Wild Turkeys On Parade

HI James,
thanks for changing my login etc.
I can now login OK.

I've been away from the forum due to other situations that have
kept me from my photography, but glad to be back.

Last week (April 13 2008) I decided to go back into the woods to
shoot again. After 4 days of hiking in Cades Cove, TN I was able to
get this shot on the last morning.

I was hoping to see some bears that week, but I was too early.

Around 7:30 AM on the last day, I heard some Wild Turkeys in the woods. I had just entered the open field and had all my gear ready to go. Instead of using my normal set up ( tripod,longest lens, etc.) I decided to just lay down in the middle of the field and see what happened.

Within minutes, there were several Tom's emerging from the tree line.
I had just rented the Sigma 80-400 mm OS lens to give it a test run and that was the lens that I had mounted. As they entered the field I was capturing
what I could at 400 mm. Staying perfectly still and not using any type of sound to attract them, they moved into my direction to investigate . I truly feel that not having the tripod set up and the fact that I was laying on the ground got their curiosity.

In less than a minute, they all came right up to me, and as if on cue they
lined up in a single row, evenly spaced and all at once displayed their tail feathers.

Since I had the Sigma zoom, without moving my position I was able to
get this shot at around 200 mm.



Within seconds, they all scurried away.
That was the only shot, and I don't think that I will every see that happen
again.

If I had been carrying my 400mm prime telephoto, I wouldn't have been
able to get this shot.


Dale

This is amazing. My first reaction was to look for cloning. Then I thought about putting music to is as if it were a dance line. What a hoot. Thanks for posting.

Dale,
that's a great shot and how fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with the right lens. Very, very cool!

Jim

you were given a gift and you captured it very well, way to go !

Nice Shot!!!

Thanks everyone for your comments.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I will always try to be
prepared with a zoom lens mounted and ready to go.

Still haven't decided which lens will be best for me yet, but I have
been renting several to check them out.

I'll post another photo of the turkeys just as they were leaving the
woods.

thanks again,
Dale

Sorry, I was working on my website and forgot that I had loaded the photo
of the Turkeys on a separate file. It should be back on now.

Dale

Hey Dale,

I know you are using Nikon. A friend of mine who is debating the D300 is under the impression that the Sigma 80-400 might not work well with the D300. Can you confirm this? Also, would you mind sharing a few more photos you have taken with the Sigma?

Thanks!
James

Hi James,
I believe that the sigma 80-400 should work on the D300 the same as it does
on the D200. I don't have the D300 yet so I can't really confirm that.

These are my thoughts on the Sigma 80-400
Pros
- A good hand held lens for that range to capture quick shots
- OS works great for hand held applications.
- You can force the focus while in autofocus if needed.

Cons
- Not as sharp as I would have liked it to be (my copy)
- Never have liked a variable F stop
- 1.4 extender worked, but only on MF.
- I removed the mounting collar to make it more comfortable to hand hold

Overall I like the lens, but I am still renting different lenses until I find
the one that will work best for me.

This is another image of the Turkeys when they were in the woods.
You can see that they are all looking straight at me. Even the 5th turkey
on the right is looking over the tail feathers of #4. I think that's why it
is so difficult to get good shots of wild turkeys. They must have incredible eye site.





Below is an image taken just after the turkey shots when I switched back to my
Nikon 50-300 ED F4.5 Zoom Lens. (Always has been my favorite lens ) I would
probably remove the grass coming out of the back of the turkey if I decided to
print this image. I never ever add anything to an image, but I don't have a problem
removing something if it is drawing my eye to it.



Below is an image taken with the Sigma 120 - 300 F2.8 with the Sigma 1.4 extender. (on tripod though)
I like the bokeh that the Sigma 120-300 gave me on this lens. I always tend to shoot wide open and always
manually focus on the eyes of my subject to let everything else go out of focus etc. I rarely use autofocus.




My next lens to check out will be the Sigma 100-300mm
Unless I hit the lottery and just go ahead and buy the Nikon 200-400mm

Hope this helps.
I would suggest renting a lens to try it before you purchase it though.
I use www.lensrentals.com
I highly recommend them. quick service and very helpful. you can also reserve a lens ahead etc. which helps when
you are planning a trip in the future etc.

Dale

Hey Dale,

Thanks so much with the assistance on this. I will also agree the 120-300 shot looks beautiful. Have you tried (or considered) the Sigma 50-500? I understand that it is quite a lens at a relatively affordable price.

Cheers
James

HI James,
I was considering the 50-500 Sigma, but again I don't like having the F Stop
vary etc. I think the 100-300 Sigma F4 would be a better choice. I'm going to rent that one next to give it a try.

Any of the lenses that now have the image stabilization seem to have that
extra edge for hand held situations that seem to catch you by surprise.

I feel more comfortable having a lens at the ready and mounted on the camera to catch those moments that sneak up on you.
That way you can capture a few quick shots and hope that they come out. Then it's time to get out the tripod , turn off the stabilization and get to work.

I always shoot wildlife with aperture priority, wide open at first to see what
the background will look like. (bokeh) etc. That way I'm seeing exactly what the camera will capture.

I'm rambling now, but I do have a point that I was trying to get to.

This image was a challenge and it all happened very fast.

I was photographing the young buck on the right with my Nikon 50-300mm EDIF F4.5, with my Benbo tripod and a Slik Pistol grip.
wide open and at 300mm. Then, another buck approached from my left side, but much closer to me. I was able to zoom back to 50mm, change my F stop to about F8 and capture both bucks as they were checking each other out. This lens is not autofocus, doesn't have any stabilization, but it is one of nikon's best lenses of it's time.

Just some of my thoughts to share.


Dale