Yeah, Snoopy is awesome:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/IMG_3138.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/IMG_8348.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8434-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8445-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8446-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8447-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8448-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/IMG_8513.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8876-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8461-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8494-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8619-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8641-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_8750-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/IMG_8939.jpg

AMAZING SHOTS!

and lol that last owl looks so badass

Is it still the right season/time to get bird shots at boundary bay? I wanna see what kind of images I can land with a 70-300mm
Posted via RS Mobile

THOSE ARE CRAZY AWESOME!!!

70-300 would have been more than enough for the owl on the fencepost. Just go to the BC Hydro training area just west of the 72nd St dyke's parking lot. They were really active Thursday morning, but nowhere to be found on Friday.

Froze my ass off to get some pics of the Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay today.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8...d0306d26_c.jpg

very heavy crop, sorry

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8074/8...9b8fd750_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8219/8...5f992cd9_c.jpg

Saw this giant bird too:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8352/8...8eecb144_c.jpg

Merry Christmas guys :)

Snowy Owls are back at Boundary Bay!?!?!?

They've been back for a while now, but they were usually way out in inaccessible areas.
Posted via RS Mobile

^
Guess I'll go walk my parents dog there today and maybe I'll see one way off in the distance. Those Owls are super cool.

Went out there today for the first time.. realized how poor I am.. need 500mm f2.8 :D. The owls are beautiful.

I'm right there with you.

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instanc...x/30723777.jpg

Nice seeing you again! Don't need 500mm for the Short Eared Owl sittin' on the fence though! Some lady told me that a Snowy Owl was sitting on the fence right next to the dykes earlier today...were you able to see/shoot it?

They were??? Damn! Missed them. Snowy owls in the distance were a dissapointment for my 70-300mm. But the SE Owl on the fencepost turned out pretty decent.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...C_7455e960.jpg

Flying Snowy Owl

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X...6844e960v2.jpg

^^
Those are AMAZING!!!! Great photographs!

Another snowy owl

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--...C_6846e960.jpg

^
wow! That's wonderful! So nice!

haha, don't humor me man. they're just okay. I'm probably gonna flamed big time for this, but I think Bird Photography is the one type of photography where gear is key.

The better gear you have, the better shots you're gonna get. Anyone, even a newb, if I put em with a 7D + 500mm + tele on burst mode will get fantastic shots compared to a pro with a 18-55mm kit lens. The rest is just patience. If your camera can't focus property with AF tracking or your lens is slow or slow to focus, it's gonna suck.

^
I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or not but I really think your photos are great! I like them! I've spent many many hours with an 18-200mm at Boundary Bay as well as other bird watching places and I always come home empty handed or with another boring Blue Heron photograph. My shots are either too grainy or not close enough. Most of the time its a combination of both. I have to jack up the ISO to atleast 400 most of the times because I won't get much light at f5.6 at 200mm. I immediately see annoying grain which makes me cringe when I set the camera to 400 ISO. I even got heckled at by other photographers carrying crazy expensive gear with long reach telling me that I'm wasting my time with my useless equipment. Sometimes I feel like I am and I really wish I was employed in order to purchase a better, longer lens for those bird photography moments but I don't care what those people say, I enjoy watching birds. I'm really fascinated by nature and the natural beauty of the world so I could sit out there all day without a camera and just watch.

So seeing your photos that were done with a 70-300mm are really sweet! I wanted to buy a 70-300mm VR just to hold me over until I'm able to afford a 300mm VR f2.8, a teleconverter and the necessary tripod with gimbal head. I agree that it definitely helps one capture awesome moments with a better camera body and a longer lens but I have seen great images from people who have 200mm and 300mm lens and with a lot of patience. You captured really great in flight Snowy Owls and one badass Short Eared Owl portrait. It's super sweet and I love it! If I had a job I'd ask if the Short Eared Owl photo is for sale along with many of the photos that Senna takes.

Anyways, I like your stuff and many of the other photographs by other photographers on here as well. I hope to see more very soon!

Your skill is clearly limited by your gear. After today's experience I put my 70-300mm up for sale. The next logical step for me is the excellent 300mm f2.8 and a tele. I want to handhold as much as possible, and the setup should allow me to do it. A dreamsetup is D800e with a 300mm f2.8 + tele. That should be able to get some serious shots. Somehow 500mm isn't worth the money when the 300mm + tele can accomplish virtually the same thing.

And screw that guy who was heckling you. Probably some dude with a tiny penis and needs to make himself feel better by buying lots of gear (not because he's skilled at photography).

You're welcome to buy my 70-300mm, but I don't recommend it :P

Sport & wildlife photography are those genres that having good gear is advantageous for the most part, but sometimes having a big huge lens is also a hindrance. I remember when the Northern Hawk Owl paid a visit to Westham Island and there were like 20 of us with 400mmm f2.8+ lenses and this little Asian lady with a 70-200mm f2.8VR. She wasn't getting the close ups that we were getting, but when the owl would fight the Red Tailed Hawk that pestered it, she was the only one who could move her camera around and focus. She had one shot that could have made a magazine cover it was so good - no one else could get the shot. It's too bad people were making fun of your gear - that's not cool. With the high resolution cameras today, even with "just" a 200mm lens on an APS-C body, you can easily crop and get a useable 8x10 print. I had someone mention to me today that I should buy a better tripod for my camera. I then explained to him that I left my Wimberley plate at home so I couldn't use my big Gitzo/Wimberley combo so I had to use my smaller Manfrotto carbon, which in turn made me miss a shot of the Short Eared Owl snatching a vole.

The Nikon 70-300VR is a pretty good lens for the price, but if you want to shoot birds, consider getting the 300mm f4.

No, with the D800E, you might get moire with feathers. The D800 is the better choice (for birds) - the slightly higher resolution of the D800E won't really be noticeable in prints smaller than 5~7 feet on the long side anyways.