Photographing Mute Swans Through New Eyes
Wildlife photography with the Canon 5D Mark Two…
Well I’ve gone and done it, upgraded my DSLR, the Canon 5D to the new and greatly improved mark two version. More of which later. I’ve not had much time to get to grips with it since travelling back home from working in the Lake District. Between unloading the car, dropping my suitcase in the hallway, watering my plants and charging the batteries up there wasn’t much time left to shoot in any real daylight.
Not that it matters, this camera has got the highest ISO range to date so low light shooting is par for the course which is perfect for my quest for the ultimate barn owl shot. I got changed, quickly attached the new battery grip and extra battery, stuck my beloved 100-400mm lens on the front and went in search of those peregrine falcons again. Actually I wasn’t that bothered, I just wanted to rattle of a few shots and find my way around the camera.
A mute swan caught my attention, I saw it’s long neck and strange head poking out of a vast field of green, it chewed away happily until I approached a few steps too far when it treated me to its all too familiar warning ‘hiss’. Good job I had a decent zoom lens!
I can’t wait to unlock this camera’s potential, the possibilities are incredible and I’ve had one or two ideas for the blog as a result. So wait and see, in the meantime I shall make the most of the bad weather and stay in and swat up on my new manual! Here’s a mute swan…
Mute Swan
Miles
great stuff and great shot !
Cheers
Rod
June 7, 2009 @ 8:03 am
Rod,
Thanks mate, off to ’swat up’ now
Miles
June 7, 2009 @ 9:00 am
Miles,
Congrats on your new bit of kit (now you do actually own this one, right?). Have fun shooting and I look forward to seeing these new ideas here.
GDave
June 7, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
GDave,
Yes mate, ’tis true!
Miles
June 7, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
Beautiful shot, Miles. But I have to say after the last couple of posts, I half-expected a shot of Jennifer relaxing in your herb garden. I’ve been out of town and am playing catch up with your posts. Good way to enjoy my morning coffee.
Melissa
June 9, 2009 @ 11:32 am
I’m sure you’re totally in love with the 5dmk2 Miles. I’m so envious, I can only drool from the sidelines. Hopefully I’m be upgrading to a 5dmk1 in the next few days.
June 18, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
Kevin,
It is incredible, the mark one is a hell of a camera and I thought I was taking a risk upgrading but I haven’t. That said I’d never sell the mark1, it’s too good.
If you look at my more recent posts you’ll get a better idea of the quality.
If you get a 5d I’d recommend the battery grip, it just feels right to me.
Had a look at some of your recent work Kevin, it really is superb.
Miles
June 19, 2009 @ 12:15 am