Wildlife park visit yesterday with new tele lens

I thought to compare the pictures taken with the new lens with those of the old one, I'd visit a place where I have previosly taken pictures. Been to this wildlife park in April and used my old tele lens, but now I really think the new one is much better! Yesterday, I was especially interested in the birds-of-prey show, because I wanted to try to capture the birds in flight. And it was the first time that it actually worked:

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...and some more pics:


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http://www.catmom.de/2012/saba_43.jpg

Just awesome photos!! Thank you so much for sharing them Kirsten.

Wow, those are amazing! All the birds in flight ones are soooo cool! I am never fast enough or patient enough to get anything like that!

Wow, they're absolutely beautiful!!

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Originally Posted by Bengalz

Just awesome photos!! Thank you so much for sharing them Kirsten.

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Thank you! :)

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Originally Posted by Karen

Wow, those are amazing! All the birds in flight ones are soooo cool! I am never fast enough or patient enough to get anything like that!

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It's true, it's tricky, and it's difficult, as I have to admit. I've got many failure shot here yesterday, either the birds were too fast and I didn't catch them at all, or the focus wasn't right and everything got blurry... You have to make sure that the exposure time is extremely short, and I used the AI servo setting to make the focus follow the movement. The first picture, btw, is my fave; I really like how this turned out.

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Originally Posted by Randi

Wow, they're absolutely beautiful!!

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Thanks, Randi! :)

Oh my God.... These photos are stunning, Kirsten... absolutely breathtaking! Thank you so much for making them and then sharing them with us.

God bless you,
Pat

*thunk* wow! We can see every ripple of feather on the open wings of the birds in flight! The bell, the traces (tracers? not sure which is the correct term), the face, beak and tip (one ends in such a sharp point!) just amazing to see.

Had a chuckle a the little lamb, "ear rub = BLISS!" ha haa.

Excellent pictures. Thanks for sharing these with us.:)

Beautiful! Is picture one and picture four the same bird?

Kirsten, they are beautiful. Thank you for sharing your talent.

Wow! You do amazing things with your camera, Kirsten!

Thank you so much for taking the time to look and comment on my pictures. :)

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Had a chuckle a the little lamb, "ear rub = BLISS!" ha haa.

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Yup, isn't that just cute? :love: He/she did that for a while, I took several pictures of that, and I just love the happy expression on his/her little face! :love:

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Originally Posted by Freckles

Beautiful! Is picture one and picture four the same bird?

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No, the first three pictures show a red kite, the one in the forth picture is a buzzard. :)

Kirsten, I am absolutely speechless! The beauty of every picture is awesome! You've caught so much detail that it made me feel like I was actually there. The pictures of the birds in flight are breathtaking. Being one who loves all animals, picking a favorite is simply not possible. But I am a bit partial to the sleeping cat (a leopard perhaps?)

Even with your "mistakes" your exceptional talent with a camera is beyond question! Thank you so very much for sharing your art with us!!!

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Originally Posted by momcat

Kirsten, I am absolutely speechless! The beauty of every picture is awesome! You've caught so much detail that it made me feel like I was actually there. The pictures of the birds in flight are breathtaking. Being one who loves all animals, picking a favorite is simply not possible. But I am a bit partial to the sleeping cat (a leopard perhaps?)

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Thank you! :) Glad you like them. :) The sleeping cat, btw, is a lynx.

Absolutely stunning pictures! Thanks for sharing them! :)

You always amaze me! This time is no different. All I can say is WOW!!!

Don't dare ask me to pick a favorite!

The pictures are so clear and beautiful. I can see you are enjoying your tele lens. I must say that I am learning from you on how to use the digital camera. Getting motion with a digital is difficult. Thanks for the lessons.

At the risk of repeating myself -- Kirsten your pictures always amaze me, you're an awesome photographer. Have you considered starting your own photography magazine, or art magazine, many painters would love to buy the magazines to have models on which to base a painting.
There are so many possibilities out there for your kind of talent.Thanks again for sharing your wonderful pictures...what a difference a lens can make.

These are pretty awesome pics! Love the Snowy Owl and the other colorful birds.

Thanks a lot for looking at - and commenting on my pictures! :) It's really amazing what a difference that lens makes. Right now, I'm a little worried as I tripped over a branch today and fell while I was holding my camera with that lens on in my hands... It didn't touch the ground, as I prefered landing on my elbow, hope that reduced the impact enough to not to do any harm... :(

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

.... I must say that I am learning from you on how to use the digital camera. Getting motion with a digital is difficult. Thanks for the lessons.

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Glad I could help! :) If you need some advice, feel free to ask. I'll gladly help, if I can. :)

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Originally Posted by Asiel

At the risk of repeating myself -- Kirsten your pictures always amaze me, you're an awesome photographer. Have you considered starting your own photography magazine, or art magazine, many painters would love to buy the magazines to have models on which to base a painting.

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Thanks for saying that, but honestly, these things are really difficult. You cannot start anything if you don't have any money to invest. Also, there are so many really good photographers out there, so many of them far ahead of me... really, there are many things I don't know, or that I still have to learn. I still have a long way to go.

These are stunning! I am so thankful you are willing to share these with us!