March 2020 at Lake Arrowhead
Denville Township, New Jersey
The bleak recent weather seems to echo the uncertain times of the pandemic. Hopefully sunny days ahead for us.
Canon EOS M50 + Tamron 18-400mm
Category Archives: Tamron
Red-shouldered Hawk in Sussex County NJ
Red-shouldered Hawk
Hamburg, New Jersey
This shot was taken recently at roadside along Route 94 and taken with my car window rolled down. I did a doubletake after driving passed a small patch of trees between 2 homes in Sussex County. Luckily I was able to turn my car around and get in position for a few shots of this Red-shouldered as it scanned for rodent prey.
More info on Red-shouldered Hawks – https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/overview
Canon EOS SL2 + Tamron SP 150-600mm VC G2
View from Sunrise Mountain
View from Sunrise Mountain
Stokes State Forest, Sussex County, New Jersey
Great panoramic views atop Sunrise Mountain and you can often interact with hikers working their ways North on the Appalachian Trail.
Canon 5Dsr + Tamron SP 15-30mm lens.
Visit Stokes State Forest – https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/stokes.html
Incoming Storm over Old Farm
Incoming Storm over Old Farm
Hackettstown, New Jersey
It was clear no other person had walked around this property recently as there was scarcely a deer path to navigate the overgrowth.
Canon 5Dsr + Tamron SP 15-30mm VC
Stone House and View of Silo
Stone House and View of Silo
Hackettstown, New Jersey
This old farm property was very overgrown and difficult to see from the main road. Interestingly, this is actually state-owned open space now.
Canon 5Dsr + Tamron SP 15-30mm lens
Kayaking Potash Lake
Kayaking around Potash Lake and Ramapo River in Oakland NJ
It was all fun and games until a large dark cloud came overhead and the wind picked up.
Visit the boat launch at Potash Lake – https://paddling.com/paddle/locations/potash-lake-on-the-ramapo-river/?lat=41.0224&lng=-74.2593&zoom=14
All photos taken with my typical kayaking setup which is the Tamron 18-400mm VC lens + Canon SL2. A pretty versatile tool and portable enough for me to fit inside my dry bag.
Northern Gray Tree Frog
Northern Gray Tree Frog
Jonathan’s Woods, Morris County NJ
This Tree Frog was silent and mostly motionless so it was dumb luck that I noticed it.
Tamron SP 180mm macro lens + Canon M50
Canon EOS M50 – First Day Out
Canon EOS M50
24 megapixel mirrorless camera
My first day out with this new camera. I will be using it for filming wildlife in Ultra High Definition (4k) as well as general nature photography.
The articulating screen and touch screen are great features. Having a few less manual dials than a full sized DSLR will take getting used to. I love being able to use all of my Canon mount lenses onto a small camera though.
I should be able to run detailed prints up to 20″x30″ from this setup but will continue to use my Canon 5Dsr for heavy duty landscape work. Let me know if you have any questions about the Canon M50 which I may be able to answer for you.
High resolution birding sample – Tamron 18-400mm Di II VC HLD
Yesterday morning in Morris County NJ I had the good fortune of finding a cooperative and photogenic Gray Catbird during my walk. The photography equipment I used for this birding outing was the Tamron 18-400mm Di II VC HLD telephoto zoom lens paired with my Canon SL2 DSLR. A very nice compact and lightweight setup.
Clicking on the image below will to take you to the high resolution sample from my Google Drive account. Below the image is a little background on the shot and my original caption for facebook.
Gray Catbird in NJ photographed with the Tamron 18-400mm VC + Canon SL2.
Parsippany, New Jersey
A gray morning outdoors this morning made for challenging photography conditions. The key to making usable wildlife shots in dim lighting is to make the main subject (i.e. catbird) just as bright as it would be on a sunny afternoon. Turning the dial to “M” (manual exposure) and raising the ISO (light sensitivity of the camera) will accomplish just that.
Handheld shot with the
Tamron Lenses USA 18-400mm VC HLD + Canon SL2
1/80th F/8 ISO 3200, 400mm
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Grand Canyon and Sedona Arizona Trip
Lisa and I recently got home from 1 week out west which was a terrific trip. We flew non-stop from Newark airport into Phoenix and I was able to secure tickets at $300 after some diligent research. Our first accommodations were Forest Houses Resort in Oak Creek Canyon (just outside of Sedona). For the 2nd leg of our trip we stayed at the Yavapai Lodge within Grand Canyon National Park. We found the rates at both to be reasonable and the rooms were more than adequate. I also booked a rental car from Phoenix at $16/day thanks to hotwire.
Sedona, Arizona. This photo was taken from Red Rock Crossing. Image by Dave Blinder, please contact me for licensing or prints.
For photography equipment I brought along my Canon 5DsR dslr as well as my Canon SL2. I brought three lenses with me, the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC G1, Tamron SP 150-600mm VC G2, and the Tamron SP 90mm VC G1 macro lens. I did not use my macro lens much as I was often on the go, and did not want to swap lenses in dusty environments.
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Image by Dave Blinder, please contact me for licensing or prints.
For the sake of brevity I am not posting pictures from each and every park we visited, however I am happy to answer any travel questions that I can help with. Some of the many attractions we enjoyed include: Slide Rock State Park, Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Red Rock State Park, Cathedral Rock, Devil’s Bridge, Palatki Heritage Site, Tuzigoot National Monument, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Little Colorado River Gorge, and of course Grand Canyon National Park.
Early morning view of Grand Canyon National Park Arizona. Image by Dave Blinder, please contact me for licensing or prints.
I found the lighting conditions around Sedona to be challenging during my trip, yet I really enjoyed my time spent in the area. Photographic momentum picked up for me when we made it to the Grand Canyon. It would be difficult to take a bad sunrise or sunset picture when standing in front one of the natural wonders of the world. I also found the Navajo tribal land (just beyond desert view) to be very peaceful and a very immersive nature study area. Do yourself and check out the Little Colorado River Gorge when in the area.
Rock Squirrel at Little Colorado River Gorge. Image by Dave Blinder, please contact me for licensing or prints.
Now that it is finally springtime here in New Jersey, I look forward to photographing the regularly scheduled birds and bees. Let me know if you have any questions about my Arizona pictures or any of my travel accommodations.
Lesser Goldfinch Female with Fledgling at the Verde River in Cottonwood Arizona. Image by Dave Blinder, please contact me for licensing or prints.
Dave Blinder Nature Photography 