Category Archives: Wildlife Photography

Nikon D7200 first shots (with images)

March 28, 2015 by Toby Houlton | 0 Comments

I recently took delivery of the newly released Nikon D7200 and was keen to see just how it performed. Sod’s law of course that the sun has pretty much decided not to bother showing up on any day that i’ve had the time to try the camera out. Not to worry, it gave me a chance to try out the ISO handling and the improved low light autofocus. On a really grim day last weekend I headed to Feathers Birdcare in Salehurst as their hide always has something interesting to point a lens at.

First order of the day – overexposed sky shots to check the sensor was free of any dirt. Good start – all is well. Next shots were of the male pheasant that often wanders round the feeding area.

Male Pheasant closeup - D7200 + nikon 500mm f4, 1/800, f4.5, ISO 800

Male Pheasant closeup – D7200 + nikon 500mm f4, 1/800, f4.5, ISO 800

Very happy with the level of detail. At ISO 800 there is some noise visible but is perfectly acceptable – this image has not had any post production noise removal.

As the light dropped and the wind increased, the shooting became a little more difficult and I needed to bump the ISO up to 1600 to have a chance at freezing any details on small birds. My next obliging subject was a Dunnock that perched well and sat still while I got into position. I needed to half stand and hand hold for the next shot (VR helps a bit here – and yes I know there are questions about having VR running when the shutter speed gets higher) but it’s a good demonstration that ISO1600 should not be considered “too noisy”. The first image is a 100% crop from the RAW file. The second is around a 50% crop with some NR post processing and the last is the finished image. I don’t tend to put huge image files into my blogs purely because of the layout issues but can confirm the 50% image at full size looked great.

Dunnock closeup (100% crop) without noise reduction - D7200, 1/1600, f4.5, ISO1600

Dunnock closeup (100% crop) without noise reduction – D7200, 1/1600, f4.5, ISO1600

Dunnock at 50% resize crop. Nikon D7200 1/1600, f4.5, ISO 1600. Noise reduction applied (NeatImage in this case)

Dunnock at 50% resize crop. Nikon D7200 1/1600, f4.5, ISO 1600. Noise reduction applied (NeatImage in this case)

Final Dunnock image - Nikon D7200, 1/1600s, f4.5, ISO 1600.

Final Dunnock image – Nikon D7200, 1/1600s, f4.5, ISO 1600.

Unless you specifically need as little noise as possible in full size images (maybe for submitting images to agencies etc), ISO 1600 seems to be a perfectly workable choice. The majority of us out there tend to process for website use as opposed to huge prints so perhaps we worry too much about ISO capabilites and or restrictions. I’ll take high ISO, faster shutter speed and grainier images over lower ISO, slower shutter speeds and blurred / soft images any day!

Carrying on with the low light theme, later the same day my local foxes and badgers showed quite early and provided a great opportunity to try out the low light Auto Focus capabilities.

Firstly, the vixen came to see if any peanuts were on offer…(larger image available – click to view, click again to view largest, use back button to return to blog)

Red Fox vixen - Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200mm, 1/100, F/5, ISO1250

Red Fox vixen – Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200mm, 1/100, F/5, ISO1250

Far from ideal light but I found the autofocus was spot on every time. I was using an f2.8 lens which should be good in low light anyway but I don’t believe I had a single situation where the lens hunted to try and lock on. Very positive on first impressions. This next image has a slightly larger version also. This shot is the vixen chewing..no manners!

Red Fox vixen - Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200mm, 1/160s, f4.5, ISO1250

Red Fox vixen – Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200mm, 1/160s, f4.5, ISO1250

I’d like to point out here – when viewing websites like mine, it’s easy to think every shot is a “keeper” when actually that’s not the case at all. Shooting at such a slow shutter speed means that almost any movement will be blurred and lots of images will be deleted. This is just part of trying to get decent shots in these situations, take enough to up your chances of getting the subject sharp. Alternatively, get creative!

The light is dropping fast now as dusk creeps in and the badger (just the one this early) decides to see what’s on offer. The first shot is at ISO1600 and again the AF was perfectly happy locking on.

Badger - Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200mm, 1/100, f/4, ISO1600

Badger – Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200mm, 1/100, f/4, ISO1600

The (really) observant amongst you may have noticed that she (i’m sure this is a sow) has a couple of light spots in her eyes, often an indication that flash has been used at too direct an angle. That’s not the case here, I didn’t use any flash. Unfortunately I think this lady has cataracts and these are reflecting the little light that’s left in the sky. I’ve taken lots of images and they always show. My thoughts were confirmed when I saw her “misjump” when getting up onto our decking. She still does well of course, badgers rely mainly on their sense of smell and hearing so hopefully this won’t be too much of a handicap to her getting around and finding food.

One final shot – this taken at ISO2500. This is higher than I’d normally attempt but in the name of science….firstly a 100% crop from the RAW without any noise reduction. Notice the eye again.

D7200 Badger ISO 2500 no NR

D7200 Badger ISO 2500 no NR

And the finished image –

Badger - Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200, 1/125, f4, ISO2500

Badger – Nikon D7200, Nikon 70-200, 1/125, f4, ISO2500

I know this isn’t exactly scientific but I prefer to practice in situations that I will find myself in rather than shooting the same static image with lots of different ISO settings. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just that I can’t find enough time to shoot the subjects I enjoy already!

Hope you enjoy the images.

Also posted in Badger, Birds, Feathers Birdcare, Fox, Nikon D7200, Photography Tagged , , , , , |

Barn Owl photo frustration

February 8, 2015 by Toby Houlton | 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago a small escape was arranged for Sunday afternoon. With light winds, clear skies and sun forecast, my wife and I decided to nip over to Rye to attempt to improve on my Barn Owl shots. Anyone that knows me will be well aware that this is becoming a little obsession of mine. I’ve watched the owl(s) at Rye many many times but still hanker for that “special” shot. Anyone paying attention is going to see the title of the post and realise it didn’t quite work out that way…

First order of the day was to walk over to the hide at Castle Water to see what’s about. Never disappointed for views here (not always great for images though) and there were wildfowl everywhere. Due to the distance they often stay, I only took one or two “trigger happy” shots. That said, I’d like to use this image to demonstrate a point –

female Widgeon coming in to land

female Widgeon coming in to land

Although I would consider this an “ok” shot, this is a pretty heavy crop but still retains some decent detail. It was shot at 1/4000s, f5.6 (the 1.4 converter was attached) and an ISO of 640. The ISO may seem quite high given the sunshine and reasonable light but often the super-fast shutter is what makes a keeper. The fact it’s against a reasonable light background helps. A small amount of noise reduction can also help in post production.

There were a couple of birders in the hide and one other photographer. After a short watch we left, knowing that we would need to be in place and fairly hidden to try and catch a close-up of the Barn Owl. The sun was starting to dip and  the light was looking perfect.

It’s a well known fact that often what alerts birds to your presence is the human shape. To counter this, my wife and I sat down with my tripod in front of me and I draped my bag hide around it. With hoods up and hunched over I was hoping we just looked like green blobs and would be of no interest to the owl when (or if) it showed. The sun was now dropping fast but, as the law of sod would have it, in rolled the cloud and, along with it, some mist for good measure. Then right on cue the Owl did it’s first circuit. Unbelievable. From gorgeous golden light to dim and dingy inside 5 minutes. Instead of reasonable ISO levels with decent shutter speeds, the shots were taken at ISO1600 and 1/800s. With birds in flight, even the slightly larger ones, this is no where near optimal. One or two shots came out just ok.

Barn Owl in flight

Barn Owl in flight

Frustratingly, just as the owl flew up and past us, it veered off. When I looked along the path there was another photographer who had just been walking through at the right time (for him, not for me!). When he drew level and started chatting, I suggested he hide a little so we had a chance of another flyby, so Arthur (/wave!) nipped down behind us and we chatted while waiting for the owl to come back. It didn’t seem to be too long before it was up for the hunt again. The light was getting worse but the views were excellent. The owl was dropping down occasionaly so clearly there was prey zipping about in the long grass. After a period of a couple of minutes almost hidden in the grass around 100 yards away, the owl took flight and it was clear that it had made a successful kill.

Barn Owl with catch

Barn Owl with catch

Fly past with food

Fly past with food

 

Quite a bittersweet moment. Fantastic views of a moment I have never witnessed at such a close range but with the awful light I couldn’t really get the sharpness and detail in the image that I wanted as can be seen from the shots. So all the best laid plans didn’t quite play out as I hoped. I guess that’s what keeps me coming back as there is always more to see and room for improvement.

 

 

 

Also posted in Birds, Photography, Rye Harbour Tagged , , , , |