From the Seashore Yesterday

[Lava Lamp]

Here are a couple more from the bird thread on viewfinder. Your comments and suggstions are appreciated. Taken with a D70 and Sigma 50-500mm, mostly at 500mm.

[gahspidy]

Interesting bird shots,LL. Brown pelican? I'm liking all of these but I'm favoring the top 2 images. The action was caught well and images are sharp. I like the water in the bg and in the top image it almost looks as if it could be dramatic skies with mountain tops at the bottom ( the tops of the waves at the bottom can appear to look like mountain tops in the distance) You must be using a very high iso as that is not a fast lens and zooming at 500mm ( which would be equiv. to about 750mm on that camera) would require a very fast shutter to capture the sharpness you have. Great job

[Lava Lamp]

Thanks, Gary. The first two were shot at f/8 with 1/1000 @ ISO 400 using Matrix metering.The last was spot-metered at f/13 and 1/3000. The biggest weakness of that the Sigma 50-500mm is slow (max f/6.3 at 500mm), but since I use it mostly outdoors in bright light, it hasn't been much of an issue. I like the lens a lot, but would only recommend it if someone wants 500mm reach with good optics -- it's not a do-everything lens IMHO/

[CLKunst]

Hey LL,

Great shots! My favorite is #3. What a beautiful job it does of showing you how really impressive the wingspan of a pelican is and such a detailed silhouette.

[Overbeyond]

The first two are first class INMHO. Seeing these birds in their own natural and dramatic backyard so to speak is a joy. So sharp at 500. Did you use a tripod? Not a bit of handshake that I can see.
Tom

[buckwild]

coming from a birdlover, those are great shots especially the first two, the sharpness of the birds and their natural enviroment behind them make em. the third does offer a unique view though.
-shawn