Gary Blake

E-5 is version 1.3 according to the Olympus Japan site.

Thanks for looking and commenting.
Focal length is 350mm + 1.4TC on 2X crop camera body. The image was shot at the minimum focus distance of about10 feet and only cropped from landscape to portrait which is why there is so much detail.
Gary

hdl1989

Thank you for the nice comments.

To start with I used a free program called The Photographer's Ephemeris to give me the exact time and location of the rising moon. The program provides all the information you need in order to choose a location where the moon will be rising over water (in this case) It could just as easily be used to determine the position of the moon rising over a mountain etc depending on your location and the type of shot you are trying to create.

This photograph was taken in two exposures and blended. The moon was shot at 1/25sec, f11 and the water was an almost full 5 second exposure. The only time you do this type of shot in one exposure is immediately after the moon clears the horizon, before it becomes too bright and the contrast is too great for a single exposure.

If you watch the moon rise timetables you can pick a time when the moon is rising just after sunset which will provide the warmer color of the moon and the reflections on the water.

Gary

Thanks you for taking the time to comment - always appreciated.

Gary

Thanks for commenting and voting - much appreciated.

Gary

Twigs

Thanks for looking and commenting.

The kingbird nest was very close to the harrier nest and the harrier was returning from quite a distance away with its catch so it would not have been the kingbirds young. I had a blind set up near the harrier nest and observed the activity for about 3 weeks, so became quite familiar with the comings and goings. The kingbird would go after the harrier almost every time she returned to the nest, regardless of what prey she was returning with (usually mice).

Gary

EJ

Thanks for looking and commenting.

The shot was taken at 123mm on the Olympus 50-200mm lens. The E-3 has a 2X crop factor and the submission form for challenges specifies 35mm equivalent focal length which is 246mm.

Differing camera crop factors can make this a little confusing.

Gary

Ian,

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Gary

Zebooka,

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Gary

johnsaxon

Thanks for looking and commenting.

Gary

roby 17269

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Gary

Breez

Thanks for looking and commenting! They are a very pretty little owl with very expressive eyes.

Gary

inframan

Thanks for looking and commenting! They are difficult little birds to locate, so when you do find them you don't want to have to leave without a good photo.

Gary

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Gary

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Gary

The sun had just set so there was still some colour hitting the moon and reflecting on to the water.

Gary

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Tim

Thanks for the comment and for hosting the challenge, the subject seemed to fit this particular shot - was a lot of fun photographing these little guys.

Gary

Hylton

Thanks for looking and commenting.

At f 2.8 the OM 350 is still very sharp, however the depth of field is razor thin, even more so with the 1.4TC attached. Stopping down to f4 or 5.6 will render more of the birds in sharp focus and still isolate them from the background.

Gary