These ridiculously yellow birds have taken up residence in the palm trees over the house. Summertime visitors to the San Diego region, they’re called Hooded Orioles.
I think I got it from someone on photo.net fifteen years ago for $90. Very modest glass, yet… I continue to be impressed by what it can do with a little patience.
I have been seeing them regularly, but since I’ve pursued the landscape stuff the last few weeks I always have a superwide on the camera when I notice them. Today I had the 70-210 on, experimenting with the soft light from the heavy overcast, so when I heard them twittering and bickering, as they tend to do most evenings, I went out and tried to get shots.
Two things. One, shooting just before sunset with low light against a light grey overcast is just the worst possible way to get a sharp picture of these frenetic little guys. It was way darker taking these shots at 8PM than at 4:30 when I was taking lizard pics.
And, B, considering I was shooting high ISO in bad light, it’s pretty cool I was still able to get anything not completely blurry. The wind was blowing, these guys NEVER sit still, and I was hand focusing with pretty long exposure times for 200mm. Seriously, I left the exif attached, so look at the shutter speeds on the palm tree shots. This is hand held, using a 70-210 f/4-5.6 from the mid ’90s, long before things like image stabilization were thought of.
This lens really has been a workhorse for me over the years. I think I got it from someone on photo.net fifteen years ago for $90. Very modest glass, yet between the birdies and the dragons I continue to be impressed by what it can do with a little patience. I can’t imagine what the native Z lens would be capable of, considering how sharp the mirrorless lenses are and how impressive the stabilization is on the 24-70 lens is. One day. But for now this old beast is still fun.
Besides, what are these pics for? They aren’t great art. Not the sort of thing going in a book on birding, or a professional portfolio, but at least I can show people how yellow they are.
I’ll definitely have to try again one evening when the sun shines. 200mm is still a bit too short for really detailed shots, but at iso100 and with a faster shutter speed I am sure I can pull a little more color and detail out of these dudes.