Another First Trip to High Island

[Capt. Ray]

Took my first trip out there with MT Stringer (Mike). We lost the first hour of light because the gate was locked when we arrived. Everyone is right about how bad the "skeeters" are but once you see and start photographing the birds, it's worth it. Thanks again Mike for letting me try out your 50-500 and 2x tele-converter Mike. Got to get one. Here are a few of my shots.

[Capt. Ray]

The last two shots are a rabbit that crossed our path and MT himself.

[Casper]

Nice colors, Ray, and I like the unusual positions of the birds.

Was it hard to use the 500 x2 set up?

Steve

[Steelsun]

Nice shots - I hit the rookery myself around 10-11. That was worth the trip - the woods were a waste. At least the wind off the rookery kept down bunch of the skeeters.

[MT Stringer]

Casper, the 50-500 w/TCx2 requires manual focus but you sure can get up close and personal with the birds. It was funny to hear Ray say "I've got to back off 'cause I'm too close!" We had a good time and I'm looking forward to a return trip to check out the chicks.
Mike

[Tim T]

Nice shots Ray. Gotta love those spoonbills. They are fun to shoot. Also a great shot of the rabbit.

[snidow]

Nice series, spoonbills and just so much fun and love the close up on the rabbit.

[Capt. Ray]

Thanks for looking and commenting everyone.

Originally Posted by Casper

Was it hard to use the 500 x2 set up?

Steve

It wasn't the beast I thought it was gonna be and like Mike said, I found myself having to zoom back out to get the whole bird in the shot... I'm not at all use to that! I didn't have any problem with the manual focus. The only problem I had was when I kept my hand on the lens or by taking a shot with my shutter finger while gripping the camera body, I noticed some slight movement/vibration of the subject. Had to use my timer... forgot to bring my remote shutter controler.