Jump to content
Whatbird Community
WhatBird Forum Rules

lonestranger

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,897

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    10

 Content Type 

Posts posted by lonestranger

    Duck and or shorebird gear

    in General Birding Topics

    Posted

    I have never kayaked before but I have a fair bit of experience with photography from a canoe. As previously suggested, everything gets tethered to the canoe before starting out. I use a Pelican Case for my gear, which is locked closed until the moment I want to take a picture, and it gets closed back up as soon as the photo is taken, I never paddle with my gear exposed to the risk of water. The only time I put the camera strap on the camera is when I'm going out on the water, that’s so the camera is tethered to me when it's not sealed in the tethered case. For water level shots, I take advantage of the articulating LCD screen on the camera, like @Charlie Spencer described (but without the need to invert the camera), and hang the camera over the edge and as close to the water as possible. Of course this is something I would only do on flat water, if there is any kind of wind creating waves, even small ones, there's a good chance I wouldn't even take the camera gear out in the canoe with me. It's not that I worry about my gear getting wet in rough water, it's just not worth the frustration of trying to stabilize the camera when the canoe starts rocking. I have never tried using a floating blind but I have been successful using the canoe to float around the shorelines of small lakes. Much like moving through the woods, if you move slowly and in a non-threating manner on the water, birds will be much more tolerant of you, whether you're camouflaged or not. Tying the canoe to a fallen tree, or something similar, and just floating stationary for a while and letting the birds come to us was almost always a part of our canoe outings, too. Having said that, I think my best water level shots have been when I was sitting on a chair in the water with my camera mounted to my anchored tripod. The camera was still a foot or more above the waterline and the photos don't compare to those of braver photographers who get right down to water level, but the added stability of the tripod resulted in sharper images than I could have achieved by hanging my camera over the edge of the canoe.

    Just rambling thoughts, hopefully some of its relevant to the discussion.

    • Like 3

    Not sure, 1/13/23 Seneca Falls NY

    in Help Me Identify a North American Bird

    Posted

    Just now, lonestranger said:

     

    I'm not sure if I should be offended or not, I don't recall ever being referred to as Mr. or Sir. 😆

    Personally, I don't care for titles associated with my name. I don't even let my nieces and nephews call me Uncle Glen, the Uncle part is a descriptive title to explain the family relationship to others, it's not part of my name. I drove my point home when I started calling my brothers children by title, Nephew A, and Niece B, everytime they called me Uncle Glen. I prefer titles to be used when talking about me, I prefer it to be more personal and just my name used when someone is talking to me. Call me Mr Mercer just once, and I will quickly tell you that my name is Glen, not Mr..  So don't worry about offending me by not adding a title to my name, but don't be offended if I don't add a title to your name. It's not a lack of respect, I just find titles somewhat cold and impersonal. No offense intended Mr Spencer, Sir.?

    • Like 4

    Not sure, 1/13/23 Seneca Falls NY

    in Help Me Identify a North American Bird

    Posted

    21 hours ago, Kevin said:

    Why not? I would in person, so why not online as well?

     

    14 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

    I was a military brat, then Army myself.  Everyone gets a "Sir" or a "Ma'am".  If I get it wrong or or that's not preferred, there was no offense intended.

    I'm not sure if I should be offended or not, I don't recall ever being referred to as Mr. or Sir. 😆

    Scope Question

    in Birding Books, CDs, Courses, and Cool Products

    Posted

    59 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

    I'm 5'6", by the way.

    If you take a little stool with you, (the kind you sit on, not the other kind silly), the tripod's max height won't matter as much and you'll be more comfortable for those longer viewings. Yeah, I am lazy and usually sit with my legs tucked right into the tripod's legs when I can. 

    31 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

    Dear Diary, today I learned I don't know jack-squat about choosing a tripod!  Such fun!

    I don't know much about jack squatting, nor do I want to. 😉  I don't know much about tripods for that matter, so your due diligence is in order.  I'll share my preferences with you from my past experiences with mostly cheap end tripod legs, none of them over $150. I prefer cam-lock legs over twist-lock legs, I find them easier to use but have no idea if they lock any better. Extension arms and monopod conversions are features that I would probably never use if I had them. Multiple locking angles for the legs is really handy for uneven terrain, one leg could be used nearly horizontally while the two other legs are nearly vertical. I like having spikes AND rubber feet to my legs, the rubber feet rotate in/out to hide/expose the spikes. I seldom use the spikes but I do have occasions where I take advantage of the fact that they are there.

     

    • Like 2

    Scope Question

    in Birding Books, CDs, Courses, and Cool Products

    Posted · Edited by lonestranger

    2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

    Opinions of these as starters, please.  And I do kindly thank y'all just evah so much!

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802631376-USE/celestron_52250_ultima_80_20_60x80mm_spotting.html/specs

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802658879-USE/manfrotto_mkbfrla_bhus_befree_advanced_travel_aluminum.html/specs

    Do you plan to use the tripod for photography when you're not using the scope? The reason I ask is the max height without raising the centre column on this one seems short for photography, at least for me. I like my camera high enough that I'm not stooping over when I look through the viewfinder, without raising the centre post. Google says that it's recommended to get a tripod as tall as you are. "A tripod should at least match your height so that you do not have to bend to look into the viewfinder. Once you put your camera on a tripod, the viewfinder should be at eye level. It is fine if it goes higher than your eye level because you can always adjust the legs to be shorter." (emphasis in bold is their's, not mine)  I know that height doesn't apply the same for spotting scopes because of the angled eyepiece, but it's something to consider if you want your tripod to double for both scope and camera support. Being 6' tall myself, I would want a taller tripod than the 52.4" of this one, even if I was mounting an angled scope to it. You may want to use a tape measure and see what height range you'd be comfortable looking through a viewfinder/eyepiece at and shop accordingly. Keep in mind that the tripod head and scope/camera will put the eyepiece a little higher than the tripod's max height.

    Max Height without Center Column 52.4" / 133 cm

     

     

    Bird dreams

    in General Birding Topics

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Quiscalus quiscula said:

    I keep dreaming about trying to identify weird-looking ducks that might be hybrids....in bad lighting....

    Are you sure it's only a dream?  One day you'll have the nightmare of trying to identify weird-looking ducks that might be hybrids...in bad lighting...but you'll be awake!!!! :classic_laugh:

    • Haha 5

    Lifers

    in General Birding Topics

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Avery said:

    Take a walk in the woods in the spring and you should have a good chance of feeling their drums. 

    Take a walk through the trails of my old backyard and you'd have a good chance of actually feeling their wings. Seriously, those suckers would sit hidden along the trail's edge and wait until you were right on top of them before scaring the breakfast out of you when they finally took flight. It wasn't a matter of us spooking the birds, they were definitely the ones doing the spooking.

    • Like 4
×
×
  • Create New...