Tamron 150-500

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

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These birds are awesome. I love seeing and hearing them in the woods. Folks are quick to mistake them for Red-headed Woodpeckers which I, personally, am not a fan of. I find them a bit frightening! As someone who’s probably watched a few too many horror films, the Red-headed Woodpecker just conjures up a gruesome, Quentin Tarantino version of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. So much blood. So Gross. I digress. But, see for yourself, is this a creepy looking bird?

Nevertheless, I love the way these birds are built. Did you know that their tongues retract deep into their heads and actually wrap around their brains to cushion their little brains while they’re hammering away at the side of a tree, in search of delicious insects. Not only are their tongues three times longer than their bills’ length, but they are also highly maneuverable, cylindrical, pointed, and barbed at the tip. It’s true!

1/2000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 2000, 480mm, Sony A7R IV

Dark-eyed Junco

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The Dark-eyed Junco is one of my favorite small birds. My favorite being the Black-capped Chickadee. These images were shot right out of my living room window. With my camera on a tripod, and with this little guy sitting still, I probably could have dialed down my shutter speed and ISO, for a cleaner image, but I’m pretty happy with these results. Next time!

These images were all shot at these settings: 1/2000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 2500, 500mm, Sony A7R IV.

I love the excitement of making the image. When you’re in the moment, pinning focus on that little bird as he hops from branch to branch, changing your composition in realtime, spinning dials under thumb and finger to properly expose the scene as he moves in and out of the light.

The vertical grip on my A7R IV is also so handy. I love that I still have access to the front and rear dials for shutter speed and aperture, and can still back-button-focus even when I’m shooting in portrait orientation. So handy. So comfortable.

Nature photography

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I’ve got a pretty great set up in my backyard for capturing shots of the seasonal birds who have been dining at uplandphoto Headquarters. I’ve always enjoyed watching the birds and even the squirrels who raid the feeder on a regular basis. All are welcome. Below are a few shots of a white breasted nuthatch, red-bellied woodpecker and house finch.

All images were shot at 1/1000 sec at f/6.7, ISO 6400.