This sure is a quiet forum. Surely we don't all sit in front of 'puter

[flamin lib]

all day and do nothing.

Right now the wind is howling in N Texas--30-40 mph gusts and my sailing experience says it's closer to 50!

I find walking boring but do some photography. Wildlife is my specialty. See some of it here:
http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i46/flaminlib/?action=view¤t=newmuvee005.flv

Somebody talk to me here! Is there outdoors after Vista?

[SteveM]

1. Hey, flamin lib. I live in Austin and have ventured out beyond Vista...

I hunt, which gives me a good look at wildlife and a unique way to interact with flora and fauna. This season I hunted extreme NW Coryell County where the landowner is trying to maintain and enhance a more balanced ecosystem. Currently, he has a cattle lease for 42 head on 124 acres. The rancher takes responsibility to plant oats in a 30 acre field (fed constantly by a spring out of the side of a mesa), so the cattle don't put much stress on the rest of the land. He and his brother have made a private pledge to cut down a minimum amount of cedar each time they visit. Things are looking good: we have seen horned lizards, squirrels (we don't hunt them) and cotton tails, all of which were scare or non-existent when I first visited 12 years ago. And in November, another hunter saw a mountain lion. Twice! Beautiful land whose oaks, dogwoods, walnuts, etc. can look like New England in the fall. Saw plenty of whitetail deer; too many, but I thinned the herd by one.

I also visited extreme northern Uvalde County where the Edwards Plateau begins. I climbed up the side of a large hill and as the sun rose, I could see the Nueces River take a bend around a hill to the south. Turkeys gobbled and jack rabbits moseyed by less than 20' away without noticing me. Lots of whitetails here as well, but also Axis deer (exotic from India). I have also seen a fallow deer (exotic) and turkey. Unfortunately, this may not be a good sign as there is some evidence that the native whitetails suffer from the competition. I thinned the Axis by one as well.

For the first time I visited Fort Boggy State Park. A pretty place stuck between 2 major highways, and suffering from the legislature's starvation funding. (They hold hunts here because of the ecosystem's degradation by deer.)

And for the fifth time I visited Balcones Canyon lands Wildlife Refuge in the NW corner of Travis County. Two endangered species, here (Black Cap Vireo and Golden Cheek Warbler) as well as the Alabama Crouton, a plant not seen in Texas before 1992. A huge migration of monarch butterflies passes through the Refuge every year. On one "hunting unit" the general public is allowed. But there are several units where only hunters can go. My goodness, but the land is rugged and beautiful (the unit I was in had a 400' elevation within 3,500 acres, two creeks, and many oaks).

I also regularly visit Granger Wildlife Management Area in Williamson County where I saw three years ago a huge migration of butterflies (not monarchs) that caused me to sit down in the woods. They landed on me, my shotgun and game bag like they owned the place. Perhaps they did.

I enjoyed your photos. Perhaps when my eyes begin to fail and I can no longer make an ethical shot, I will take up photography. Lord knows, by now I can get quite close to wildlife, even without a blind.

[flamin lib]

2. Sounds like you have a really active outdoor life.

You should take up photography in addition to your hunting--the season is longer and you can shoot anything you see, even people ;-)

I used to hunt but don't anymore, too much of a hardship for me getting up before dawn in the cold and such. Still buy a fishing license even though I don't actively fish anymore either. It's my small way of supporting TP&W and maintaining habitat. If it weren't for hunters and fishermen there wouldn't be any habitat anymore.

All that said, you sound like a fellow I'd like to hang with out in the wilderness during the off season.

Glad to see an active outdoor enthusiast on the forum.

[SteveM]

3. Soon (I hope) I will buy a digital camera...

The prices are falling and I may be able to afford one. I would like a wider-angle lens than the under $200 class is fitted with. Any suggestions?

[flamin lib]

4. I am biased to Olympus for a number of reasons.

1. I worked for that company for 6 years and know them to be very innovative - they think outside the box. Insane brand loyalty.

2. The format is different from the traditional 35mm. The shape of the image is much closer to standard print sizes, so the full image will go onto conventional commercial prints without cropping off the end. All the other mfgs remain with the oblong format.

3. The sensor is exactly 1/2 the size of 35mm (most other mfgs are about 70%). That means that for any given magnification a lens will be half the size of 35mm and correspondingly easier to carry, use and cost is reduced. The down side is that it's a little noisier (grainey) at high ISOs.

3. They have a dust removal system that keeps the sensor clean - dust on the sensor makes black shadows on the image. Some other mfgs are now introducing this feature.

4. The newest entry level SLR has image stabalization and live view. Two features only available on much more expensive models.

5. They're about 30% less expensive than the competition. The E-510 with two lenses (28-300mm 35 equivalent) is about $750. The last model is selling for $370 with the same lenses while supplies last.

All that said, you can't buy a bad camera today and Canon is the professional's choice followed by Nikon. Olympus is not as well thought of mostly because they've gone their own way on format.

If that's too much to spend, there are some fixed zooms that have ranges that will do what most people ask for in the $300-400 range. The Oly SP series is here: http://olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital.asp

Here's a couple of pics to show what the E-500 with kit lenses can do:



And an enlargement out of the pic above:



You can see the other ducks reflected in the eye.

You might want to lurk over at the Photography group for awhile.

[SteveM]

5. Thanks for the tips! Your pictures are great.

[benEzra]

6. Great photos! (n/t)