Birds at 600mm

This is a photography blog, after all, so I should probably post some photographs. These are from a few weeks ago when I walked around Stanford with my Sigma 600mm and monopod (it was mostly a test of my monopod).

This first guy is an Acorn Woodpecker (Whatbird) I've seen him and his type all over the place on campus drilling holes in palm trees. Since the trees are 50 ft or so high, the 600mm is really necessary for reach (this is approximately half the frame -- he's really high up!).

The next two hummingbirds I found in the Cactus Garden (Arizona Garden) and I don't really have a good enough shot to get an identification. Of course, hummingbirds all look alike to me anyway :)


I just love this one, even though you can't see the bird's head. I just really like the color, composition, and motion. FYI, this is the full frame.