And dust specs will show up on a sensor at f/16 before they show up at f/4.

So what does this mean?  Take a breath.  It's all good.  If you need f/16 - use it.  But know what f/16 will cost you.  The photo will still be fine.  But if you are taking a landscape shot where you need full focus, you can use f/22 - or learn photo stacking.  If you want to block light, try a neutral density filter.  I try to keep my apertures in the f/3 to f/5 area.  And as mentioned before, I'm willing to trade a higher ISO for that setting.  I set my aperture first - which would make it the most important setting.

See how I tied that up?  It's all good.

Richfield Park Excursion

Woke up this morning to a surprise fluffy overnight snowfall.  A small amount of snow as forecasted, but there was more on the ground and in the trees than I expected.

When I see these mornings I recall my years when I really enjoyed winter.  I like winter these days, just not as cold or as long.  Back in the day, give me winter for 11 months out of the year.  Give me those nice walks on snow covers paths and streets.  Snow gives me that 'crunch' with each step.  Fluff, or not.  The sound, the feel and the peace.

So this morning, after clearing off the driveway I took off for Richfield park.  Home of the Richfield Eagle photos and the Richfield BMX track.  I was the first one there for the day.  Pulled up right behind the county truck that opened the park.  I'm guessing he was late due to plowing other areas.  I wasn't that early, but first is first.

And that reminded me of of being the first on the slopes.  With a few inches of fresh snow.  Nothing like it.

Back to the Park.  Beautiful drive.  In a way, a bit eerie as well.  In places, there was no color.  Just dark and light.  Silver.  Took me back many years.

The entrance to one side of the park crosses the Flint River.  Yes, that Flint River.  I saw this as I approached the bridge.  My first real shot of color in the Park.  What caught my eye was the white to greens and yellows and back to white.  Beautiful.

Winter Road to Green

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E

62 mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 1100 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL MODE, Size: FX

After crossing the river, I started to walk around.  Eventually I found my way to the bridge.  I figured a shot upstream and one downstream and move along.  Sometimes you just get lucky.  I think best shot of the day.

I like the whites and darks - and the shot color.  Awesome.

Flint River Winter Kayak

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E

70 mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 1400 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL MODE, Size: FX

With the overcast sky and the trees covered with snow, looks like a river of silver.

It was good to get out for a few hours today.  And a good photo.

It's a New Year!

It may not mean much - only 24 hours from this time in 2020.  But it is a big deal.  Mentally.

For the paying job, lots of good projects to keep me going through 2021.  I don't see much that will take extra weekend time.  That's good.  Will be able to get out more.

For photography I do have a few things for New Year's Day that need to be attended to.  Administrative stuff.

First, I have to change all my copyright information from 2020 to 2021.  I have a simple copyright statement set in the camera.  I also have a more elaborate statement in Photoshop.  I usually add the statement from Photoshop on my posted shots, but just in case I forget the camera statement will do.  And you would be correct in rolling your eyes at this point, yep if they're going to lift it the copyright won't stop 'em.

I also change my camera file names every year.  A few years ago I needed to come up with a method to segregate photos taken from different cameras.  Without using more directories.  I can set the first three characters in my file names.  This is what I came up with.  The first character is the year.  A=2018, B=2019, C=2020 and E=2021.  Yep, I skipped D.  One of Nikon's default file names begins with DSC.  I have plenty of older files that begin with DSC.  The second character corresponds to the event of the year.  The first event I go out to in 2021 will be A.  The next event will be B.  And the last character will be the camera, 5=D500 and 8=D850.  For each camera, that would be EA5 and EA8 to start the year.

I also reset the four digit values to start the year.  I haven't had to reset the counter during the year, but am not opposed to doing so.  I can see later in the year if I've gone to a few air shows and knocked out a few thousand shots at each that I might do a reset.  Not sure I'd take well to the camera doing a reset on its own.  Ha, and yes - I do think about it at that level.

I also take the time to check and update the firmware in the camera.  

In early December I saw both cameras had updates available.  For both the big update was for both cameras to accept CFexpress data cards in the XQD slot.  Theoretically a CFexpress card is faster than XQD - but at speeds that my cameras can't use.  And the price at this time is not any different.   But XQD is primarily a Sony thing and fairly proprietary.  The CFexpress may be more non-proprietary.  And I live by that.  So, won't be throwing away the XQDs just yet.

Other updates fix a flash issue on the D500, which I don't use, and menu changes in the D850.

So now that all that is done, the cameras are ready for 2021.  And so am I.  Bring it on.

Lemonade - Looking at 2020 in the Rearview Mirror

 And looking forward to 2021!

If there ever was a time to try to make lemonade out of lemons, 2020 was the poster child year to do so.

Travel restrictions and social distancing took a toll on my photography excursions.  

I missed out on what I'm trying to make as an annual trip to South Carolina in spring to thaw out from the Michigan winters - and take in an early air show.  I missed out on a trip to North Carolina, to another air show, but to be with family and the next generation's introduction to air shows.  And I missed out on the annual Reno Air Races trip.  I'd added something new for 2020, that was going to my own back yard to the Thunder over Michigan Air Show - Photographer's Package.  

There are no train, full size #1225 or HO scale at the Detroit Model Railroad Club, photos this year.

You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone.  (Big Yellow Taxi - I don't know the Cinderella version lyrics.)

I did get out to the Nature Refuge, when it was open.  The Park was closed more than normal early in the season.  More importantly, the outhouses were closed all year.  That's another issue.

I did get out to some equestrn.., - ah, horse related events.  The Barrel Racing riders got out after missing a few early season events and the Hunter/Jumpers soon followed suit.  I didn't mind going to those.  Outdoors and I could keep my distance as necessary.

I found two new interests - or a good way to spend an afternoon close by.  There is a BMX track less than 5 miles from the house.  And, within an hour away are some R/C Aircraft opportunities.  

I started to get into a full frame experience with a D780.  Problem was the camera was so different than the D500, both in design and menu.  So late in the year, swapped the D780 for a D850.  Much happier.  I also picked up a couple of trinity series f/2.8 lenses during the year.  So whenever I can get out and about more freely in 2021, lots of experimenting to do.

And in other experimenting news, I picked up a neutral density filter, 3 stops, primarily for prop driven aircraft.  There was some math involved to arrive at 3 stops, and appears I hit it right.  There was a low flight of T-6 class aircraft earlier this year and with the big lens at f/5.6 - the blur was excellent.  The only thing slower than a T-6 prop is a helicopter rotor blade.  Worry about that when it happens.

I don't have any 'best of' shots for this year.  Like every other season this year, there will be an asterisk by 2020.  But I do I have some favorites.  So, with the year in the rearview mirror:

(Flint Firebirds) Hockey:

I really enjoyed going to the Flint Firebirds games last season.  Arena is 15 minutes away and the ticket prices are just right.  The lights in the arena are OK for taking photos.  And the best part is you can bring in a camera.  No limits to the equipment from what I can tell.  I am looking forward to going again with the 70-200 f/2.8 lens.  The lens was built for this.  But the kit I had last year also did the job well.  I usually got to chat with nice people - the universal language of hockey.  And Flint hockey is pretty nice.  I was choosy on my seat reservations, picking different locations all the time.  Plus I could walk around.  These are two of my favorite shots from this year.

This first shot was a big surprise.  My seat was front row.  I'm not sure how this worked.  Right up against the glass.  Less than 4 feet away from me.  This happened so fast.  And it was in focus.  And it fills the screen.  And you can see the reflections of the Firebirds jerseys being worn by the people in the row across the isle from me.  Awesome screen saver.

For this next shot I was sitting right behind the net.  In this sequence I could see the play developing and coming right at me.  This is the middle of a three shot burst.  As with the first hockey shot, the glass is scratched and smeared with puck stuff and I wasn't sure it was a keeper past myself.  But showing it to others, the feedback was they didn't notice the distractions as much as I did.  They were focused on the subject.

I hear the OHL will fire up again this year.  Not sure if I'll be able to get to another game this year, but will certainly try to get out.  Looking forward to keeping the dream alive.

This next shot is of the Pittsburgh skyline, the weekend prior to the national lockdown.  The news was spreading that a lockdown was on its way.  Sad time, but a beautiful day to walk along Mt. Washington.  I had just received the D780 and had only one good lens for it, a 50 mm.  Still turned out great.  The barge was the icing for sure.

I use this shot for my work Zoom background.

When the D780 first arrived, I traveled to St. Joseph (MI) to photograph the navigation light.  This is a favorite spot for me.  Lots of water and subject.  The day was nice and sunny - the the light off the ice formations was really good.  I saw a few fisher people out on the walkway.  The ice cover walkway.  Anyway, I saw this pole against the railing.  Turned out well.

Freshwater ice.  Nothing like it.

I did get some shots of aircraft, very few compared to past years.  There were a few days where the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels were flying over cities to salute the first responders.  And for the Blue Angel's flight in Detroit, if I drove an hour south I would be at the northern most point for the published route.  As with any routes, it was a guess where the best sights would be.  Luck was with me, as they flew right over the parking lot where we were.  Being over a populated area, no AB sound.  But that's OK - I'll take what I can get.  Sound for lacking ears.

Seriously, that was overhead.  Directly overhead.  I almost fell backwards.

A few days later, a flight of T-6 Class aircraft were flying around mid-Michigan for the same purpose, to salute the first responders.  The T-6 class is my favorite photographic subject at the Reno Air Races.  Big, slow, colorful.  Photographer's dream.  But the class also has the slowest propeller rotation of the race classes as well.  Photographer's nightmare.  To help me along, I acquired a three stop ND filter - and this was my first outing with it.  If I calculated the stops right, we would see prop blur.

I think the ND filter worked.

To the Birds:

Early in the spring, we had blue birds at the house for the first time that I can remember.  This is shot right out of the office window.  The blue birds made a three day appearance, so I was ready on day three.  I had one shot, great shot, of a blue bird in a tree.  Except there was a wayward branch fight across the bird.  I'm pretty good at removing 'distractions', but it never worked right in this case.  But the sequence is worth mentioning in 2020, just to show there is other life.  Plus the wood grain on the house is interesting.

Meanwhile out at the Refuge:  The Refuge was closed for the lockdown for a few extra weeks.  But that too passed and the drive was opened up.  And the usual cast of characters were there.  No avian lockdown.  One of the first shots I could take was a heron with the 200-500 lens, and it wasn't that far off.  Crystal clear - sharp as can be.  And kudos to the bird, it stayed rock sold still.

Also at the refuge are a number of pelicans in residence.  They usually don't stray close to the road.  This year with the bigger lens, I could get to them and not have to crop too much.  This is a 'sleeper' photo for me.  When working with it, I was so-so on using it.  But when I see it full screen on the monitor, I'm very happy with it.  Lots of great colors with a cloudless sky.  And that sky reflecting on the water.

That's just fun.

And for this year's Eagles:  On the west side of the Refuge Drive, I saw an Eagle looking for a meal in the Shiawassee River.  The Eagle was perched in a dead tree over the river.  The Eagle didn't notice the car in front of me, and those car occupants returned the favor.  Lucky me.  The Eagle was close to eye level, or closer than I have been in the past.  I was there for about ten minutes.  Lucky for me, no trailing cars.

And after it was tired of sitting there, time to cruise for dinner.

I may never be in position again for shots like this.  Just amazed I didn't miss the series.

My best Eagle photo for the year, IMO, was taken at Richfield Park, just a few minutes away from where I live.  There is an active nest there, and it is a nice place to retreat to when I have only a few minutes to get away.  I didn't miss this shot.  I was afraid I did.  After taking the shot, I reviewed it in the camera monitor the is very small, but sharp.  I could zoom in on the bill and see it was in focus.  Very, very happy.  I showed this to a confirmed bird watcher in the club and his comment was you often don't see a photo of the Eagle in this position.  Keeper.

One of the events I looked forward to getting out to was the horse events.  They were the first to open up after the mandated lockdown.  They were outdoors, they were out in the open so I could manage my distance.  And they were in the sun.  I made it to a few barrel racing events and a few hunter/jumper events.  I have a lot of work to do on my future shots - right now I get too much uninteresting scenery.  I need to understand what a good frame is.  This first shot is barrel racing, and this is close to filling the frame.  Lot's of detail.  

From the Hunter/Jumper events, this was by far my favorite.  But needed a bigger lens.  Too much extraneous crap in the shot.  I saw the offset horse's head and how the rider was looking around.  Never the less, still a favorite on the screen saver loop.  And the ever popular all hoofs off the ground criteria is met.

And for the new subjects:  R/C Aircraft and BMX Racing.

So looking for things to do, these popped up on my radar.  For the R/C Aircraft, I was web surfing around and wound up seeing a near-by event.  And the BMX racing is just up the road, where I had seen the track before but never when it was in use.  Again, outdoor activities.

For the BMX racers, it is great to see an event that is open to people of all ages.  And to see the kids competing is just great.  And kudos to the pit crews.  

This first shot is just a couple of kids dueling it out on a practice lap.

On my first outing at the track, there were a few kids taking the 'big air' jump.  From where I was sitting I didn't have the right set-up to get a close up.  I would not make that mistake again.  And I would not see this rider combo again.  But I do like this shot - and on the screen save loop it is OK.

That high - on bicycles.  Wow.

There aren't too many restrictions on where I could go at the track and for this shot I could get pretty close to the jump - and somewhat lower so the jump was over me.  This just plain worked for me.

For the R/C Aircraft, I found my way to an event at a park close by, with a large lake, where I could expect to see a number of aircraft.  This was a four day event - where I could get to the Thursday and Friday flights.  The paying job ruled out Saturday and Sunday attendance.  Lots of fun watching flying craft and water, what could go wrong?

I learned a lot with some of these photos.  Usually most of my shots have one subject.  And that is all.  But with some of these shots, I have a somewhat secondary subject that fills in the story.  

There is a lot going on here and if there was a 'Best of' award this year, this would be in contention.  Less is more.

And with the same aircraft, one of the most interesting was the aircraft achieving flight and seeing the water returning to the lake, draining off the pontoons.  For some reason, this was very, very cool to me.

One of the R/Cs was just a very nice aircraft, personally to me.  The colors are right.  The same aircraft I saw when I was in Alaska years ago on Hood Lake, by the multiples.  But also as I learned, many of the aircraft are electric.  No noise, no smell on the electric ones.  When a gas powered aircraft was in flight, lots of fun to be around.  But electric or gas, the people piloting here were good.   Any way, the de Havilland Beaver in for a water landing.  Shot with big lens.

Lots of good action there.  The prop is not frozen, with electrics when the power is cut - no rotation.  I like the water action.

So what was my favorite shot of the year?  This is a sleeper, longshot.  And the shot wasn't a favorite until I saw it on the big screen.  This was shot with the D850 and the 70-200 f/2.8 combo.  Is that the reason I like this on the monitors?  Maybe.  The quality is just outstanding.  Aside from that, the frame of the shot works for me.  Lots of lines.  Lots of colors.  Good separation of the subject from the background with respect to focus.  This was just a surprise to me.

Didn't see a BMX taking shot of the year honors.  If there was such an award.

So 2020 wasn't all that bad.  Still, looking to a better 2021.  See yinz there.

Pixel Density - Does it Matter?

Way down on my list of photo concerns when composing a shot in the field is pixel density.  After all, after the camera purchase I can't adjust it.  It's not part of the "exposure triangle".  In fact, after the advertised pixel count - what is there?  And of course, the related male driven characteristic - more is better.  Right?

Like a good geometry test question, let's start with the givens.  Sensor Size.  Sensor size, by manufacturer, is always the same size.  FX (full) and DX (APS-C) have the same dimensions.  FX = 36x24 mm.  DX = 24X16 mm.  Most everything else is a variable.

Let's get to the pixel packing.  The more cows that are in a corral, the more dense the cows are.  (With due respect to Gary Larson and the Far Side, this is physical density, not mental.)  And in the same way, the more pixels in a sensor, the greater the pixel density.  And does this matter?  Is more really better?  Or just different?

So, with the given information we can conclude that higher the advertised pixel count, the smaller the smaller the pixel and the higher the pixel density.  So now we can equate higher pixel count is a smaller pixel.  Not all pixels are created equally.  Is that a surprise?  Or something you don't think of?  

Does pixel density matter?  Very simply - YES.  Can you do anything about it in the field?  No, other than to understand the concept and be mindful.

We're in the constant search for the sharpest possible image.  There are time when we're looking for blur, but that is an artsy thing.  So let's stay for the sharp thought for now.  A sharp image is an image where points of light exist on more than one pixel.  If a point of light exists on multiple pixels - not so sharp.

And what are the best ways to eliminate blur?  Assuming the blur is motion related and not a focus issue, increase shutter speed and better technique.  

As with most situations where there is more than one element involved, there are trade offs between the elements.  More pixels simply mean a sharper shot is possible.  And if that is true, a larger shot is possible.  But the trade off is you need to do something to keep that one point of light on a single pixel, simple terms - speed.

Is this all going somewhere?  That might be helpful?  Yes.  The higher pixel counts present a number of issues.  Increased files sizes, buffer size issues.  On the plus size, sharper images on a larger end format.  Some folks still swear by their 6 mp camera.  With proper technique and a small end format it will work flawlessly.  But the fact is you will not be able to get a wall sized portrait with 6 mp.  Most enthusiasts will top out at a 11 x14 print, which means you need 3300 x 4400 for a 300 dpi image.  Theoretically, you as an enthusiast could get by with a 14 mp camera.  No cropping.  But, 18, 20 or 24 mp camera - go for it.  For digital imagery, the math get more complicated.  And I don't do that well.  But I use a 27 inch, 1920x1080 monitor.  It was gaming quality when I bought it a few years ago.  These days, pretty average.  Anyway, video drivers do a great job with my cropped shots.  The upshot is, to me quality is best defined at the print level.  Which few of us use any more.

So what's the point of this?  The more pixels, the more chance to blur an image.  Or get a sharper one that the end format will not be able to tell.  Or make a wall print.  Those are pretty indisputable facts.  

I think that the more we know how the camera works, it benefits us in many ways.  Usually, in my case, it is for forensic purposes as to why the photo was messed up.  For me, the one element I start with is speed.  When speed is not the primary concern, then it is aperture.  ISO, as discussed previously, runs a distant third.  In search for the right speed, we all start at the SWAG Reciprocal Rule.  In my 35 mm days, this worked well.  The technology is so much different now.  Now, about the only thing the Reciprocal Rule is good for is maybe to double it.  For starters.  In the 35 mm days, a 1/400 sec speed was getting in the nose bleed areas - like anything over ASA 400.  Today's cameras have evolved where speeds over 1/1000 th of a second are a starting point for me.  And it all starts with the sensor - and the pixel density.

ISO - And related side effects

In a simple conversation, there are three elements a photographer controls to capturing the correct exposure.  There is shutter speed that controls how long light is exposed to the sensor.  There is the aperture setting that controls how much light is exposed to the sensor through the lens.  And you have ISO that controls how sensitive the sensor is.  The combination or balance of these elements determine how successful the photographer is with capturing the scene.

Before I get a mass revolt to this post about motion blur and Depth of Field (DOF), this is going to stay with the subject of ISO (and related side effects).  I will say that motion blur and DOF are artistic elements that factor in to a shot.  I just want to stay a bit more on the the techie side in the hopes that if you understand how ISO works in a digital environment, the artsy part will come easier.

What is ISO?

ISO is a very technical term that is used in a lot of engineering environments.  International Standardization Organization.  Kid you not.  For photography: https://www.iso.org/committee/48420.html

What this covers:
Standardization primarily, but not exclusively in the field of still picture imaging - chemical and electronic - including, but not limited to:

Definitions for still imaging systems; 

Methods for measuring, testing, rating, packaging, labelling, specifying and classifying the dimensions, physical properties and performance characteristics of media, materials and devices used in chemical and electronic still imaging;

Specifications and recommendations of logical and physical characteristics, practices, interfaces formats and metadata for still imaging capture, processing, and output systems;

Methods, measurements, specifications, and recommended practices for storage, permanence, integrity and security of imaging media and materials, and imaging materials disposition.

What this means:  Simply, when a photographer sets 100 ISO in the camera the expectation that the sensor will perform the same in Nikon, Sony, Canon, Pentax, etc.  Sounds more like a consumer protection value?  Yep.  The sensor is rated by its base ISO setting.  The base ISO setting is the lowest numerical value before you start getting to the LO settings if your camera has them.  For the prosumer class - it is usually 100.  That being said, my D90 base ISO setting is 200, the D500 is 100 and the D850 is 64.  As a consumer, this ISO value protects your buying decision.

What you really need to know is the value of your base ISO of your camera.  Have it set correctly on your camera's menus where it is needed.  All other ISO settings are really manufacturer stuff.

That's all well and good, but how does that help me in the field?  Why does it have a setting?  It does help in the sense that if you set a ISO setting of 200 in your camera that has a base ISO setting of 100, you are adjusting the sensor in a way that is expected and designed.

Moving away from the technical descriptions, how does this work in my camera?  And why does a higher ISO have all those squiggly lines in the image?

Hold the squiggles for a moment, we'll get there.  For dialing in higher ISO values you are making the sensor more sensitive to light.  These adjustments have the same effect as slowing the shutter speed or opening the aperture for controlling the light to the sensor.  

The light that is hitting the sensor at the base ISO is the highest quality light.  The sharpest image.  This is what the design engineers set as a target.  Colors are the best.  Tones are the best.  For each ISO setting above the base ISO, you trade quality for quantity.  More light for a lesser quality.  Images can be a bit softer with higher ISO.

Let's not get carried away with lesser quality light.  Each camera is different.  On my D500, ISO 1600 is very usable without post processing.  The D90 was about ISO 800.  Still looking for the D850 value.   With post processing software, you can add to the ISO value ceiling.

But, again, what are all those squiggly lines associated with higher ISO?  Simple answer - Noise.

For now, lets separate noise from ISO.  Noise is everywhere in digital photography.  Can't escape it.  For now, let's understand it.

First we have Shot or Photon noise.  Most of us common folk don't think of light at the molecular level.  To that extent, think of light interacting with the camera's sensor as tap water filling a cup.  Place the empty cup below the tap and start to fill.  Pretty violent, eh?  That is light hitting one pixel.  Think of many taps hitting many cups.  A little more violence.  Violence in this case equals noise.  Light does not hit the pixels evenly.  And what's more, the less light that is available to the sensor, the more violent the light on the sensor.  Add more light, decrease the light violence on the sensor.  You can lower the ISO.

Another source of noise comes from the camera.  Electronics.  With each new generation of camera, the wayward electronic fields are controlled or decreased.  This is the noise that can cause 'hot' pixels.  This is more prevalent in longer exposures.  A bright cluster of pixels in a sea of cool pixels.  Think nighttime shots.

In the end, what happens is the camera and the photographer need to add as much light into the photo to overcome noise.  

I've had discussions with some in the club who think that any shot over the base ISO is no good.  I, of course, beg to differ.  In any situation with less than perfect light, you have to choose your poison.  Trade a little of this for a little of that.  I'm always willing to give more ISO to get better speed and aperture.  Usually when I get in these discussions, my opposite number assumes that I start as ISO 1600 or so.  And that would be incorrect.  I would try to get as close to base as I can.  But.  In the case of shooting at an air show, I need (would like to get) speeds of greater than 1/2500 th of a second for shutter speed.  I like my aperture to be as wide open as possible.  If the photo is fuzzy, I can't fix it.  To me, speed and aperture will get me the the sharpest image to work with.  If there is a little noise or a little softness, I can work with it.  If I'm working with a train - and I need more DOF I may not be able to sacrifice that much shutter speed.  So I'm happy to come off the base ISO if I need to.  For most situations I find myself in.

The trick is to find the combination of shutter speed and aperture setting where the ISO overruns the noise, or can be easily corrected.   Practice, Practice, Practice.

Metering

I'm going to start with a deeper dive into the camera's metering system.  Metering is one of the last things I think of when going out to shoot.  And in photo review when I get back to base, if I missed nailing the setting correctly it shows.  And a lot of times I'm left to ask myself what was the camera thinking?

One advantage of a DSLR over a 35 mm is the DSLR can measure the amount of light that is on the subject and relay that information in some form to the camera operator.  35 mm?  Not so much. 
As light makes its way through the lens and is collected by the meter, the information is is used to set the important stuff, like you know, speed, aperture and ISO in the automatic modes or displaying the information on the exposure gage when in Manual Mode.  The camera is trying its best to make you look smart.  But the camera is technical, not artistic.  So technically the light settings are correct, but.....  If we were going for just technically correct, there would be only one mode to shoot in, AUTO.  Enough said.

To help us along, we need to understand the concept of middle grey.  (Or is it gray?)  Grey is what happens when you mix equal amounts of absolute white (0, 0, 0) and absolute black (255, 255, 255).  There are many thoughts as to assigning some number to middle grey, anywhere between 10% and 20%.  Most articles I've read settle on 18%.  (I ask myself why not 50%?  Well, it has to do with concepts like reflective values and higher math.  Means versus averages.  I saw one equation with a square root symbol.  WTF?  Photography is supposed to be fun, so I'm going with the overall concept and damn the details.)

FYI: 18% grey comes from the world of print and is based on reflection. An 18% grey card reflects back 18% of the light that hits it. And it is actually the geometric mean between white paper (95% reflective) and black ink (3.5% reflective).  Wasn't that fun?

What we do need to take away from this is every camera manufacturer has it's own shade of grey that it wants to meter to.  Proprietary.  And what metering mode we choose to use plays a great part in how the camera's light meter thinks of a shot.

The camera's metering system wants to make every shot middle grey.  Understand this, grasshopper, and the rest is (relatively) easy.

Why are all my snow shots dark?  A snow shot will trick the camera to an underexposure.  The camera sees all that light throughout the photo - and tries to make it middle grey.  The meter takes light away.  Poof.  #Trash.  And the opposite occurs as well.  I've come back from a sunny day at an airshow and all the military aircraft shots were a bit overexposed.  I was metering on a flat gray paint scheme, under a wing in the shade.  The camera tried to help me.  Thanks.

The simple fix of course is becoming friends with exposure compensation and knowing how much to dial in.  Too light - dial in a -1.  Take those highlights right out.  Need a little light, dial in +1.  Bring out those colors.

The real fix of course is knowing which mode gets you in the best position to succeed.   Practice, practice, practice.

The Nikon basic metering modes: 
Center weighted (Most used, been around for ever.)
Spot
Matrix
Matrix* - Matrix on highlight.

Center weighted mode is the place to start.  Center weighted metering would look at the entire frame and give most attention to the center.  Extreme close ups would be a good use for this mode.  I usually don't shoot center weighted mode.  Most of my shots are never close ups, and after I figured out why the military aircraft shots didn't come out as I expected - I've stayed away.  It is important to note that exposure lock doesn't work in this mode.  It is the center of the view.  On my Nikons, the center can be defined through the menu system.  You can increase the center area.  Or not.

Spot metering.  Name says it all.  In my opinion, this is the most difficult to master.  In Nikons, the 'spot' is tied to the center AF spot.  If the center AF spot moves, so will the focus point.  If the subject moves and 'spot' drops off the subject, you guessed it.  The subject isn't the subject anymore.  Could be frustrating.  I have better things to do with my time that get frustrated because I missed the metering point.  Spot metering would be good if you have a somewhat larger mid toned object in the middle of our shot, or what will be primarily in focus.  This would ignore other influences.

Matrix metering.  This is why we have electronics.  Multiple sensors in the camera, fast computing and for fun, adding color inputs.  And lets not forget about talking to the lens.  All this and more in Matrix metering.  Essentially the process involves breaking up the view into segments.  In the beginning there were a few segments, like five.  Now, there are over 100.  All of the segments are evaluated and the exposure process begins.  There are inputs from the AF mode and point.  The mode will take information from the lens, if capable, from focal distance and length.  And there's more!  There are also color considerations.  All this in 1/3200 second!  Or faster.  With all this information, the Nikon computer goes to work does the computing hocus pocus and sends the information where needed.

What to use and when?  Personally, I use matrix by default.  The mode works best with a wide spectrum of tones and colors.  I'm generally in the sunshine and targeting flashy colors.  If I'm shooting in the shade, real shade like heavy canopy, I'd start looking for other options.  

There is a lot going on with metering.  If you are using an AUTO mode and shooting JPG format, this is an element that can really help your photos - or cause you to wonder what happened?  there are a lot of articles available on the web.  Most are a lot more technical, such as the placement of the sensors. 

Hopefully we'll be able to meet again as a club and chat about stuff like this.  Soon.

I'm bored...

 I'm missing photography discussions that I would normally have with my photo club.  We are still banned from our meeting location amid Covid restrictions.  And I don't see a relaxation of the overall 'mandates' in Michigan - at least until mid-January.  Right or wrong, it is what it is.
So, I'm bored.  Post multiple games of solitaire bored.  So what to do?
Two things that come up when I do get a chance to chat with other hobbyists, is that we all have varying levels of knowledge and experience with the basic elements of photography.  And more importantly how our cameras process those elements is often in question.  At least in our club, most of the answers to questions relating on how to 'compose' a better photograph involve shooting in RAW format and fix the photo in post processing.  I'm guilty of that a lot.  A real lot.  To the point of not recognizing JPG files.  Call me a RAW snob.  That's OK, I've been called much worse.
My photographic journey has been a series of phases.  Who can forget the 'clown' HDR phase?  I'd like to, but it is a foundation.  The images will not be deleted.  And the 'shoot dark' phase - with a lot of correction in post processing?  Again, it is a building block.
In the last two years, I find myself 'chimping' after almost every shot.  Chimping is the not so subtle act of checking some form of information for each photograph after each shot.  My look involves looking the the photo histogram and general layout.  Am I fairly light balanced?  Do I need to dial in some exposure compensation?  Is my layout OK?  Do I need to get closer (zoom in) or did I lose something (zoom out)?
Love instant digital information feedback.
So with instant feedback, let's just try to get a better product to work with prior to post processing.  Our club spends a lot of time on post processing - and I'm part of that movement.  I don't apologize.  I'm now thinking we should have more time devoted to getting it right the first time.  And so to that end, I'm going to dust off some reference materials and dive into some of the elements of photography - basics.
I have led discussions within the club on how the camera's auto-focus works and the metering formats.  Instead of another game of solitaire or crossword puzzle, I will post some of the information from my past club discussions.  In my discussions, I limited many of the terms and modes to Nikon only.  I'm lazy, I get it.  So I will try to research the information for Canon, Sony and Fuji families as well.  Yep, I know a Fuji disciple as a friend.  Can't say I'm not inclusive.
So in no particular - and with no time table I will be posting my thoughts on the elements of photography.
If you google 'elements of photography', there are all sorts of answers.  So I'm going after the non-artistic elements.  I'm going after light and how the camera processes work.  I leave the artistic elements to others.
Seems like a good project to get me ready for the post-Covid era.  Already lining up air shows.

Iron Butterfly @ For-Mar

I'm certainly not a butterfly expert.  Only two things I can think of go with butterflies:  Iron and Effect.
I'm not sure if this is iron or not, but it is metal - not plastic.  Close enough for me.  The For-Mar Nature Preserve is less than five miles from the house.  The last time I've been there was a few years ago.  I really do need to get out more.

http://geneseecountyparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/GCP_ForMar.jpg

When I arrived at the Preserve, there was a sign that said Treehouse to the left, Butterfly House to the right.  I've seen the treehouse before.  Off to the Butterfly House.  Or the frame of the Butterfly House.  I almost walked past it.  It is a large frame that looks like a temporary greenhouse that would be covered with a heavy plastic tarp.  And now that we're in November, it is open air.  No butterflies.
To mark the house is a metal sculpture of a butterfly.  It is very nice.  I don't know enough about sculpting to offer any assessment other than, Hey - It's nice.  
But I know slightly more about the photo.  Wasn't easy.  It is dark.  On a sunny day.  Lot's of dynamic range between the sky and the underside of the sculpture.  I tried a few tricks in ACR, but noting came out that I liked.  When all else fails, I go to Photomatix.
Even though Photomatix has improved over the years to a most excellent program, there are still signs of HDR processing in this shot if you know to look for them.  I gave up the overblown processing a long time ago, it was fun while it lasted.  I use Photomatix these days only when I need more light balance that Photoshop will do, or when it will take a lot of time to balance the levels.  Call me lazy.  
In this case, some of the lesser settings in Photomatix gave a very nice image, but I just couldn't pull enough color definition on the sculpture underside that I wanted.  And to get what I wanted, made it look HDRish.  Moral of the story, get the shot right the first time.  Or next time.  I think the next time out would involve a tri-pod and a multiple shots HDR effort.  I also removed some distractions on the left, most notably the frame of the Butterfly House.  So next time out, frame it a bit better.  And a lesson for for general knowledge, look at the background.  It's easier to take two steps to the left than to spend time with artifact removal.

Iron Butterfly

NIKON D850 Ver.1.11/Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

27 mm, 1/400 sec, f/4.0,  ISO 64 (AUTO)

EV0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

For the next time, not sure what the DOF should be either.  It is tough to tell the subject is in focus, and the trees are blurry enough to be thought of as out of focus.  The colors of the trees and subject just give the eyes enough of a color break to help with distance.  In the end, not bad for a mistake.