Your Canon Photos No. 31: 3rd to 9th December 2023

This weekly thread is principally intended for you to showcase your photos made with Canon cameras of all sorts: SLR, DSLR, Mirrorless, M-series, APS-C, film, etc. But any brand of camera will be accepted, including photos taken with your phone. We do enjoy reading an accompanying text explaining your photo and any special techniques you may have used. Comments and helpful criticisms on others' photos are also welcome: we can all learn something from each other. We look forward to seeing your contributions and new participants to this series of threads are always welcome!

A new thread for the following week will be posted next Saturday around 10 pm UK time.

Digirame and I will be active here and are sharing the hosting, but we are used to all joining in and commenting on others' photos.

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Digirame opened the past week's thread with Autumn Colors, followed by Dinosaurs at Roloff Farms. He has a new camera, a Canon RP, and we are looking forward to his impressions of it and his photos.

Photobygms, our indefatigable out-of-doors man and his wife were hiking in his local woods in autumnal scenes.

This prompted Digi to discuss cleaning up leaves. I read an interesting article about how we should leave them on the ground! No pressure; but food for thought!

Simplejoy's contribution was to imagine an illustration of "Austria".

I visited the largest and most ambitious of the at least 12 Advent/Christmas Markets in Vienna. I was impressed by how many people come to participate and make this a success with their stalls from as far away as Italy. I also introduced Sammy the Snake who, by being stuffed with old clothes and sitting at the front door is enjoying his task of keeping the cold weather out of our apartment. It has already become colder (below 0°C/32°F) and we had serious snow for the first time in a long time -- too slippery to venture out.

I also got a new camera. It is lighter than the Canon with its 24-240 mm zoom, but promises to be highly versatile -- when I have figured out how it all works! I did my best to illustrate the snow through the windows, demonstrating my better familiarity with the Canon...

Steve took highly effective and contrasting pictures of the autumn trees in his garden under different weather conditions.

Mocha's photos of what are, to me, exotic mandarin ducks are magnificent.

David

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David

New week + new thread = New photos😁
We went out again for a hike after a busy week again. Being out there in nature is always a nice way to "relax"
And with some decent winter like weather a enjoyable time. a bit cold but that can be fixed with some decent clothing.
We did see some sun but also some low hanging fog like clouds.
And we do have some snow since a few days but not that much.

Canon 5D mark IV - Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM:

Canon Eos R - Canon - RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM:

Canon Eos RP - Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM:

Canon Eos 6D mark II - Canon - EF 16-35mm F2.8 L USM:

Hi Photobygms,

Super photos especially like the snow topped Fungi. 👍

Hi all,

A walk around Lynch Lake and Gunwade Lake, Cambridgeshire.

Wintery Sun and harsh shadows. (Aperture f/8 <> (SS): 1/200 <> ISO 100 <> EC: 0 <> PASM Mode: Aperture Priority <> Metering: Evaluative <> Focus Mode: One Shot <> FL: 23mm <> Lens: Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM <> Camera ID: Canon EOS 70D).

Lunchtime, munching on a mushroom. 😀 (Aperture f/5.6 <> (SS): 1/500 <> ISO 800 <> EC: 0 <> PASM Mode: Custom <> Metering: Partial <> Focus Mode: AI Servo <> FL: 300mm <> Lens: Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD <> Camera ID: Canon EOS 7D Mark II).

Golden time. (Aperture f/9 <> (SS): 1/60 <> ISO 125 <> EC: 0 <> PASM Mode: Aperture Priority <> Metering: Evaluative <> Focus Mode: One Shot <> FL: 50mm <> Lens: Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM <> Camera ID: Canon EOS 70D).

Taking off into the Sun. (Aperture f/5 <> (SS): 1/500 <> ISO 1600 <> EC: -0.33 <> PASM Mode: Custom <> Metering: Partial <> Focus Mode: AI Servo <> FL: 150mm <> Lens: Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD <> Camera ID: Canon EOS 7D Mark II).

@mocha123 what a difference no snow in your photos? nice sunny circumstances for a hike.
I thought there was also snow falling in the UK ?

Hi Photobygms,

Was down in Cambridgeshire up till Thursday 30th. It had already started freezing, overnight temps. were showing -4C but the days apart from one were Sunshine all the way. 😀. No snow till we got back home.

Photobygms,

That's great you got outdoors. Even though it appears cold there's something about it that can be exhilarating. That's what I see in your photos. It's nice to see the snow too.

Mocha,

I like seeing the places where you go for walks. Those are super photos of the squirrel and heron.

Hi David,

The reason we rake up the leaves, is to keep them off the lawns. Also raking up leaves and small dead branches reduces fire hazards and may reduce the habitat for insects, particularly ants. But some leaves remain under bushes where the removal would be tedious. I let the bacteria eat them. 😀 I've found that also the electrical cordless blower works great to remove the leaves from the roof. There's no cord to cause a person to trip & fall and the damage to the roof is minimal.

Just to let you all know.... My $129 (USD) Canon RF lens finally arrived in Oregon; maybe I'll get it today or tomorrow. It's been nine days since I ordered it. The Canon RP camera took only three days to arrive at my home. The Black Friday special prices I got for the Canon RP and lens apparently were real. The last time I checked, Canon removed those steep discounts from their website.

Update: Canon added back some of those refurbished camera discounts, but they are not anywhere near what they were previously. We'll have to keep looking for good deals. 😀

Subject: October Wood Ducks

I thought I would start off showing the Wood Duck pictures I got in October. Those were taken under mostly dark conditions. To accommodate those conditions, my camera and lens combination did well, all the way to ISO12800. Later next week I'll show the Wood Duck pictures I got in November. Those were much better under sunny conditions. It was a lot of work. It took patience to stand there in one spot long enough, waiting for them to come close. I would have to stand there for a minimum of one hour.

Photo No. 1 - First we see the female and male Wood Duck next the reeds. Because this pond has these reeds, it makes it a popular spot for them. I had a little bit of sun that came through the trees that surround this pond.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 2000
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 2 - I like it when I can get both the male and female Wood Duck in focus. There's no sunlight here.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0.33
FocalLength - 500 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 3 - I got a few of the incredibly close photos of the female Wood Duck.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 4 - Again....

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 5 - And again....

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 4000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 6 - And now the male Wood Duck....

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 7 - I showed this photo on Dpreview. It was really getting dark and I had to have a high enough shutter speed to freeze the action. That was the reason I needed ISO12800. The water is almost pitch black, because that was a reflection on how dark it really was.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 12800
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 500 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 8 - Being still dark, I managed to take a photo of the male Wood Duck perched on this piece of wood.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 6400
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 9 - It was nice when a small amount of sunlight came through.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 2500
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 552 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 10 - It's tough to get them both in focus as the depth of field is very shallow. But I got close to doing that.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 11 - Another nice one of a female....

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 12 - Again....

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 6400
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 13 - And again but this time with the duck out of the water.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/200 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 5000
ExposureBiasValue - 0.33
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 14 - A now the male.... Notice how dark it is; that's the reason for the high ISO level.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/200 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 6400
ExposureBiasValue - 0.33
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 15 - We see ISO10000 being used.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 8
ISOSpeedRatings - 10000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 600 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Photo No. 16 - And another high ISO level so I could freeze the action. I hope you all like the series.

Model - Canon EOS 800D
ExposureTime - 1/320 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 8000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 273 mm
Lens Model - TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011

Postscript on the snow, which was quite exceptional in the context of the last decade or so. A friend in the countryside tells me they had 40cms, and the further west you go in Austria, the more there is. I dont think more is to come for at least a few days but the temperature will go down to -10°C (14°F) tonight -- brrr!

Looking out of the window late last night:

David

David,

That's a cool looking ISO20000 photo. The image quality looks great. The lighting must have been from street or building lights. Thanks for the update on the snow. We had some rain and snow in the mountains but there is no flooding yet (that I know of).

Yes, it's quite amazing, and you can probably get similar results with your RP. There is just one street light, hanging above the middle of the street, nearly at the LHS of the image.

@Digirame. lovely ducks, Some of those I've never seen (in the Netherlands) 😃

@davidwien, As far as I have understood the Northern side of the Alps did get a lot and will even get more.

David,

You make me excited to see the image quality from the RP. Here's what I got last night with the Canon M50 MKII. For an inexpensive crop sensor camera, it does OK considering how dark it was. I just think the RP could do better. Unfortunately, the lens being delayed for me interfered with my ability to test the RP yesterday. But there will be other Christmas night time events.

Model - Canon EOS M50m2
ExposureTime - 1/20 seconds
FNumber - 4
ISOSpeedRatings - 8000
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 15 mm
Lens Model - EF-M15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM

Photobygms,

Thanks. The Wood Ducks reside in North America. The related Mandarin ducks (the ones that Mocha shows) are from Asia. But Mandarin duck pets got loose throughout the world, that's why they can be seen in the UK, the United States and possibly Canada. They may possibly be seen in your area too. You should check that out. I've never seen a Mandarin duck in Oregon where I live, but I heard some of them might be found.

Hi Digirame,

That's fantastic seeing your Wood Ducks, I have heard there are places in the UK where you can find Wood Ducks but I've never come across one myself, maybe it's time to get my map out and my walking boots and go looking 😀. Super set.