Is it Really Two Years Since my Last Blog?

How is that possible? I have no idea.

I am soon going to trade up from my Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II to the Mark III version for two precise reasons; the extra stop of stabilization and the ability to track birds. Note, not just track things like birds but specifically BIRDS - the AI algorithms in the focus system can be set to Bird Tracking and supposedly do it very well. And when you shoot handheld where I do, at 400-600mm full frame equivalent and usually some 30+ feet from your subjects, you need every last bit of stabilization you can get. And nothing on the market stabilizes like the Olympus does - nothing.

As usual I continue to be astounded by the myopia of so many reviewers. One gentleman, reviewing the bird tracking on the Mark III said it did a great job of birds in flight and single birds in trees and the like, but when you tried to shoot, say, twenty ducks in a group on the ground it had trouble deciding which one to focus on. Duh. Now who would have thought that? Can't wait to get my hands on the version that chooses which duck I want to shoot for me :) I assume people actually get paid for observations like this.

Olympus has left the camera business and transfered the business to a different Japanese company that now runs it. Full framers continue to insist that micro 4/3s is inferior. Me, I'll just keep taking shots like these (from a bird calendar I'm doing) while strolling around with two and a half pounds of camera and lens, no tripod and a smile on my face.

A baby great horned owl, abandoned by mom and dad. He was twenty feet up a big pine and in deep shadow - I was stunned when I saw the detail that was in there. He was gone the next day.

I love the look ibis have; a sort of knowing, self-mocking smile.

A red-bellied woodpecker who was way up in a pine tree.

A black vulture shot from the amazing 3-story observation platform in Pop Stansell Park in Palm Harbor Florida.

Green herons are the opposite of ibis - focused, intent and all business. I love shooting them and trying to capture that...well, the one right above...posture.

Oops, please ignore this picture - everyone knows that micro 4/3's cameras are no good in low light :) This is about 5:30 am and the sun is just coming up as the full moon is setting. One of those shots you just feel lucky to get.