Bosque del Apache with the Sony 600GM-- IMAGE HEAVY

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Hatch1921

Hatch1921

Well-known member
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Hi all,

Just back from Bosque del Apache, I rented the Sony 600GM for five days and wanted to cry when I mailed it back to LensRentals.com, btw, if you ever need to rent a lens, give LensRentals a try. Topnotch service!

What can I say? The 600GM is everything people have said and more. It's a stunning chunk of glass that performs on another level.

The lens is very well balanced, and I shot a lot of the time hand-held. It feels lighter than my 200-600 even though it's 2lbs heavier. Autofocus --- BLAZING FAST. It locks on like nothing I've used before... amazing. I messed up plenty of shots, but I brought home images I would never have captured if I wasn't shooting the A1+600GM. One thing to keep in mind... the early morning temps are 28-32 and swing up to 55-60 in the late afternoon/evening. I lost a lot of shots due to heat distortion.

Another thing to keep in mind in the early morning... just freeze. LOL I kept the windows down while rolling around the loops, this kept the camera/lens cold (ambient temperature) so I didn't have to worry about a huge temp swing from heating the inside of the truck and jumping out into 30 degree weather.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make the trip, we recently relocated and are in the middle of a full home renovation. There's a lot going on. Bosque has turned into an annual trip, and I struggled with making the decision to go. It was a quick trip, I rolled into the refuge around 3pm and hit the loops Friday afternoon and then made my way back to Arizona Sunday morning.

The flight deck area at the time I'm posting this was nearly empty, the pond to the south is empty as well. I believe they are going to fill it this month. The past couple of trips, the observation area when you first enter the refuge driving from Socorro south, it has been empty. They park worked on the levees and it has water in it. This is an excellent place to catch sunrise shots of the birds. You get great light and the big tree to the south of the pond is bright yellow with fall colors right now.

The far north loop inside the park has been opened in the past, it is closed. I was a little sad about this as I've come across harrier hawks and turkeys on the north end of the refuge.

The migration is really just starting, and the birds are not in thousands upon thousands. There is more than enough to keep you busy, plenty of opportunities to capture shots. The trees are in full fall colors adding to the scenes. I gave this time of year a try to see if I could avoid the crowds... it worked. There were maybe 20-25 cars throughout the entire day... very low volume.


If you haven't been to Bosque... put it on the list of places to see. I'm still working on tons of images... here are some I've worked on.

The antelope shots... a little backstory. I grew up in southern New Mexico very close to the border. On the way to school, often we would see antelope herds out in the desert. I haven’t been back to the area in 30 years, on the way back to Arizona I took a chance and traveled the route back home through this area. I was in luck and super excited to see the little group out in the desert. Sadly, the images are only web worthy as heat distortion really messed up the shots. It’s still great for the memories but I can’t print these.

Enough babble …it was a great trip… loved shooting the 600GM! I will own this lens…at some point… soon. LOL
Hope you like the shots and let me know if you have any questions about Bosque…I think this was my 5th trip? I might go back in January.

Anyways… photo time… with many more to process.

Thanks for making it this far.
Hatch

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr
 
Member's gallery
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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

The eagle shots.. just for giggles and grins... I put on the 1.4x tc and didn't expect much as the distance was very far. I was away from the flight deck, down the road when I snapped these. I was shocked to see the details the 600GM +1.4xTC picked up. Usable photos... blew me away. The last shot is with the above combo but in crop mode... so... 1260mm equivalent? Again.. amazing lens... just amazing!

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr

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Sony A1+600GM by hatch1921, on Flickr
 
Member's gallery
Beautiful and varied set of photos. Very well done. Bosque is on my list someday. Great work with a top notch lens.
 
Member's gallery
JAS said:
Beautiful and varied set of photos. Very well done. Bosque is on my list someday. Great work with a top notch lens.
Click to expand...
Many thanks. It's worth a visit for sure. It's hard to say when the best time to go is... coming in from Wisconsin, a safe bet would be the first week in December or last week in November. I think the Crane Festival kicks off the week or so in December. The birds should be in full force by then.

Thanks again,
Hatch
 
Member's gallery
Thanks for the many images. It's been many years since I've been to Bosque, but I'm going there in 4 weeks. Your images give me something to look forward to.
 
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Ivan Rothman said:
Thanks for the many images. It's been many years since I've been to Bosque, but I'm going there in 4 weeks. Your images give me something to look forward to.
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Thank you for the comments.
Enjoy your trip, I think you are going at a great time, the ponds should be full and the birds will be in mass... it's going to be fun!

Thanks again,.
Hatch
 
Member's gallery
Great shots and it looks like your gear served you well. We are headed to Bosque in 2-3 weeks, and I'm looking forward to returning to on e of my favorite places on the planet. You to a good deal of good shots for the short time you were there, congrats!
 
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Woodyg3 said:
Great shots and it looks like your gear served you well. We are headed to Bosque in 2-3 weeks, and I'm looking forward to returning to on e of my favorite places on the planet. You to a good deal of good shots for the short time you were there, congrats!
Click to expand...
Many thanks! As I mentioned in a reply... I think you are hitting the place at a great time. I'm hoping the flight deck pond will be full.. I think they are going to fill it? The birds should be in mass. Looking forward to seeing some shots from there. It's a special place for sure... if Socorro had a little more to offer.. I would consider moving to the area. :)
 
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Great series. Truly wonderful images. I am heading there just after TG, first time in about 10 years. Will stop at the ABQ zoo, hope the duck pond is still active.

Question: did you use the 600 straight or did you include a 1.4 often?
 
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Irap said:
Great set Hatch, looks like you had a great tim.
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Thank you. It was a quick trip but a rewarding one. Clean/crisp cold air and lots of animals to photograph... hard to beat. :)


RichF said:
Great series. Truly wonderful images. I am heading there just after TG, first time in about 10 years. Will stop at the ABQ zoo, hope the duck pond is still active.

Question: did you use the 600 straight or did you include a 1.4 often?
Click to expand...
Thank you so much.
Enjoy your trip, your timing will be excellent as well... the birds should be in full swing.

About the 1.4TC. I tried it on three occasions... the eagle shots, a couple of coyotes way off in the distance, and some deer shots ...again way off. The heat distortion with or without the TC bit me on a number of shots. No fault of the lens of course. The eagle shots turned out (thankfully) and I would have used the TC more but I held off shooting really long shots as the temperature swings did me no favors. For example as I mentioned in the original post up top... the antelope were not all that far... 65-70 yards... filled the frame fairly well... but the heatwaves killed the images. I would say have the 1.4x TC with you, I should have tried using it more in some occasions... but the 600mm bare will get you in close most of the time. The observation pond when you first head to the entrance has water in it now... and a single large tree at the end. I would recommend getting there just before sunrise. The light is amazing... the birds will be roosting and start to become active when the sun comes up. Hindsight is 20/20... I should have moved down closer to the tree when they became active... as the yellow/orange colors of the tree would have made for an excellent background for the flying shots. So... keep that in mind if you shoot that area. The flight deck in the morning is neat to see the birds in mass (if there's water in it) but it's just not ideal for flying shots as everything is backlit... IMO. It's great in the evening when the sun sets. Enough babble :) Have a fun trip and post some shots when you return.

Hatch
 
Member's gallery
Love the image quality of the lens, I can see why you were sad to send it back! I'm going for a week the last part of November and the very first part of December. I'm hoping it won't be as crowded as the full first week of December normally is. I've gone there several times, including last year.
 
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Viathelens said:
Love the image quality of the lens, I can see why you were sad to send it back! I'm going for a week the last part of November and the very first part of December. I'm hoping it won't be as crowded as the full first week of December normally is. I've gone there several times, including last year.
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Sending the lens back almost made this grown man cry LOL :) Enjoy your trip, hopefully it won't be crazy crowded. This is another reason why I made the choice to go this past weekend. It was a gamble as it's early in the migration but it worked out well. Next year I might try the weekend of the 11th and see how it goes. It's hard to time it where there is color, lots of animals, and fewer people :) The time we went in January, the crowds were small, I think this is due to the temps... it was pretty cold.

Be sure to post some shots when you get back. Love that place!

Hatch
 
Member's gallery
Hatch1921 said:
Thank you. It was a quick trip but a rewarding one. Clean/crisp cold air and lots of animals to photograph... hard to beat. :)



Thank you so much.
Enjoy your trip, your timing will be excellent as well... the birds should be in full swing.

About the 1.4TC. I tried it on three occasions... the eagle shots, a couple of coyotes way off in the distance, and some deer shots ...again way off. The heat distortion with or without the TC bit me on a number of shots. No fault of the lens of course. The eagle shots turned out (thankfully) and I would have used the TC more but I held off shooting really long shots as the temperature swings did me no favors. For example as I mentioned in the original post up top... the antelope were not all that far... 65-70 yards... filled the frame fairly well... but the heatwaves killed the images. I would say have the 1.4x TC with you, I should have tried using it more in some occasions... but the 600mm bare will get you in close most of the time. The observation pond when you first head to the entrance has water in it now... and a single large tree at the end. I would recommend getting there just before sunrise. The light is amazing... the birds will be roosting and start to become active when the sun comes up. Hindsight is 20/20... I should have moved down closer to the tree when they became active... as the yellow/orange colors of the tree would have made for an excellent background for the flying shots. So... keep that in mind if you shoot that area. The flight deck in the morning is neat to see the birds in mass (if there's water in it) but it's just not ideal for flying shots as everything is backlit... IMO. It's great in the evening when the sun sets. Enough babble :) Have a fun trip and post some shots when you return.

Hatch
Click to expand...
thanks. I ordered the new 600 TC and currently have the 800 PF. I don't expect the 600 TC to arrive before we leave, but if it does it will be an excellent birthday present. Plan to see the 800 PF after the 600 arrives
 
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RichF said:
thanks. I ordered the new 600 TC and currently have the 800 PF. I don't expect the 600 TC to arrive before we leave, but if it does it will be an excellent birthday present. Plan to see the 800 PF after the 600 arrives
Click to expand...
You are going to be in great shape with the 800PF, the extra reach will be useful. If the 600TC doesn't make it in time... this gives you an excuse to plan another trip :) Have fun, looking forward to your shots.

Hatch
 
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