[The1]

And another action shot of flight


Great shot dave!!! and definitely glad I'm not that Chipmunk...

[The1]

and when I say great, i mean fantastic.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by The1

and when I say great, i mean fantastic.

Thank you, very much. A lot of hours went into getting that shot, even though it was only seconds when it finally happened.

Dave

[MaximusJ]

Patience pays off (sometimes)

Great shot.

[bluespeed117]

Elegant H2O

[Seminole]

Poor Chipmunk

[AshbyJ]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Bad morning to be a chipmunk:


Bad morning to be a chipmunk... by dcstep, on Flickr

Now that is an awesome shot! Very nice capture

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Bad morning to be a chipmunk:

Nice Dave!

Are you shooting through a fence?

[Chewy734]

Dave, that's a sick shot... perfect timing. I saw the rest of your gory shots on flickr.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by MP0WER

Nice Dave!

Are you shooting through a fence?

Your eagle eye spotted one of the "flaws" in this shot. The shadow running through the ground squirrel (it's really not a chipmunk, but I think it looks much like one and makes a better title) is barbed wire. If you click on the image it'll take you to the Flickr page, where I have shots of the bird on the fence post, eating the little guy.

I had the 500mm and the 1.4x TC on the camera and couldn't fit the whole bird in the camera. Also, there were focus issues, trying to get the bird's eyes in focus and the squirrel also; however, the long focal length and close proximity almost totally overcame the barbed wire in the way, so I'm not complaining. BTW, it was handheld and I'd probably have never gotten it with a tripod.

So, this image is full of "flaws", but let's see how it does in the contest. I think that the quality of the action will often trump technical flaws. I've got a National Geographic book that my brother gave me at Christmas, showing the top NG images of all time. It's a great book, which I highly recommend. Anyway, I noticed flaws in almost all of the top wildlife images, including serious blurring caused by the photographer running from wild animals in more than one case. The "event" was what was important and the common thread in those top images, not techincal perfection. Getting both, of course, is the goal, but being there when something "special" happens is often the most important aspect.

Dave

[The1]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I think that the quality of the action will often trump technical flaws.
Dave

I wasn't willing to point out the line or the focus because I love the shot. It's what it needs to be, and it got the thrill of the even.

If the picture were perfect, it would probably lack some of the excitment, or an appearance of movement that the soft focus is giving.

having the line across sort of helps give a point of view in my opinion as well.

So while the image is imperfect, that's what makes it perfect.

[signes]

Great shot, Dave.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Your eagle eye spotted one of the "flaws" in this shot. The shadow running through the ground squirrel (it's really not a chipmunk, but I think it looks much like one and makes a better title) is barbed wire. If you click on the image it'll take you to the Flickr page, where I have shots of the bird on the fence post, eating the little guy.

I had the 500mm and the 1.4x TC on the camera and couldn't fit the whole bird in the camera. Also, there were focus issues, trying to get the bird's eyes in focus and the squirrel also; however, the long focal length and close proximity almost totally overcame the barbed wire in the way, so I'm not complaining. BTW, it was handheld and I'd probably have never gotten it with a tripod.

So, this image is full of "flaws", but let's see how it does in the contest. I think that the quality of the action will often trump technical flaws. I've got a National Geographic book that my brother gave me at Christmas, showing the top NG images of all time. It's a great book, which I highly recommend. Anyway, I noticed flaws in almost all of the top wildlife images, including serious blurring caused by the photographer running from wild animals in more than one case. The "event" was what was important and the common thread in those top images, not techincal perfection. Getting both, of course, is the goal, but being there when something "special" happens is often the most important aspect.

Dave

My EAGLE eye.... pun intended?

My apologies, i wasn't intending to point out a flaw. I only asked because i was curious as to the distance and what lens you were using. I'm intrigued by how somethings can be blocking the shot and due to contributing factors they almost disappear. I may be going to a track day soon and i know i'll have to shot through a fence. I'm hopeful that i can find setting that blur most of it out.

With regards to perfect shots, i find that to be an impossibility. I haven't found an image where being there is less spectacular than the captured image. The camera isn't capable of capturing everything we take in with our eyes. In person is far more perfect than captured image in my opinion.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by MP0WER

My EAGLE eye.... pun intended?

My apologies, i wasn't intending to point out a flaw. I only asked because i was curious as to the distance and what lens you were using. I'm intrigued by how somethings can be blocking the shot and due to contributing factors they almost disappear. I may be going to a track day soon and i know i'll have to shot through a fence. I'm hopeful that i can find setting that blur most of it out.

With regards to perfect shots, i find that to be an impossibility. I haven't found an image where being there is less spectacular than the captured image. The camera isn't capable of capturing everything we take in with our eyes. In person is far more perfect than captured image in my opinion.

No harm and no offense taken, at all. I enjoy our contests, but don't consider it a life and death struggle to win. If I didn't want to reveal flaws I would have kept my mouth shut and not answered your question.

Yes, it IS amazing how much crap that you can shoot through and the lens will focus "around" the stuff between you and the subject.

I come close to "perfect" occasionally, it's always a goal, but there's usually not much going on when my shots are "perfect." When a subject stands still and you take 40 images in great light, it's easy to look like a genious. The camera can do amazing things, but you have to set up and execute well, particularly when things start moving.

About my bird shot here, I'm proudest that I was there. It's the result of many hours of shooting and chasing various raptors hoping to get a hunting shot with prey in-talon. I was on the right side of the light and wrong side of the fence. My lens setup was a little too long and too slow for the situation, but I fought through it to gain focus and get a shot (putting the 1.4xTC on the 500mm really slows AF). The hawk had been sitting on the fence post and I was shooting it there when it suddenly flew down on the other side of the fence. 9 out of 10 times the hawks come up empty, but you never know until they come back up off the ground. Anyway, I changed my position slightly to see it through the grasses and fence and had a reasonably clear shot when it decided to fly back up to its post and enjoy its success.

[TL]

Def a great capture Dave

ouch! for the squirrel

[spanner1751]

Perfect timing and great shot Dave.

[dcstep]

Time for more entries... we're off to a good start.

[Mr Tonka]

Here is mine... i was going to continue with the flight theme as i have some great seagull and blue angel pics, but i figured i'd mix it up.

"Rack 'em"

[The1]

neat shot, how long was the exposure?

[AshbyJ]

That is a really cool shot!

[E90Mario]

Dave, amazing capture as usual!

Joe, very creative!

[Mr Tonka]

Thanks guys. I think that one was 3.2 sec.

The one below was 1.6 sec. I didn't submit this one because i thought the color pop of the first one outweighed the motion blur of this one. I think......

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