Sometimes its not about image quality....

Folks, I rarely get time to do nature photography, something I dearly love. My job and the new house are very time consuming. I work as a directional driller on oil rigs and stay at the rig 24 hours a day for days on end. I always have my camera with me, but one can only take so many shots of roughnecks giving me the bird, or better yet, a full moon shot during the day. LOL The town I live in has a lake in it, and it happens to be only a block from the house. Yesterday I took the Canon 600mm f/4 IS + 1.4 TC and sat on the shore for hours swinging the setup atop the wimberley mounted to a Gitzo 5541LS. I shoot with a 40D. I watched these gulls for hours on end and had a blast. There was no way to get any closer, so some are heavy crops as they are. The ice is receeding and these gulls are out on the lake pulling in some winter kill perch. I knew the shots wouldn't be fantastic as I could not get close enough. I thought about packing up and heading out in search of a coyote or fox, but I was so engrossed in watching these birds. I had a wonderful time just being outdoors and looking and listening, all the while knowing I would be disappointed when I down loaded the photos. And of course, I was....I just could not get close enough to the "action". However, I did pass a personal milestone....my first bird in flight! Although they are not the greatest, they are "barely-usable". And for that I feel good. I did make some rookie mistakes, shooting Aperture Priority and the shutter speed fell a little low a couple times. Just wanted to share my experience and remind everybody, that shooting is the cake and the killer images are just a little frosting on it!

Derrick

For the conditions you describe I would say you did very gooood.

Nice, I enjoyed your images. You have a unique job and it is a great idea to have your camera along each day as most great photos are not planned.

I think they are very pleasing. The color looks rich and I can really see the expressions on the birds. Not being around gulls much I find it surprising that they are so expressive in the eyes.

Thanks for sharing these images with us. I am chiding myself now for leaving my own gear at home when I could/SHOULD always bring it along, whether just for practice OR for getting that rare 'once in a lifetime shot'.

Good job!

Thanks folks! Birdpond, I too find gulls very expressive. I think they are pretty smart birds and are great for shooting since you can often get close and they also "hover" lots so they are just sitting in mid-air.