Great Blue Heron

Just finished editing this Heron photo.

Well shot!! Good work getting the eye sharp. Would you mind sharing your camera, lens and settings info?

Used Nikon D300, 600mm @ f/8, 1/1000th, ISO 1600.

Fantastic Larry! The sharpness and flight pose really makes this a dandy.

Robert's request for camera info brings up an interesting thought, especially after reading about Matt's misfortune. While I realize one of the goals of this forum is learning, I'm not so sure it's a good idea to be advertising to the world the kind of camera gear we carry. I've been the victim of camera theft (happened during a photography club meeting in Fayetteville) and it was not pleasant, even though I was insured. Maybe we should come up with a secret code, like - 50mm Dr. Pepper bottom could really mean a 600mm AFS Nikkor, or an Instamatic #10 could be a Canon 5d mkII. just a thought...

Great capture! Excellent detail. Just curious, was the sun coming over your right shoulder?

Bill, I can certainly appreciate and share your concern about theft of gear but I don't see how sharing on this forum could increase theft exposure. Could you discuss your concern further? I know on the UK/Europe forum they provide shooting info about 100% of the time. I, like Larry, have a D300 and would hate to think that sharing that info with the forums would be risky Anyway, it was a great shot of the heron

Thanks for the kind comments.

Daniel,
It was so cloudy that day I am not sure where the sun was. I believe you are correct although it may have been a bit further right than that.

Hey Robert, post anything you want! The "NPN Posting Guidelines" are just that - suggestions for folks that post here. They are not rules, and I respect the concerns others have expressed to me about posting equipment details. I've noticed several photographers that post here regularly that choose to not post that information, which really doesn't bother me like it seems to bother others in the General Discussion forum . For the most part, I doubt that anyone could tell the difference in an image that was taken with a D3, D300, D700, D3x, 1ds Mk III, 5d Mk II, A900 or whatever, and is therefore kind of a non issue, considering the size and resolution of the images posted here. I'm not likely to make the comment that someone needs to dump their camera body and glass and go out and buy a different one to help improve their image. When commenting on someone's work, I tend to concentrate on cropping suggestions, ISO, DOF, light, composition, and other things that have little to do with the body and lens the person used. So I find it difficult to understand why is it so important that equipment details be given. And if you've noticed Robert, I usually do post mine.

It's not a pleasant thought, but homes do get broken into. My house was broken into during 1986 when I lost a Nikon FM body and a cheap 50mm lens, then had about $6,000 worth of camera gear stolen out of my truck 5 years ago - both were locked up tighter than a drum. Real thieves don't seem to mind breaking a little glass to get what they want.

BTW Robert, is that F. Way you live on, or B. Drive. And do you have any plans to attend any more of the gatherings like the one in January, or any free workshops like the one in D.R.B.? Between the White Pages, Google, and this website, there is a lot more information out there about every one of us than I like to think about. And I believe people that steal are a lot smarter than you think...hope this answers your question.

I hadn't thought about it but Bill makes a good point. Everyone with over a $1000 should really consider getting their kit insured. At the very least add a rider to their homeowners policy.

Great shot Larry, is that background the sky or water? On my laptop it looks splotchy.

Nice capture Larry. Catching one in flight and having this much detail is difficult.

Good discussion of the risks that go along with having expensive equipment. I have a rider on my homeowners policy listing all my camera equip and another one listing all of our computer equip. It isn't that expensive and won't take away the stress of having something stolen. It just eases the pain of the loss.

Ed, the bg is water, thanks.
Merle, thanks.

Yes, one needs to have their gear insured. I believe if it is listed on H/O that there is no deductible with some/most insurance companies. Commercial coverage often has a deductible.

First off, great flight shot Larry!

As for posting the capture details, I do find it important if the person posting is looking for critiques of their image. Without them it is hard to give suggestions and opinions on dof, sharpness etc.

But I think we could solve the problem of protecting our equipment and still provide capture details by posting only the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, filters and any other pertinent capture info without naming the body & lens.

Just a thought.

Thanks Wayne.

And a good suggestion on the capture details. I don't suppose the brand of camera matters although the focal length would?

I kind of doubt that thieves are checking these pages looking to see what sort of gear we all have. I figure most thieves break in just to see what they can find and in most of our cases they hit the jackpot with stuff. Although I usually don't post my tech info with my shots anyway and the reason is that I prefer my images to be judged solely on the image. I think sometimes people worry too much about what lens or body they have when they really should be worrying about more important things.