In the previous post I took some quick pictures of some birds at the feeder. Nothing special. However, some hours later, a hawk decided to give me something to really look at. He actually landed on the top of the feeder, much to my surprise! I wasn’t able to get a photo of that, but he flew to branch about 100 yards or so away from my back door.

The first photo was taken at 500mm, wide open and represents and unsharpened 100% crop of the head.

The next photo is a 100% crop of the talons.

Lastly, here is the actual photo, unsharpened and unprocessed in any way:

They say that first impressions are important. Well, this lens has made a very good first impression upon me!

1. It’s fairly light weight, considering its size. It weighs in at about 1226g, or about 2.7 pounds, without the lens hood.
2. There is no lens creep at all.
3. Very smooth focusing.
4. Very smooth zooming.
5. Very sharp photos with nice contrast.
6. The auto focus is fast enough, but like other zooms, sometimes misses and has to hunt. Total round trip from nearest focus (2.5m) to infinity and back is about 1.5-2 seconds. You could miss a flying bird, for sure, but …
7. Tamron stands behind it for 6 years! That, alone, is why I chose the Tamron over the Sigma. Sigma gives 1 year, Tamron 6!
I could go on, but I’m impressed with my results on the first day. Sure, I don’t have any fancy charts or diagrams or anything. I just know that it works.

Looks like next week, I’ll be making a trip to the zoo.

Well, I just received my new toy and hopefully my last one for a very long time. I am selling my 500mm mirror lens to partially finance my new purchase. I just received a new Tamron 200-500mm zoom lens. Now, the only reason that I got rid of the mirror lens was because I really wanted auto focus and there are no mirror lenses that provide that. Further, as I mentioned before, the donuts are quite annoying sometimes … other times, they work out well.

So, since it is about 100 degrees right now, I really don’t feel like doing and lens testing outside. I did step out for a few minutes to photograph some brave little sparrows who decided to have a bite to eat at the bird feeder, which is in full sun!

I took a few shots and quickly wimped out and came back in the house. All shots are at 500mm and wide open (f/6.3). I’ve done a minimal amount of sharpening because every photo that comes from a digital camera seems to need sharpening since the sensors try very hard to be neutral about everything.

This photo is a 100% zoom showing the actual pixels. Not to shabby. Not on par, mind you, with a $7500 prime lens, but good enough for me.

Now, my next problem is that I have filled up my bag to capacity and beyond, even with the mirror lens gone. This beast, which is about 10 inches at its smallest and 20 inches at its longest just barely fits in the bag. Also, it weighs in at about 5 pounds. So much for the long hikes. My back pack probably weighs in about 15 pounds now, or more. There’s a place for everything and everything MUST be in its place or it won’t fit!

Hmmm, maybe I should get rid of my 18-70mm and 70-300mm in favor of a 18-200mm. Then I’ve got it covered: 11-18, 18-200, 200-500, and it would free up some space in my bag! The only problem is that:

A: The 18-200mm is out of stock everywhere.
B: The 18-200mm cost about $800
c: I could only get about $400 for both lenses combined!

Oh well, I’m very, very, very happy with what I have.

I know that eventually, I’ll get a good shot of a Hummingbird.
However, for now, I just think that I’ll stand back, watch, and adore these little beauties. Here is a shot of one sharing a bit of nectar with a bee.

I learned yesterday that, although timid, they are somewhat curious as well. A number of times, as I was standing in the shadows waiting to take a picture, a Hummingbird came within about 3 feet of me, hovered, checked me out for about 5 – 10 seconds, and then returned to the feeder or a nearby tree branch. It was delightful.

Since I’ve never seen a Hummingbird at rest, I just assumed that they didn’t need much of it. I’ve never seen a nest, though I’m on the lookout for one, nor have I seen a Hummingbird in a tree, until today. They are very difficult to spot because they are so small.

When I get my new lens, I’ll have to make a special Hummingbird trip. No need to go anywhere other than my favorite hangout, Reedy Creek.

I was looking at some “older” images and came upon this one. It was one that I took at the zoo a few weeks ago. It was hot out that day and I was more than ready to go home. I stopped, in the shade, to have a drink near the exit. It was there that I saw these colorful toys. They brought a smile to my face.

Upon looking at the picture, I see that they don’t seem to have the same expressions. Some look slightly scared, others happy, some even look bored, and still others surprised.

Nothing special, just a fun photo.

This morning while I was in the park, for a moment, I had an astonishing few moments of clarity. Everything just fell away. It’s difficult to describe. In those few moments, nothing else existed except light, form, and sound. The past did not exist. The future did not exist. I had no cares, worries, fears, or even thoughts that I can remember, for that time. I was completely and wholly at peace.

At that moment, everything mattered, yet nothing mattered except that one precious moment that I shall never see again.

I believe that I was in a deep meditative state. Everything became quite clear. Wow! Unfortunately, I don’t have the words to describe the feeling, so hopefully these pictures will help.

Yesterday, I was at home pretty much all day. I didn’t go out and shoot in the morning, which is what I usually do, so my shutter finger was a bit itchy. The temperature outside wasn’t helping any as it’s been getting pretty close to 100 every day for the past few days with no end in site for the rest of the week.

Usually, I don’t go out to photograph in the evening, mainly because I’m interested in wildlife and they are pretty smart and stay secluded in the heat of the day. Also, the evening can be oppresively hot and just downright uncomfortable.

However, yesterday, I wanted to take some photos. So, about 7:10 PM, I left home, drove to Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, which is about 20 miles from my house. I got there about 7:45, walked down the trail through several clouds of hungry mosquitoes, who didn’t bite me. (Thank you Deep Woods Off!). It was quite interesting in that the park was very hot and humid, walking down the trail was much cooler, but when I got to the lake, it seemed even hotter than the park!

I saw what I expected, numerous jet skiers, power boats, and people in general enjoying the lake. I was able to get a few decent shots, but nothing that met my mission statement. Overall, it was a good evening. Although I only stayed at the park for about 40 minutes, I had a good time and took about 240 shots.

I was sweating like crazy and very happy to get back to the car. My shirt was soaked! I’m so whimpy when it comes to heat … maybe that’s why I left Texas!!!

I’m always looking for ways to enhance or sharpen my creativity and observation. The latest way is to come up with a mission statement. Of course, simply coming up with a mission statement won’t do anything, but it helps me to focus on what I seek to accomplish in my photography. So, here is what I’ve come up with:

Paul Lester Photography Mission Statement

1. To capture a moment in time that will cause the viewer to transcend the photograph and focus on the beauty of the moment, not the beauty of the photograph.
2. To show, with unbridled appreciation, all the wonders that are before me to behold and to share.
3. To cause the viewer to pause, reflect, stare in wonder, and seek to find their own moments of discovery.
4. To celebrate life through imagery.

I will handwrite this and keep it in my photography journal along with a photo that I consider captures the essence of the mission. Further, when I go out, I will look at this journal before I press the shutter for the first time in the day, to remind me of what I’m after.

Now, taking a page from Micki’s pages, I would like to post one thing that I appreciate:

Appreciation: Having discovered, not to late in life, what I really love and what refills my “cup” – Photography.