CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS!!!

[mookie3127 3,217]

I think I'm done spending for a while. New toy to pair with the 7DM2 and chase some eagles with!

[mookie3127 3,217]

Took the new 100-400 out for a test drive on Sunday and conditions were horrible. Very overcast and lighting was ****** to say the least. Focus was fast and it seemed to track the eagles really well in poor outdoor conditions. I'm hoping to chase them on Friday as it's supposed to be a really nice day here so I can't wait to see what it can do in good lighting. Here are a few shots from Sunday.

Female with nesting material

Berry Female 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Female leaving the nest. You can see the male's beak in the upper center.

Berry Female 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Female leaving the nest.

Berry Female 4 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Female in flight.

Berry Female 6 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Female (L) and Male (R )

Berry Male & Female 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

Missed out on a great day of shooting yesterday, so I tried to make up for it today before the clouds and rain moved in. Still waiting on that good weather to try out the new 100-400. Here are some shots from an otherwise dreary Saturday morning.

Berry Bald Eagle Female 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Berry Bald Eagle Female 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Berry Bald Eagle Female 6.1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

My first river otter. Poor lighting, but the sun was just starting to peek through the early morning clouds before the heavier clouds and rain moved in.

River Otter by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

3 more of the female from Berry College.......

Bald Eagle Berry Female 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Bald Eagle Berry Female 4 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Bald Eagle Berry Female 5 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[RubberDucky 4,603]

Getting in to infant photography because:

A. People always have babies

B. Usually when you do Infant shoots, the parents will go back to you regularly for updated photos

I have my 1st shoot tomorrow, here's one my setups.

Faux wood floor mat (amazing how real it looks in photos), 6 ft piece of border and Damask Backtrop.

Lighting source is an Einstein E640 w/ 27 inch Beauty Dish.

Edited January 9, 2015 by RubberDucky

[ukfalc 3,574]

I think I will be trading in my 70-300 for the 100-400 II soon. I'm just not sure whether to pair it with a new 7d II, 5d III or wait for a 5d IV.

[mookie3127 3,217]

I think I will be trading in my 70-300 for the 100-400 II soon. I'm just not sure whether to pair it with a new 7d II, 5d III or wait for a 5d IV.

My new 100-400 has been pretty dang sharp most of the time. There's still some camera shake hand holding while I adjust to the weight difference from the 70-300 that I'm currently selling though. Mine's paired with the 7D2 and working out quite well. For wildlife, it's a great hand holdable setup. I'd imagine it'd be great for outdoor sports as well with the crop factor of the 7D. If the crop factor isn't a concern, I'm sure it'd work great on the 5D3 or 5D4. I've seen a LOT of 5D3's for sale on facebook lately from $2200-$2600 and a good many with low shutter counts around the 4K mark.

[mookie3127 3,217]

A couple of the male eagle at Berry College. And we have 2 eggs in the nest, so here in about another month we should have a couple of eaglets.

Bald Eagle Berry Male 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Bald Eagle Berry Male 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

Some more of the Eagles.

Berry Male

Bald Eagle Male 7 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Bald Eagle Male 11 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Berry Female

Female 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Female 8 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Female 10 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

Female on the left, male on the right. The female had been out at a local lake and another fully mature eagle was spotted with her. She flew back to this tree a couple hundred feet from the nest where the male left the eggs in the nest to join her. The vocalized loudly for a couple of minutes, almost like he was pleading for her to go sit on the eggs, before he took off back to the nest.

Pair 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

And my first American Kestrel. These little buggers are FAST! And they're not too fond of people.

Kestrel 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

Not everyone may be familiar with how Bald Eagles transform from the large brown raptors when they leave the nest to what we commonly recognize as Bald Eagles with a white head and tail. The process takes upwards of 5 years. Today, we were fortunate enough to have what's known as a Sub Adult visit the nest area, land in a tree behind the nest, and circle the viewing area about 5 times. He/She is likely around 4 years old and you can see the transformation process that takes place by noticing the black fringe and spotting of the tail feathers, black feathers on the head going from behind the eye to the shoulder, and finally, splotches of white feathers on the underside of the wings.

Lighting was horrible Sunday morning, but it's great to see a population of eagles in the area.

Bald Eagle Sub Adult 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Bald Eagle Sub Adult 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

And the clouds finally broke and we had good lighting for the male flying out of the nest once the femal returned.

Bald Eagle Male 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mashburn*Fibonacci 4,274]

[mashburn*Fibonacci 4,274]

[mookie3127 3,217]

A couple more of the male eagle at Berry College

Leaving the nest

Berry Bald Eagle Male 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Preparing for a landing in his favorite perch tree.

Berry Bald Eagle Male 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

In his perch tree.

Berry Bald Eagle Male 4 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Vocalizing to the female.

Berry Bald Eagle Male 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Lightening the load before heading to the river.

Berry Bald Eagle Male 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

Some of the female with a bloody face. Not sure if she got into something juicy earlier that day or if something fought back, but it was almost a perfect ring around her left eye.

Berry Bald Eagle Female 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Berry Bald Eagle Female 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Berry Bald Eagle Female 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

This time next month, I'll be on vacation, so I should have plenty of stuff that's not eagles or bird related.

[mookie3127 3,217]

My condolences, in advance, for blowing up this thread over the next few minutes.

These first 2 are of Tulum along the Caribbean coast

Tulum Pano HDR 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Tulum HDR 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

These next 3 are of sunrises at our hotel.

Sunrise 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Sunrise 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Sunrise 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

These next 5 are of Green Macaws and Scarlet Macaws taken at XCaret Ecological Park

Green Macaw 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Scarlet Macaw 4 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Yup....that's the spot!

Scarlet Macaw 5 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Scarlet Macaw 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Scarlet Macaw 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

First 3 are of a Mountain Lion/Cougar/Puma depending on who you ask at XCaret Ecological Park.

Mountain Lion 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Mountain Lion 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Mountain Lion 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Next 2 are of a Flamingo at XCaret Ecological Park

Flamingo 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Flamingo 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mookie3127 3,217]

Next 5 were taken at Chichen Itza which are Mayan ruins in the middle of the Yucatan.

Observatory

Chichen Itza Observatory HDR 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Chichen Itza Observatory HDR 2 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

El Castillo

Chichen Itza HDR 6 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Chichen Itza HDR 1 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

Chichen Itza HDR 3 by Jason Blalock, on Flickr

[mashburn*Fibonacci 4,274]

My condolences, in advance, for blowing up this thread over the next few minutes.

No condolences needed. these are wonderful pictures. and where did you stay at? that pool looks amazing.

[mashburn*Fibonacci 4,274]

[mookie3127 3,217]

No condolences needed. these are wonderful pictures. and where did you stay at? that pool looks amazing.

Thanks. We stayed at an adults only resort called Live Aqua. The service there was absolutely AMAZING. Businesses in the US could learn quite a bit by visiting that place as well as Harry's Prime Steakhouse and Raw Bar. We've never had the customer service like we did at those two places.

[Googlywoogly 663]

Meanwhile, up at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield:

[ukfalc 3,574]

Strumble Head Lighthouse by Ukfalc, on Flickr

[ukfalc 3,574]

Carew Castle by Ukfalc, on Flickr