Dyke, VA 2022

Another trip to Dyke and some nice photography opportunities. The astro photos didn’t turn out, but the trees were beautiful. Photos were taken with a Fuji Xt2 and Fujinon 70-300mm.

Bird of Prey

These beautiful birds have been visiting our neighborhood for the past few months. I think they are ospreys but I’m not sure. ALl photos taken with my Fuji XT-2 and Fujinon 70-300mm lens. Handheld with OIS enabled.

Exploring Bird Photography

Over Christmas break I rented the Fuji 70-300 (FUJIFILM XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens) to explore using it for bird photography, a new area for me. It worked well, I found it to be a bit slow and not sharp unless using a tripod, but it worked well for my first experience.

As all rentals go, I had to send it back, but shortly after that my new telescope arrived, the Astrotech AT80EDT. It’s awesome for bird photography, I’m lucky that it can sit on the tripod and point at a popular tree right out my office window.

All photos taken with my Fuji Xt2.

We’ve had a Baltimore Oriole for the past 2 months, quite rare in Chesapeake, VA. And this little yellow rumped warbler has been a frequent visitor for a while now.

Central Va 2021, Part 2

Well we liked it so much we went back to Lovingston in November. The skies were clear only one night, but they were perfect. Low 30s and low humidity made for great seeing and great photography. I used my Skywatcher Star Adventurer Pro 2i for all of these. Fuji Xt2 with either the samyang 12mm f/2 or Fujinon 35mm F2 WR.

14 exposures, 60 seconds each, ISO 3200. Fujinon 35mm
15 exposures x 60 seconds each, ISO 3200. Samyang 12mm
12 exposures x 60 seconds each. ISO 3200, Samyan 12mm.

Central VA 2021

We spent a few days in the Lovingston area of Central VA this week. I had a chance to test out my new Skywatcher Pro tracker, and it worked perfectly. Unfortuantely the skies didn’t cooperate, battling clouds and heavy humidity meant for not-ideal photos, but it was still nice to get used to the setup.

Fuji Xt2, Rokinon 14mm f/2

Fuji Xt2, Rokinon 14mm f/2

30 shot stack, 5 HDR at 6 focus points. Fuji Xt2, fujinon 35mmf/2.8 WR