OK, it hardly counts as wildlife photography when the birds in question are tethered and used for falconry.

But still, its a great way to get some exposure to some fantastic birds.

First shot is pretty much as taken. The second had a bit of HDR applied.

A friend bought one of these a few weeks ago. At the time (and every time he showed me a great photo since) I jokingly asked to borrow it, but without any huge conviction given it’s a thousand pound lens…

Imagine my surprise when he arrived at my door yesterday morning and handed it to me.

Suffice to say, that was the end of the weekend of chores and I’ve been shooting ever since.

Initial impressions are it’s heavy. Especially on a 400D body. It totally dwarfs the rest of the camera, but it’s still much more usable than I expected with the barrel width not encroaching on hand space very much at all.

Focus is fast. Blisteringly so, you don’t notice it seeking a huge amount either. The IS is noisy and seems to run for a little while after the shot as well which was a shock when I heard it.

In terms of image quality, it’s simply stunning. The bokeh it produces it lovely and the sharpness is to die for.

I’ve no intention of spending long periods of time seeing if it works well with low light or if the IF is good for 2 stops or 3. there are plenty of sites and people who’ve done that already.

Suffice to say, if you’re in the market for a superb zoom and you have the sort of cash needed, this is a great looking piece of kit.

Right, I’m off out to the park to see what other shots I can get before he realises just how nuts it was to loan me a lens like this!

There’s a macro themed competition this year, so I’ve been trying to get the hang of macro photography. I guess the stereotype for the competition will be an inset shot and so I started out with those because I love stereotypes and it’s a decent way to practice focusing.

I ended up converting this to B&W as part of my messing about with the image and actually quite liked it.

I’d love it to be sharper though.

I really need to pick up a flora and fauna book.

I' think this is a chicken. Though why I spent yesterday at the zoo taking photos of chickens is anyone's guess…

It does seem to have a certain attitude though.

I feel I should confess my problem.

No. Not that I can’t take photographs – you know this already.

I feel I should confess my love for cheese.

Not the yellow, made from milk, type cheese, but the big hair retro “Disco Stu” cheese.

Which is why, even though this should have been consigned to the recycle bin as a drunken mistake, I decided to let you all see it.

I can’t help but feel it should be stitched or stencilled onto a T-Shirt or the back of a motorcycle jacket and sent back in time to the 1980’s.

I really need to try harder to manage my depth of field issues.

This is just a little shallow for me. Though I love the effect pushing it through an HDR process has had on it.

Original image was parsed through Dynamic-Photo HDR then had some small curves adjustments and a little sharpening applied to it.

The original image was shot at f/5.6 1/250 at 250mm. The wide aperture at such a zoom has left it a little too shallow. On review, it’s an issue I have with a few birds of prey pictures I took over the weekend.

This was the first holiday I’ve ever tried using an SLR in snowy conditions. The temptation for the camera to over expose was really compounded by the fact I was wearing sunglasses a lot and so when reviewing pictures they always looked dark.

One of the interesting challenges on this trip was definitely shooting pictures from inside a dogsled while rattling along a really bumpy trail.

Here’s one example

(Oh, and for reference. These dogs don’t stop when they need to piddle or poop – they just kind of go on the run. So, if you’re ever in this position, make sure you watch out for flying poop!)

Yesterday I mentioned the animals in Elk Island being happy to pose. Well, none more so than this little chap.

When we spotted him in the tree, we all jumped on cameras thinking it would be the shot of a second. But, I kid you not, this little guy was still hanging around and posing 5 minutes later.

In fact, I’d swear when we turned away he started complaining!

Here’s a few other shots.

Oh, the little white flecks on his coat aren’t issues with the camera, they’re little snowflakes – there was still a lot around. I may clone them out if I print one of these though as out of context they are a little detracting.

And no, I don’t think he would have let me brush him down…

(Oh, I was told this was a Red Squirrel. In the absence of other contradictory evidence I am assuming this to be correct)

Whilst in Canada we had an opportunity to visit Elk Island National Park to look for Bison.

Sadly the Bison decided it was too damn cold and snowy to hang out near the places where humanity might catch a glimpse, though we did see them in the distance.*

Still, the other locals were happy to pose.

In an effort to be prepared when leaving the house, I’d lifted out my 10-22mm and my 55-250mm lenses from my camera bag. By habit, I’d mounted the wide angle lens. It was only as we entered the park and I looked at my friends camera I began to get a niggling feeling I’d made a mistake.

Yup, animals tend to be skittish, landscapes less so – so if you’re in the same situation, mount your zoom lens in case an animal pops up. They probably won’t hang around while you change lenses and reset the camera.

*I’m kind of glad they were in the distance. Having partook in the eating of some of their friends in the preceding days, I felt guilty enough without having to look one in the eye. Funny thing, I’ve never felt that way when encountering a cow or a pig.

Ok, that was a mouthful.

During the summer I picked up a replacement zoom lens. I'd initially started out with a Tamron 55-200 which came as part of my camera kit and it was fine. Maybe a little soft, here and there and maybe not quite as fast as I might have liked.

But, having played with the Canon f/4-5.6 55-250 lens at a friends house I was really impressed and had to have one.

I'm only getting round to talking about it now because it's one of those things that just becomes an essential part of your kit without ever going through that awkward fumbling new stage where everything has to be done with it. If you use Canon lenses, then there is a lovely sense of familiarity with it - it works exactly how you'd want without any awkward moments. Kind of like when you fall in love as opposed to just go out for a date...

The lens itself is solidly constructed compared to rivals in the price range, though be warned you are buying plastic for the most part (not metal as some of the L series lenses might be). It's a decent weight, comfortable to hold, and feels well balanced both at 55 and 250 ends of the zoom.

As well as the standard auto and manual focus, it comes with 4 stop image stabilisation (IS) which Canon rate as 4 stop, though to me it seems closer to 2. (That said, I do have a shaky hand at times so your mileage may vary). If you've not used IS before, it's worth noting that you can hear it when using the camera but it is very quiet (just don't be surprised when you first pick it up!).

Out of the box, you get lens, manual, front and end caps. No hood is supplied and it is on my list of useful things to buy (or if Mr Canon would like to comp me one I won't complain).  It's also worth noting that this is an EF-S mount so is designed for APS-C sensors rather than the full frame sensors in more expensive Canon cameras.

If you're in the market for a zoom lens on a limited budget or if you're just starting out with camera and kit lens, you're not going to be disappointed with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm Zoom Lens

Oh, and those two birds...

(f/7.0, 194mm, 1/250sec, ISO-200)

Here are a few other shots that were taken with this lens.

(f/5.6, 250mm, 1/250sec, ISO-200)

(f/10, 250mm, 1/250sec, ISO-400)

Since I don't really post photographs of people very often, it can be hard to talk about portrait photography that I've tried.

A few hardy souls have volunteered to let me take their picture, but until I manage to get something organised the best I can do is the occasional animal.

One useful technique for taking photographs of people (or in this cases horses) is to try and capture light in their eyes. (Good light mind, not that horrible red eye that comes from flash in low light conditions. )

This light reflection in the eye can either be natural or as a result of some smart lighting techniques, but what it will do is lift the eye into the picture and draw attention to it. (Your eye will always get drawn to bright spots of a photograph).

Take a look at some photos of faces and see what I mean - eyes with catchlights are much more full of life than eyes without.

It's been about two weeks since I last posted and 3 since I posted a photograph. It feels like longer.

I'd never planned on talking about me beyond my photography and I'm not going to get into it too much now. Suffice to say I encountered a health problem. I then had some issues with the medications given to me to handle the problem. But I'm feeling better now and hopefully on the road to some changes which will help as well.

And that's why it's been quiet.

Anyway, as part of all of this I haven't had the energy to pick up cameras for the last few weeks, but I took a walk today and to try and make my brain work I took along my camera.

I've mentioned Dermot's obsession (can I call it that?) with macro shots when confronted with views and landscapes, but I can kind of see why these days.

Anyhow, apart from the frost and the leaves, this little fella cheered me up by posing.

(No idea if he's red or gray, sorry)

This became something of a mantra on Saturday while in the Mournes. Normally just about the time we headed into the wilds, got stuck in some bog or came across the skull of a sheep

With the skull being a grotesque and morbid sight, we all took photos...

(f/8, 1/200sec, 22mm, ISO-200, 27/09/08)

I think this might have been slightly better if the angle on the skull had of been higher. But I quite liked the out of focus grasses in the foreground.

Of course, if you put a Selenium tint on it, the world goes very Blair Witch.

"They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed."

The Shadow Over Innsmouth, H.P. Lovecraft

I've mentioned before that my wife comes from an island fishing family. Well, sometimes fish turns up on the menu when we visit. Normally shell fish, but not normally in a form where it might just eat you back.

Poor Larry wasn't long for this world so I thought the least I could do was give him a pictorial memorial here.

(f/5.6, 1/200sec, 250mm, ISO400)

Sometimes these photo opportunities fall on your plate (excuse the pun). It's a good reason to always have a camera close to hand (like a fork).

No lobsters were harmed during the shooting of this picture. Afterwards...