Nature, Photography

First Shots with New 150-600mm Tamron Zoom

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I took a bunch of photos today with the new Tamron 150-600mm zoom (225-900mm equivalent on my DX-sensor Nikons).

Here are a few from the Byrne Creek habitat in SE Burnaby:

byrne_creek_butterfly_2_20140718
Butterfly on leaf

butterfly on leaf byrne creek A slightly different view

Grasshopper Byrne Creek
Grasshopper in Byrne Creek habitat in SE Burnaby

And several from Piper Spit at Burnaby Lake in Burnaby:

Goslings Burnaby LakeGoslings at Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake

Wood ducks Burnaby LakeFemale wood ducks, Burnaby Lake

Female wood duck Burnaby LakeI think female wood ducks are so cute!

Male wood duck Burnaby LakeWhile male wood ducks are quite spectacular

Ducks in lilly padsDuck playing hide and seek among the lillypads

Feather on lillypad

Lillypad blossom

Sleepy duck at Burnaby LakeSnoozing afloat

Dragonfly at Burnaby LakeA common whitetail dragonfly?

All of the above shots were with the Tamron 150-600 on a Nikon D5200 camera. ISOs ranged from 400 in bright sunlight to 1,600 in shade to keep shutter speeds high. The lens was mounted on a  Manfrotto 679B monopod with a Vanguard SBH-100 ball head.

While heavy, this rig is not unmanageable. I think I would have soon tired if the rig had not been on a monopod. It was useful not only for stabilization while shooting, but also to simply stand and rest!