Sitting still yesterday for the woodpecker to return (he didn't), I noticed a number of much smaller birds among the tangles of branches, including this lovely
House Finch:
The focus isn't perfect. The range is quite shallow with the fieldscope, and I'm wondering whether it's better to set the focus a bit on the far side or a bit on the near side? I plan to test this on my next outing; a bird won't even need to be in view. I could even tack up an optometrist's chart a hundred feet away.
Or just focus on a detail of a tree? Here's a photograph of the woodpecker's suspected nest (taken with a Nikon D60, using its 55-200 mm lens):
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| Note the two big holes in the center of the photo |
But perhaps the fieldscope focus was fine and the strong wind blurred the image a bit (relative to shutter speed)? The three photos of the Finch were taken in just a few seconds, and you can see the different positions of the surrounding twigs and tendrils.
You are achieving amazing results with your scope. Years ago I attempted a similar quest with a scope and fairly quickly gave up in frustration. And at the time I was a full-time alleged professional photographer. You are posting some really interesting images, keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteAs for your question about focus...in general you should focus on the near edge of your subject or maybe even a bit short of it because most lenses have more depth of field going beyond the point of focus then to the near side.
Motomynd, thank you for the tip about near-focus, which I much, much appreciate!
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