Off series: big bird

[Seb]

I went out for a shot with friends last week end and we ran into a gentleman who was shooting wildlife with a D200 and a gigantic 17 years old Tamron telephoto. This photog was kind enough to let me try his lense with my camera.

I can't quite remember the exact specs of the said lense, but it was an all manual, overly built lense in the 400mm range and I am pretty sure that it was a constant f/2.8

The focus is off (although it may not be that obvious in web displaying). Getting things rights seems to be tricky with such an extreme lense. Anyway, I liked the light so here it is.

Seb

[jbaldocchi]

Hi Seb,

I like this image, there's lots of detail in the darkness behind the bird. I think a little burning in on the bird might have punched it up a little. It almost looks stuffed.

Jim B.

[Greg McCary]

The lighting is great and the framing too. How far away was the bird?

[LeeIs]

how nice of him to hand you his beloved lense! 17 years with the same lens is like marriage.

On the bird, this one looks broke lol. (sorry if I offended any broke people, I'm one too ), I'm not a big fan of bird photography as is but I like the setting here.

And yeah the focus seems to be on the grass behind it. but nevertheless, it must have been a nice feeling holding that big ancient peice of glass.

[Seb]

Jim: I usually don't shoot birds (I just don't own the lenses for it) but I see what you mean here. That fella does looks strangely still. I can't say if it's their typical ways or not. Thanks for commenting.

Greg: I am not quite sure about the actual distance. I'd say roughly arround 100 feet. Thanks.

Leels: The owner of the lense told us that he was rejecting 75% of his shots because of focusing issues. There was apparently a focusing mechanism of some sort on older 35mm bodies which allowed dead on results with these manual lenses but that system doesn't exist on todays DSLR's. He his now seeking for a current generation 800mm Sigma (yes, he's a super freak lol)....

Seb