Middle Creek 2014 Part II-The Ducks

Ring-necked Duck: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS + 1.4 extender-ISO 400-1/800 Sec. f  8.0

 I encountered several species of ducks during my recent trip to Middle Creek, but as is so often the case  they were too far to obtain the best portraits .  Most of the photos shown today are severely cropped in addition to using the 600mm F4 with 1.4x extender.  All of the photos were taken in the pothole across Hopeland Road from Middle Creek Lake. The first three were taken with  the 5D MK III, while the 70D was used for the last one.

Wood Duck: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS + 1.4 extender-ISO 400-1/800 Sec. f  8.0

Most ducks at this pot hole do not fly at the sight of humans , but they tend to keep their distance when people are moving about on the roadside.  Human activity was so great on Saturday and Sunday that  waterfowl were usually some distance away, so I mostly shot video with the GH3 and the 70D, both of which can give good results on waterfowl in the far reaches of the pothole. This is because of the 3x Crop mode on the 70D, which  gives the 600mm and 1.4 extender a 35mm equivalent focal length of 4,032mm if my figures are correct.  ETC mode on the GH3 works much the same way.

There was much less human activity on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, which made still photography more feasible and it worked quite well to park the vehicle along the edge of the road and use it as a blind.  I prefer to use a tripod when possible, but it worked well to shoot handheld, resting the barrel on the lens on the window sill of the vehicle and with image stabilization engaged.  Waterfowl came to decent range at times, but mostly it was still a bit on the far side.

Widgeon: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS + 1.4 extender-ISO 400-1/1250 Sec. f  8.0

I have filmed and photographed waterfowl for years, but had not gotten a decent still photo of  a Bufflehead until Monday when several came swimming by and I took the photo below of a male with the 600mm and 1.4x extender on the 70D.  It is still cropped quite a bit to get the composition that I want.  The end result isa  257 dpi 12x8 file which makes an excellent quality print.

Male Bufflehead: Canon 70D-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS + 1.4 extender-ISO 400-1/800 Sec. f  8.0

Tuesday brought a change in the weather with a mixture of snow and rain for most of the day.  I will try to post photos of  the activity that day within the next few days.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Winter Continues

Most of the snow is gone , but winter continues with a vengeance here in southcentral Pennsylvania and temperatures are often in the single digits at night.. Ordinarily I have already been to Middle Creek at this time in March or planning to go within the next few days, but the PGC website reports that the lake is still mostly covered with ice and only a small number of snow geese are present.  This could change quite quickly, but at this point I am not optimistic about it happening anytime soon.

Snow Geese at Middle Creek-2013: Canon 5D MKIII-Canon 500mm F 4.0L IS-ISO 160-1/1600 sec. f 5.0

I checked on the snowy owls in Franklin County on February 18th, but did not see them.  As a result wildlife photography has been spotty.  I see a lot of whitetail deer and turkeys, but it is difficult to capture exceptional activity or poses. I captured a young doe browsing by shooting from the vehicle with the Panasonic GH3 and the handy Lumix 14-140 lens.  This rig is so small and light compared to the Canons with the L lenses that one hardly knows they are holding it. 

Yearling Doe Browsing: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 14-140mm@75mm-ISO 400-1/320 sec. f 9.0

For awhile the snow was covered by a thick crust, which made it hard for wildlife to survive.  During that period I found a fawn killed by what was apparently coyotes.  I first noticed it because I saw crows landing in an area where they are not usually seen, then I noticed the shape of a deer in the snow and saw they were feeding on it.  I took the following photo after sunrise, when the deer was easily visible.

Fawn Killed By Predator: Canon 70D-Canon 600mm F 4.0L IS+1.4x extender-ISO 200-1/250 sec. f 8.0 

I was in the area at dusk on the day before so this had to happen at night. This rules out an eagle kill, so it almost certainly was a coyote or a pack of them (I found where the fawn was first attacked and the animals fought with it and dragged it for over 100 yards).  At first I feared this was the beginning of a rash of coyote kills, but that proved to not be the case.  Soon there was a break in the weather, the crust softened, and  in no time the snow was mostly gone making it easier for the deer to find food and escape predators.

The snow melts first on the south facing slopes and I found this deer feeding in an area that is sheltered from the winds, but exposed to the rays of the sun for much of the day.

Mature Doe Feeding: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 14-140mm@140mm-ISO 400-1/160 sec. f 9.0

I used the GH3 in this case also as it was on the passenger seat beside me and ready to go.  This type of camera works especially well for filming and photographing wildlife in situations where it is feeding near the roadway and likely to run if one gets out and attempts to set up a tripod.  The 14-140 Lumix has image stabilization and it is possible to shoot  video clips handheld without the annoying jiggle and bounce that is so common in video shot without the use of a tripod.  It is especially effective at the shorter to medium focal lengths.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

The Leaves Change Color As The Whitetail Rut Begins

Many Pennsylvania nature photographers have commented that fall colors have not been as spectacular this year as usual and I have found that to be true here in the south-central portion of the state as well.  With that being said I did capture a decent fall scene last Thursday.  Wanting to travel light, I carried only the Panasonic GH3 and tripod with the 14-140mm Lumix lens mounted.  I also carried the 100-300mm Lumix in case I encountered wildlife.

Fall Colors: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 14-140mm@17mm- ISO 200-1/100sec. f 11.0

It seems that the GH3 does quite well as a still camera at the lower ISO settings and it is very easy to carry, but with that being said I still like to use the Canons for most of my still photography.

I have seen quite a bit of wildlife as well in the past few weeks.  One of the most memorable occasions was when I was watching a distant flock of gobblers in a portion of a meadow that was dry enough for the farmer to mow this summer. Since the fall rains it is now a wetlands and  some of the gobblers were drinking from the pools of water among the grass. The image is severely cropped to give a more dramatic composition.

Gobbler Drinking: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 400-1/250sec. f 8.0

The whitetail deer rut was early last year and I had seen a lot of bucks chasing does by the middle of October, but things have really been slow this year and there has been little signs of the rut until lately.  I have noticed that in the last few days the young bucks that are still traveling with the family groups are showing rutting behavior.  It is amusing to watch these little fellows acting aggressive.

Yearling Buck Performs lip-curl: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 400-1/320sec. f  4.5

On October 25th I saw the first buck chasing a doe.  I did film the chasing with the Panasonic, but the stills I got with the 5D MK III and the 600mm were only portrait shots.  This was a buck I had not seen before and is either a larger than usual (for this area) yearling or is a small 2 year old.

6 Point Buck Pauses From Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 3200-1/200sec. f  4.0

The light level was low enough that it was good to have the MK III's excellent high ISO capability.  I was hidden behind a hay bale, but the buck still caught the movement as I switched from the video camera to the still camera. He soon lost interest in me and began chasing the doe again.

6 Point Buck: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0-ISO 3200-1/160sec. f  4.0

He evidently got the leaves in his right antler from horning the ground, which is something I would liked to have seen and recorded.

I enjoy photographing almost any species I can find, but I have been fascinated with the whitetail deer since a young age and they are my favorite species to film and photograph.  Each year I especially look forward to filming the excitement of the fall rut when bucks that are ordinarily shy and hard to see are suddenly everywhere running about after the does.  It will be interesting to see what buck sightings the next few weeks bring.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Pennsylvania Bull Elk Fight-2013 Rut

Where The Fight Took Place: Canon 70D-Canon 70-200mm@ 200mm  f2.8 IS II-ISO 200 1/250 sec. f 5.0

Today's post features a 4min. 18 sec.video, "Pennsylvania Elk Rut 2013", which is some of the better shots from my recent two week trip to elk country.  The clips were taken entirely with the Canon 70D and the Panasonic GH3.  The video is based around a dominance fight that I filmed during my first week there.  Here is the story of the fight.

It was warm in the afternoon of Wednesday September 18th when I arrived at the Porcupine Run-Winslow Hill viewing area with the thought in mind that even though it was too early and too warm to have much chance of seeing elk that one couldn't see elk if they were indoors.  Another factor to consider was that it was good to get an early start and take it easy walking into the back country to a good vantage point and wait for activity to start.

Just before 3:30 pm. I found fellow photographer Charlie Cropp at the upper Gilbert Farm food plot and stopped to talk to him.  In short order wildlife artist and photographer David Anderson also stopped by.  I told both of them that there was little chance of seeing anything right now as elk are best seen in early morning and late afternoon and filled them in on my strategy for the evening.  Shortly thereafter one of them pointed out a few cow elk at the edge of the food plot.I still didn't expect anything noteworthy to happen, but then more and more cows spilled into the field and a bull bugled down over the hill out of sight of the field.  At this point we frantically set up cameras and tripods and I began filming as beautiful 6x6 followed the cows into the meadow.   At 3:33 a 6x7 wearing a brown radio collar came out of the woods, charged down the hill and locked antlers with the 6x6.  In all I filmed 7 minutes and 25 seconds of footage counting from when I started the camera running on the 6x7 running down the hill to fight the 6x6.  I paused the camera a few times during the encounter to change some settings, but these pauses were very brief so it is doubtful that the entire encounter lasted 8 minutes. I filmed 5 minutes 18 sec. of actual antler contact, which of course would be a bit longer also, but it is likely there was no more than 6 minutes of  contact.  At the end the 6x6 broke contact with the collared 6x7  and fled from him.

After The Fight: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 500mm f4 IS-ISO 100 1/500 sec. f 5.0

What is amazing is that the  bull that "lost" the fight went back to chasing the cows as though nothing happened. One concentrates on filming what is before them so I am not sure, but it is my impression that the "victor" continued to chase cows in the area, but not in a position that I could photograph and film him.  It could be that although he made the 6x6 give way, it was such a traumatic experience for him that he wanted no more of fighting for the day.  Also it is likely I would not have recorded the victor because of the brown collar, when a more photogenic bull was right in front of me.

At this point I will not comment on what camera took specific scenes in the video. Hopefully that will be a post for another day.  It is generally accepted that the GH3 is better for video than the Canon DSLRs excepting for the 5D MK III.  The truth is their is a lot more to this than just which camera can record the better image. To have a meaningful comparison the shots must be under tightly controlled conditions and often the clips that are posted to prove one cameras' superiority do not meet that standard.  These clips were of course not taken under controlled conditions, but rather in situations where you were trying to make the best of a less than ideal situation.  For example, there was plenty of light to film the fight, but it was very harsh and glaring.  At one point I was zoomed in very close on the bulls and mirage (heat waves) are very visible on a large screen HDTV, but does one avoid this type of dramatic shot, just to avoid the heat waves.  Fortunately  most of the shots did not have a problem with this, but it would have been much better in early morning or late evening light. 

In another case you will note two bulls that never quite come to combat, but rather touch antlers a few times.  This was taken at 7:44 in the evening at ISO 3200 and 1/30 sec. f2.8, which is nearly dark at that time of year..  Ideally one would use both cameras with the same or similar lens in this situation and compare the quality. These two clips do look a bit heavy and dark, but that is on purpose because that is what it looked like to be there.  It looks perfectly acceptable to me on an HDTV, but it may not to you.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
 

The Canon 70D-First Impressions

Canon 70D with 300mm f2.8 IS

I purchased my first DSLR back in 2003,when most were still shooting film and digital photography was just beginning its' rapid rise to the forefront.  That camera was a Canon 10D,  a 6.3 megapixel camera, which if I recall correctly had an ISO range of 100-1600.  I stuck with this range of camera for several years, but I didn't buy each model that came out.  I passed on the 20D and 50D, but used both the 30D and 40D extensively.  Canon changed things with the introduction of the 7D in 2009.  This camera had a more professional feel and features than the 50D. With the advent of the 60D it became clear that Canon had in effect replaced the 10D-50D type camera with two different types--a higher end one (the 7D) and one that didn't have as many features or quite the professional feel, but was a distinct notch above the Rebel line in this aspect.  With that being said, the 60D was and is a great APS-C sensor camera.  Perhaps the greatest loss was micro-adjustment which was introduced in the 50D, included in the 7D, but not in the 60D.

In 2011 my main camera was the 7D, which was usually mounted on one of the big telephotos with the 40D being used with the 70-200mm, etc. so that one could cover a variety of situations without changing lenses. Since I am primarily a video shooter, in the spring I decided to replace the 40D  with another Canon that shot video.  A flip-out LCD is a decided plus for video so I was going to get a 60D, but then I found that the recently introduced T3i (600D) had a 3x crop mode that made extreme long range wildlife video recording possible. Since Canon had discontinued the XL-H1 type of camcorder that excelled at this, I was on the lookout for a technology that would give me the long range ability so there was no difficulty in selecting the T3i over the 60D.  The 60D is a more solid feeling camera and I prefer it for still photography, but since video was to be my primary use, there was no regrets.

I thought that Canon would improve on the 3xcrop or 3x-10x digital zoom principle and incorporate it in most if not all future models, but I was disappointed to find it was not in the 5D MK III or either of the two Rebel models that followed, the T4i and the T5i. Although they did introduce auto focus in the T4i this was not of interest to me without the 3X crop mode.

I got the 5D MK III in May of 2012 with its' primaryuse to be as a still camera. I found it had the best video quality of any of the Canon DSLRs I had tried so far, but it was sadly lacking in reach for long range work on whitetail deer, birds, etc.  In the meantime I had read many positive reviews of the Panasonic GH2, which was reported to have better video quality than the 7D, 60D, and the Canon Rebels.  I found this to be the case and used a GH2 for  long range video work from July 2012 until late  January of 2013 when I got the Panasonic GH3.  This camera  had even better quality than the GH2.  Another plus for the Panasonics is that they have decent autofocus in video mode when lenses such as the 14-140mm Lumix or 100-300mm Lumix are used. With that being said, I am not sure they have better video quality than the 5D MK III. They are a definite cut above the other Canon models we have mentioned in this respect; however.   but in my opinion the Canons win hands down as  better choices for still photography..

Canon 70D Equipped For Video With Canon70-200mm IS II L and Rode VideoMic Pro

 It was certain that I would try a 70D at some point when it was announced that it had "advanced movie digital zoom". This turned out to be a 3X-10X digital zoom like that on the T3i, although with the T3i they played up the term, "3X crop mode"instead.  Digital zoom has always left a bad taste in my mouth in traditional camcorders, etc., but this is somewhat different as at least on the T3i at 3x it is supposedly reading the central portion of the sensor to record a full HD 1920X1080  video file.  I am told that in actuality it is not quite full HD and is upscaled a bit, but it is still close enough that it does give very  acceptable video.  Based on limited experience comparing the two cameras so far it seems that the 70D digital zoom is the same as that in the T3i and is very usuable at 3X so it is likely actually the 3X crop at that point. On both cameras once you go past 3X you are into the same negative that has always existed with true digital zoom in that you are enlarging pixels and the image rapidly downgrades as the power is increased so I do not think it is usable for serious work past 3X. I do think the 70D  video quality is a bit better than that of the T3i, but there is not a tremendous difference at the lower ISOs. It seems like it gives significantly better performance at the higher ISO settings, but I am not certain of this yet. I will post no video clips today, but hope to do so after I do more testing.

70D Back View-Note 3.0"vari-angle LCD, video mode selector around record button

Perhaps the biggest news about the camera is the use of a  "revolutionary autofocus technology that unlocks the potential of Live View: Dual Pixel CMOS AF. This game-changing technology allows the EOS 70D to capture video in Live View with smooth and precise autofocus similar to that of a camcorder, complete with the superb image quality that is a hallmark of EOS cameras. Additionally, Dual Pixel CMOS AF provides fast and accurate autofocus during Live View still image capture, enabling you to fully benefit from the freedom of angle allowed by the Vari-angle Touch Screen 3.0-inch Clear View LCD monitor II. Compositional options are now nearly limitless with the two real-world choices of Live View and viewfinder shooting" as Canon describes it on the Canon USA Website. 

Whitetail Doe: Autofocus In Live View- Canon 70-200mm f2.8 @200mm-ISO 100-1/320sec. f 5.0

In my limited experience it does seem that they have taken the use of live view for still photography to a new level.  Gone are the days of lengthy hunting for focus in live view mode.  I like to shoot video with the camera on a tripod and about waist level or slightly above with the LCD tilted for easy viewing in that position.  Now taking stills is as simple as switching from video mode to your favorite still mode and pressing the release button.  Focus is rapid and accurate.  You could actually remain in video mode and capture the still for even less hassle, but I use different the Standard picture profile for stills and Neutral profile for video so I do like to change the mode button if possible.  In addition the camera focuses very well in video mode and compares favorably to the Panasonic cameras.  It will take more use to develop a final opinion.  One minus is that the Canon cannot use the new autofocus technology in the digital zoom mode but reverts to the old method, which will not track motion. Regardless of this, it still seems to focus reasonably well and will remain on the subject without hunting about until one presses the shutter release to refocus it. Once  focus is set you can press the movie button (it will not cause the camera to refocus ) and you can film in good focus until the subject moves and then you can either stop the camera and press the shutter button to auto focus or you can try to adjust focus manually while the camera is running, which seems to work reasonably  well.

While autofocus in video mode brings a significant gain in ease of use it does create problems with getting good sound.  Only Canon STM lenses are silent focusing.  At this point only a few are made and none are large telephotos or L lenses, so the vast majority of Canon lenses make a noise while focusing that is easily picked up by the internal mike or shotgun mikes mounted in the accessory shoe.  To date I have tried the camera with the 70-200mm f2.8 II L, 24-105mmf4L, and the 500mmf4 IS L. The 70-200mm is the quietest with the 24-105mm running a close second.  The 500mm f4 is very noisy, but still focuses quite well.  The bottom line is one needs to get the mike off of the camera for best results in situations where audio quality is critical. 

Most readers are likely more interested in how it performs as a still camera so I am posting a few stills.  I realize that perhaps I should post comparison shots between different camera models, etc., but at present time constraints prevent me from going into it this deeply and it can be hard to judge quality differences in internet photos and video anyway so here are some photos to give you a general idea of what to expect with this camera.

Mature Gobbler Late Evening: Canon 300mm f2.8-ISO 400-1/200sec. f2.8

Wild Turkey Hen in Morning Sunlight: Canon 300mm f2.8-ISO 400-1/640 sec. f4.0

All in all the 70D seems to perform quite well in good light.  The 5D MK III seems to get a higher percentage of photographs in perfect focus, but the 70D does quite well.  I think that those that are used to the 7D and the 60D will find the camera very acceptable, but I doubt they will notice a terrific improvement in still image quality, although the inclusion of micro-adjustment should give it a sharpness advantage over the 60D in some instances.  Of course there should be some gain in quality because of the 20.2 effective megapixel sensor vs the 18 effective megapixels of the 60D and 7D.  In addition there may be some gain in quality due to the DIGIC 5 processor of the 70D v.s. the DIGIC 4 of the 60D, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

The shot below was taken early in the morning and although I could have gotten away with using a lower ISO by going to a lower shutter speed, I wanted to get a general idea of how the camera performed at ISO 1600.  The image is also cropped a significant amount. Noise is noticeable on a large monitor.

Fawns Grooming Before Sunrise: Canon 300mm f2.8-ISO1600-1/500 sec. f2.8

When using the noise reduction tools in Photoshop, one must choose to have the image as sharp as possible, reduce the noise as much as possible, or find an acceptable compromise between noise and sharpness. The image above was the best I could do with noise reduced somewhat and the image being somewhat soft in the fine details. Whether right or wrong, I turn all in-camera noise reduction off and rely on Photoshop for noise reduction processing.

The bottom line is that based on my limited experience with the 70D I think it is better at handling high ISO settings than the 7D or the T3i, but I never used the 60D so have no opinion on that.  It does not do as well as the 5D MK III at high ISOs, but that is to be expected.  Over a period of time a much clearer opinion of its' capabilities will emerge, but for now it does seem like a good camera for the price range. It will be interesting to experiment and compare it against the other cameras that I use.  At present my favorite still camera is the 5D MK III and the video favorite is the GH3.  It will be interesting to see if that is still so a month from now.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

As Summer Winds Down

Cardinal Flower:  Canon 5D MK III-Canon 70-200mm f2.8  IS II-ISO 100, 1/60 sec. f 11

August, the cardinal flower is in bloom, the grain fields are harvested, with only the corn yet remaining.  Fall is just around the corner. As August nears its' end the fawns still have spots. I have not yet seen a buck that has shed his velvet, although most if not all of the bull elk have already done so, and the bugling is starting.

Fawns Still Have Spots: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 70-200mm f2.8  IS II-ISO 400, 1/320 sec. f5.6

Whitetail bucks are also showing the first signs of the approaching rut.  Surprisingly this young three point and a spike have been lip-curling frequently, but I have not yet filmed a rack buck doing so this year.

Lip-Curl:  Canon 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 L IS-ISO 200, 1/500 sec. f 5.0

So far the rack bucks are still feeding in the same spots I have seen them all summer, but sightings are not nearly as consistent now and soon most of the younger bucks that have not yet dispersed from the family groups will do so.  

Unusual 9-Point: Panasonic GH3-Canon 500mm f 4.0 L -ISO 400, 1/80 sec f ?

During early and mid-summer the bucks are attracted to farmer's grain fields and for a time after it is cut they continue to graze in the stubble.  If grasses such as clover and alfalfa are planted in the stubble they may continue to graze on this indefinitely, but in other cases they will likely move on to more desirable food sources.  They may be difficult to see in the fields after the acorns fall in a year with a substantial mast crop.

Wild Turkeys are also seen in the meadows from time to time as they feed on weed seeds and insects. In this case I pressed my old Canon FD 85-300 f4.5 lens into service.  It is mounted to the GH3 with a Novoflex adapter.  I used this lens extensively for a short period on the GH2 and GH3, but I liked the auto-focus on the 100-300mm Lumix for mid-range general purpose work and it could not compete with the 500mm F4 for extreme long range work, so it spent all of the summer on the shelf until I decided to use it one evening last week to re-evaluate my impression of it.  Bottom line is it is OK, but I don't think I am going to be using it a lot.

Distant Gobbler Flock: Panasonic GH3-Canon FD 85-300 f  4.5 -ISO 200, 1/60 sec f ?

The GH3 and the 500mm deliver respectable results at unbelievable ranges, but there is still nothing quite like having the bird in close, but that requires either a lot of luck or a lot of hard work and patience as they are very shy.

Mature Gobbler:  Canon 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 L  IS -ISO 640, 1/400 sec. f 7.1

One could reasonable ask why I used ISO 640 in good light, but the situation developed quickly and I forgot to check the ISO.  The good news is that 640 looks very good on the MK III and does not diminish the quality.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Summer Whitetails

Whitetail Buck Feeding in Oats Field: Panasonic GH 3-Canon 500mm F4 I-ISO 400 1/80 sec. f?

 I have frequently expounded on the subject of bull elk and whitetail bucks spending most of the year either alone or in bachelor groups, with mid to late-summer being the time when these groups seem to be the most visible. Whitetail bucks are especially difficult to see in summer if they remain in the woodlands, but as summer gets underway and small grains ripen,  the bucks become much more easily visible as they visit fields in early morning and evening to feed.  Corn attracts them as well, but the deer are not easily visible in the tall corn. Quality grasses such as alfalfa and clover may provide sustained whitetail sightings throughout the summer, but it seems the best opportunity for seeing a lot of bucks is when the animals concentrate at a grain field.

Barley is the first to ripen in late June to early July, while wheat comes a bit later, and oats peak by late July and early August.  If these grains are in food plots devoted to wildlife where they are left stand, then viewing can be excellent for an extended period, but in the case of grains planted in commercial farming operations, there is a short window of peak opportunity.  There is little use of the grain while it is still green, but grazing increases as the grain gets that "golden" look and peaks about the time it is ready for harvest.  Any delay in harvesting means a monetary loss to the farmer so the grain is cut as soon as possible after it is ripe.  Animals may continue to graze on forbs and grasses, in the stubble ground unless the farmer immediately plows this down, but if other grains that mature later are in the area, the animals will concentrate on each variety as it reaches its' peak period of attractiveness as a food source.

One farm that I watch provided good whitetail video opportunities at a wheat field, but the farmer had planted bearded wheat to lessen its' attractiveness to deer and it worked to a certain extent.  I still saw some good bucks, but they were always at long range.  Soon that field was harvested and activity plummeted, so I shifted my attention to a nearby field that was divided between grass and a strip of oats.  Several whitetails were using this, but most of the bucks were small and they were quite spooky. There was one nice eight-point and I watched for a few mornings and evenings before I  got a fairly close shot at him with the 500mm F4 on the evening of July 24th, but he was still far enough away that I cropped the image significantly to get the composition I wanted.

Eight-Point In Oats: Panasonic GH 3-Canon 500mm F4 I-ISO 400 1/60 sec. f?

Soon the oats were at their peak, and whitetail sightings increased dramatically, but this was not to last, as the farmer finished cutting the barley and wheat in the area and it seemed likely this field was  next on the agenda when I arrived before dawn one morning to find the combine and baling equipment parked in a staging area convenient to the field.  That morning yielded some good video clips, but no good still opportunities.

I was certain the oats would be cut on the next morning, but decided to go there anyway as deer would still likely be found in the stubble at dawn. I parked my Bronco and walked through the staging area on the way to my stand at the edge of the oats field. The large tractors and combine looked like  prehistoric monsters as I passed by them in the faint light of early dawn.   To my amazement they had not been moved since my last trip and it turned out that the field was not yet cut. This morning was simply amazing.  I am not sure how many bucks I saw, as some moved across the field rapidly and at a distance, but there were several rack bucks.  Counting spikes and four points there had to be 10-12 bucks in the field that morning.  Soon most of the deer had left the field, and the first rays of the sun were touching the highest part of the field when a nice buck walked into the field almost 400 yards away, soon to be followed by another.  The action broke my way this time and the bucks came across the grass to the oats strip and  began feeding.  The only problem was that they were still 200 yards away.  This is great for video, but is a bit far for good still photos.  I already had the 1.4X extender mounted on the 500mm, so I shifted the GH3 to still mode, and took several frames of each buck.

Wide 7 Point: Panasonic GH 3-Canon 500mm F4 I-ISO 200 1/60 sec. f ?

High-Narrow 7 Point: Panasonic GH 3-Canon 500mm F4 I-ISO 200 1/60 sec. f ?

As it turned out, the combination of the 500mmf4 and 1.4x extender on the GH3 did a very creditable job of capturing the bucks, This was the last morning to film and photograph the bucks before the oats was cut.  On the following morning it was a stubble field with windrows of straw running through it. There were still a lot of deer  for a short time after day break, but the light was flat as the sky was milky from an approaching front, and none of the bucks got in position for still photographs, although I did a lot of video filming.

These bucks were not as large as the best Shenandoah National Park has to offer but they were 148 miles closer to home and best of all they did not have the horrible collars that have been inflicted on many of the Shenandoah deer since last summer.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Evening Encounters and Fast Lenses

Young Bull Elk With Bachelor Group of Whitetail Bucks in Background: GH3-Lumix 14-140-ISO 800-1/30 Sec.@  f6.3

In many cases wildlife that is seen away from the tourist areas on Winslow Hill is much more shy than that seen at the viewing areas. In some instances, even the same elk that are quite trusting at the viewing areas are more wary when you encounter them in other areas and the whitetail deer are usually hard to get up close wherever they may be found.  This is one of the reasons that I love the ability of certain video cameras to really reach out.  It has been especially fortunate that some DSLRs have gained the ability to film at long range in recent years, and in some cases this translates into better performance on long range still photos as well.  I have really fallen in love with the Panasonic GH3 for this very reason. Overall, it  is not in the same league as the 5D MK III as a stills camera, but it is capable of doing some fine long range work.  The camera features a Micro 4/3 sensor, which is the equivalent of using a 2X extender on a full frame sensor camera such as the 5D MK III, but while a 2x extender makes a 300mm f2.8 the focal length equivalent of a 600mm f5.6, the 2x crop factor sensor of the GH3 gives one the same reach while still retaining the f2.8 maximum aperture.

Long Range Bull: GH3-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L-ISO 200 1/50 Sec.-severely cropped

The downside is that the Panasonic lenses are not as good optically as the  Canon L series lenses and the telephoto zooms that are available for these cameras are not fixed aperture lenses, so they usually start at a maximum of f4 when at their widest setting and go to smaller apertures such as f5.6 or f5.8 when zoomed in to the maximum.  This is somewhat offset by the Panasonic lenses performing much better than expected in comparison to the Canons because it seems there is some sort of electronic optimization between the Panasonic lenses and body that maximize performance and good high ISO performance means they do allow one to film reasonably late in the evening, but once can film or photograph even later with the fast lenses.  The bottom line is that I really like the Panasonic Lumix 14-140mm.  It takes blistering sharp stills and video and the auto-focus even works reasonably well for video.  The 100-300mm does reasonably well on video and stills, but the Canon primes beat it hands down for sharpness in both still and video modes.  It is very bad at hunting for focus in certain situations so I use in in manual focus mode a great deal of the time, which means that the lack of auto-focus with the Canon lenses on the GH3 is not a big minus when comparing them to the 100-300mm.

As a result, I usually carry at least one Canon L prime lens along and on my first back-country trip last week, I carried the 300mm f2.8.  When it was not mounted on the camera, I carried it hanging from one shoulder by the lens strap, while on the other shoulder I carried a camera bag for spare batteries and  lenses ( Panasonic Lumix 14-140mm and 100-300mm) and plastic garbage bags to protect the gear in case of thundershowers.   I also carried the 5D MK III with 17-40mm around my neck.  As it turned out I used the 14-140mm Lumix and the 300mmf 2.8 Canon L quite a bit, but didn't use the 100-300mm once

On the following evening I carried the 70-200mm f2.8 IS L II lens instead of the Lumix 100-300mm. I had an encounter with a bachelor group of whitetail bucks in which the fast lenses and the ability to shoot long range video paid off.  The bucks never got close enough for good still photography, so I took only video and in many cases used the extended telephoto mode of the GH3 as in the video still capture below.

Bachelor Group of Whitetail Bucks: GH3-Canon 300mm f2.8 L-ETC mode-(video frame capture) 1440mm 35mm focal length equivalent

It was quite late when I left the meadow and the low light ability of the f2.8 lenses really paid off when I ran into bulls on two occasions as I returned to the parking lot.  One was 2D,  a bull that is familiar to many elk photographers.

Bull 2D: GH3-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L-IS0 800-1/50 sec.f?

Photoshop does not show the lens meta-data because the M4/3 adapter between the camera body and Canon lens does not transmit that information. The shutter speed and ISO are shown since those are camera body settings,  but I would expect that the lens was stopped down to no more than f4 and it was possibly wide open.

It was definitely wide open on the last encounter of the evening  when I found a bull grazing along the edge of a tree line at dusk.

Late Evening Bull : GH3-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L-IS0 3200-1/20 sec.f?

In this case I cranked the ISO up to 3200 and used 1/20 sec., which I am not comfortable with even when using a very stable video tripod.  This would have been a good situation for the 5D MK III with its' good high ISO performance, but there was no chance to use it as any changing of equipment may have frightened this bull that was already on full alert.  As it turned out the GH3 did a very creditable job.

On the next evening there was a strong threat of thunderstorms so I did not venture far from the vehicle, but that is a story for another post.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Late June In Pennsylvania Elk Country-Part 2

Early Moonrise: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II L@145mm-ISO 100-1/640 sec. f8

I intended to post more photos from last week's trip to Pennsylvania Elk Country long before this, but the laptop that I ordinarily use to post crashed.  While I have several computers this one was organized for posting and cruising the internet (I try to keep the computers I use in serious photo, audio, and video work off of the internet as much as possible).  That being said, I don''t think the problem was caused by the internet as in my experience malware cannot cause hardware failure and this computer failed in more than one area. On the last use it performed as expected, but when I went to use it again it had turned off (I had put it in sleep mode, but now it was completely dead).  When I hit the button to power up, the fan would run but nothing else. No Logo or option to go into the bios--just a black screen.  At this point I wasn't too alarmed because if the boot sector of the disk is damaged it is still possible to access by at least two methods and recover most if not all of the data, but this was not possible in this case.  The hard drive was completely dead.  Even with a dead drive or no drive installed for that matter one should still get the start screen.  It was not a virus or other malware as that can corrupt your boot sector or damage files, but it cannot physically damage hard drive so that it cannot be formatted. The computer was unplugged as their was a threat of  severe thunderstorms and it was asleep in battery mode. There was no chance that the battery ran down as it was fully charged and had not been in sleep mode long.  As best as I can figure there had to be a component failure that resulted in damage to to multiple parts of the laptop.  It is four years old and has had heavy use, so at this point I am awaiting a replacement and using an audio production computer to post.  Now so much for the computer problems.

As I noted in the last post, elk photography was not as productive as one would hope, but it still was an enjoyable trip. It was so pleasant just to be afield in the early mornings and late evenings.  One several occasions I went out early in the evening, got on a good vantage point and just soaked up the beauty of the countryside. While photos such as the one below may have little commercial value except to illustrate articles about elk and elk habitat, I can seldom resist taking them, In fact I usually take a photograph from this spot each time I am there. In this case I waited until shortly before sundown so that the sunlight had that special cast and the shadows of late evening  molded the terrain and made the ridges and valleys stand out.

Pennsylvania Elk Country: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 17-40mm f4@40mm-ISO 100-1/500 sec. f5

Ron "Buckwheat" Saffer was also in elk country and he was enthusiastic about the many opportunities to photograph birds that presented themselves.  I always like to see birds and since I concentrate on filming I usually end up getting a lot of video, but few if any good still shots.  At any rate it was common to see,  Bobolinks, Bluebirds, Meadow Larks, and various types of sparrows, along with many other species. I didn't take one good still photo of birds with the MK III.  I was with Buckwheat when he photographed a Killdeer.  I took mostly video, but at one point I mounted the 500mm F4 and took a  RAW photo with the GH3.

Killdeer: Panasonic GH3-Canon 500mm f4 IS L-ISO 200-1/200sec. f?

One must use a special adapter to use the L lenses on the GH3.  They are manual focus on this camera and only partial meta-data is recorder.  It does show the ISO and shutter speed selected, but as the lens does not communicate with the camera it does not record the lens info such as brand, f stop, focal length, etc. It is not hard to remember what lens is used, but unless one keeps notes, remembering the f stop, etc. is out--at least for me.

I had an excellent encounter with a meadow lark on Thursday morning, but it was too far for stills so I made still captures of video clips.  The first is with the 500mm and the extended telephoto mode, which gives the lens an effective focal length of 2,4000mm when once considers the 2x crop factor of the GH3 sensor and the added 2.4X crop of the extended telephoto mode.

Meadow Lark: Panasonic GH3-Canon 500mm f4 IS L-ISO 200-2.4x extended telephoto mode

There is also the option for 2X or 4X digital zoom.  This can be used with the camera either in standard mode or in extended telephoto mode(ETC).  When it is in ETC mode, the 4x  looks so bad as to be unusable, but the 2x looks quite good on the LCD, but it is lacking when viewing on an HD TV. I ordinarily do not use this setting, but I was experimenting and as one could expect I got one of the best poses of the bird singing when I was in the 2X+ETC mode.

Meadow Lark: Panasonic GH3-Canon 500mm f4 IS L-ISO 200-ETC+2X digital zoom

A good lesson to take away from the trip is that it is rewarding to pay attention to all of nature and not tune out everything but one species, rather one is well advised to take advantage of all excellent photo opportunities when they present themselves.  Looking back, I did enjoy the elk photography on this trip, but I find myself thinking more about the birds and the wildflowers and at least for me, at the end of the day the most important thing is the memories.

Originally Published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Late June in Pennsylvania Elk Country-Part 1

Foggy Morning Sunrise: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II @ 182 mm-ISO 100 1/1000 sec. f 11

I spent most of last week in Pennsylvania elk country with the primary purpose of the trip being to photograph and film elk calves. As it turned out, I saw a lot of calves, but they were usually at a long distance and were moving.  On a few occasions I did see a cow walk up to where its' calf was hidden and the calf stood up and nursed, but in two instances the range was too long for dramatic still photography and the light was harsh with a lot of mirage in the atmosphere so that there was simply too much atmospheric distortion for the big telephotos to deliver acceptable results on the video camera.  Had I been concentrating on still photography and using the 500mm lens, I would have had a few photos of calves to post, but as it worked out I took not one still image of them. As a result I went through the video clips and captured some still frames of calves to post today.

As one would expect, most of the elk were seen either very early or very late.  I caught these elk as they crossed a meadow along Winslow Hill Road on their way to the woods to spend the hot part of the day.

Cows and Calves on Winslow Hill: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 100-300 f 4-5.6-Video Still Capture

I saw calves on several occasions in the tall grass where the old Gilbert farm house once stood, but they were always at a distance and following their mothers as they left the meadows at sunrise.

Calf Follows Mother at Gilbert -Winslow Hill: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 100-300 f 4-5.6-Video Still Capture

While there was some fog on most mornings, it was not so thick that it made photography impossible, but in cases such as the first photo shown today--contributed to creating dramatic film and video.

Cow and Calf at Gilbert-Winslow Hill: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 100-300 f 4-5.6-Video Still Capture

In one instance I saw a calf nursing near Winslow Hill Road and it was so early that I used the 5D MK III with the 500mm F4 to film them, so that I could take advantage of the superb low light capability of the MK III.  Again this is a still capture from a video clip.

Calf Nurses- Winslow Hill: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 500mm F4-Video Still Capture

 The calf is barely visible in the still capture, but shows up quite well in the video clip.  I will try to make a short film of the best clips of the trip and post it in the near future.

There were other interesting subjects to photograph as well and I hope to post more photos of the trip in the near future.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Young Wildlife Makes Exceptional Subjects

Whitetail Fawn: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L +1.4 Extender-ISO 400-1/200 sec. f 11

One by one, the new fawns show up, but so far sightings have been sporadic. The fawn featured today appeared for the first time on Memorial day evening and was back in the meadow the following evening, but since then it has only given me a few brief photographic opportunities.  This is normal in my experience with the young animals being easily seen within a day or so of birth, but then being more difficult to see for a time.  The does hide them so that predators cannot locate them while the does go to the meadows to graze, but it seems that on occasion the fawns do not stay put as they are supposed to and follow the does.  Within a few weeks they will begin following the mother more and more.  They will be her constant companions by mid-summer and will remain so until they disperse or are killed.  

Doe Grooms Fawn: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f2.8 IS L +1.4 Extender-ISO 640-1/500 sec. f 5

Other young animals provide excellent subjects as well and I discovered a family of woodchucks in a backcountry meadow.  While these animals are the bane of farmers and gardeners, this family is  fortunate in that they are utilizing a meadow that is maintained  as a food plot for wildlife and their presence is welcome.

I usually watch this spot in the evening, but the area where they feed and around their den is shaded, which doesn't give the best lighting.  I happened to walk to the meadow soon after sunrise on Wednesday morning and noticed them feeding in good light, so I decided to work them for awhile.  I was traveling light as I intended to walk quite a distance looking for fawns and had only the GH3 and the 14-140mm and 100-300mm lenses.  The young chucks alternated between playing around their den and eating in the food plot.  A fallen tree made an exceptionally good place for one to pose on.

Young Woodchuck: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 100-300mmf4-5.6 @ 300mm-ISO 400-1/160 sec. f8

At this point I am not sure how many woodchucks are in this family, but I saw at least three scattered through the food-plot.

Young Woodchuck: Panasonic GH3-Lumix 100-300mmf4-5.6 @ 205mm-ISO 400-1/200 sec. f5.6

The sighting of these young chucks changed an unproductive morning into one to remember. I hope to return on a sunny morning with the 5D MK III and one of the big telephotos and try for more portraits. 

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.