Some pictures from my neighborhood.

[Iminit]

Nice day so went for a bike ride. Saw this great horned owlIMG_9957.jpg. We went further down the trail and on a small island in the middle of the lake there was a pair of bald eagles.IMG_9963.jpg. Pictures taken with the iPhone. Wasn’t expecting to see anything. Tomorrow I’ll bring the Nikon. Heading back I got a better pic of the owl. Who is on a nest.IMG_9979.jpgIMG_9982.jpg. And last this frog.IMG_9985.jpg and the lakeIMG_9977.jpg

[LizStreithorst]

Oh, for sure, you must take the Nikon tomorrow. These were great for a phone. I want to see what the Nikon can do.

[Iminit]

If the weather is good I will have it. Got home and Finn found some wildlife in the backyard.IMG_9987.jpgIMG_9989.jpg

[LizStreithorst]

cute bunny, but what struck me is how soundly and stylishly built your boxer is. Got a headshot?

[Iminit]

IMG_9387.jpg. Great pup. Got him as a rescue out of New Mexico last year.

[LizStreithorst]

Profile, please.

[brewmaster15]

Tom, thats an awesome find with the great horned owl. I have never gotten a decent shot of one nor found a nest. They aren't very common. So cool!

[Second Hand Pat]

Agree with Al on the great horned Owl. What an amazing opportunity to photograph this amazing bird and it's young.
Pat

[Iminit]

Thanks! But I’ve got to say this was no challenge or luck. It’s sitting in a tree in the preserve right next to the railroad. This was my first time seeing it. I’d heard about it last year. Just never went to see. It is now an attraction. Roped off area . Thinking the parks department will be charging soon. They say the area gets crowded over the weekends. Still something to see . Kind of shocked it’s nesting on Long Island. Like the bald eagles they will soon be every where. In 20 we had a pair of eagles nesting on the north side of the island close to the Long Island sound. 4 years later we now have 8 nesting pairs all over the island. I’m guessing these owls will be growing in numbers too. Birds of prey are growing in numbers on Long Island. Use to be something to see an osprey but now they are as common as seagulls. Red tailed hawks are everywhere. So much so you now see dead one on the roadways.

[Iminit]

So the eagles were no were to be seen. Owl still there. DSC_1808.jpg. Plenty of ospreys. Caught one catching a catfish. Still have to figure out how to get these shots better. Guessing I should have taken a lot more.DSC_1796.jpgDSC_1797.jpgDSC_1802.jpgDSC_1804.jpg

[brewmaster15]

Tom what are your camera settings?

Iso?
F stop?

Your camera should have a screen that shows all the settings.. snap a pic of that with your phone and post it.

[Iminit]

Thanks Al . IMG_0343.jpg Got some more pics today.DSC_1826.jpgDSC_1819.jpg Eagles we’re out and I got one catching a fish .DSC_1836.jpgDSC_1837.jpg. Fun day. Went looking with my son and grandson. Son had never seen a wild owl. So he was impressed. About 10 photographers there. And most were happy to show the pics they had taken. Nice group. Seems these owls are a draw for birders. Meeting people from all over. Today one guy from Texas another from Connecticut and a guy from Pennsylvania. Went back after dinner to show my daughter in law. To dark for pictures. But the babies were both out on the branch and both parents were in sight and flying from tree to tree. For the times I’ve been there nobody had seen both parents so we were impressed.

[Iminit]

Couple of nice pics today.DSC_2112.jpgDSC_2081.jpgDSC_2095.jpg

[brewmaster15]

Tom nice pics! Did you get the tammy G2?

Hey on the pic you posted of the camera.. see the Iso 100? That setting is great for bright light stationary objects like structures. Most of the wildlife shots I take are ISO 800-2000. This setting will reduce motion blur by letting the camera capture the image faster.

The other setting to play around with. F STOP. In your pic F5.6. That setting again is great for stationary objects.. but for something like birds F8 usually works better. The lower the F stop number the more light the lens lets in. The trade off is the depth of field gets smaller... another words as the F stop gets lower the amount of distance to the front and back of of the subject thats in focus shrinks.
On birds and other small to medium sized critters you will usually get your best pics with and F8 -F10.
Probably 90% of my bird shots are F8 and Iso 800
Give it a try.
Al

[Iminit]

Thanks been online trying to figure out what I can. I got the iso and have been moving between 800- 2400. Just experimenting. The Tamron is coming tomorrow. I picked up what I think is a great deal off marketplace on Monday. A Nikon 80-400,70-300 AF VR. 18-140,18-105 and a 50mm all AF VR. Plus a 7200 and 7000 and bags and other stuff for 1k. My older son has been looking since he saw the owl pics. So he’ll get the 7200 and some lens to get him going.IMG_0749.jpgIMG_0750.jpg. Took those with the 80-400. Just now .