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

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Hatch1921 said:
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

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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

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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

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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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Beautiful images
 
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Great photos-wow what clarity. Last time I was at the Bosque, I ran into Moose Peterson! It was good to talk with him if only briefly. Check out his work on utube if you get the chance. I got some great images there with my D810 camera and 200-500mm Nikkor lens definitely want to go back. There is nothing like it if you are after birds. We also got a great shot of a coyote stalking a flock of sandhill cranes. Got my best hawk picture there also. I may follow your lead and rent a 600mm lens next visit. Thanks for posting great images!
 
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Dave Wo said:
Great photos-wow what clarity. Last time I was at the Bosque, I ran into Moose Peterson! It was good to talk with him if only briefly. Check out his work on utube if you get the chance. I got some great images there with my D810 camera and 200-500mm Nikkor lens definitely want to go back. There is nothing like it if you are after birds. We also got a great shot of a coyote stalking a flock of sandhill cranes. Got my best hawk picture there also. I may follow your lead and rent a 600mm lens next visit. Thanks for posting great images!
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Many thanks. I've run across his work from time to time. I think he was doing aviation photography the last time I browsed his site. You have to give one of the big primes a try... or don't ... as it ruins you and will ultimately drain you savings. LOL Sounds like you have a nice time at the refuge. I tried capturing some coyote shots and even with the 1.4x TC on the 600mm... in crop mode... they were a little far... and the heat distortion did me no favors. Thanks again for the comments. Hatch
Activert said:
Beautiful set of photos. Thanks for sharing the location! Is it now the best time of the year to visit for bird photography?
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Thank you. I would say from now until the end of January you will have more than enough opportunities to capture plenty of bird shots. The cranes and geese are migrating in now. I would say there were a couple thousand geese there last week and at least that many sandhill cranes spread out in the refuge. Plus you have raptors and red-winged blackbirds and kestrels... etc. It would be worth a visit if you can make the trip.

Thanks again.
Hatch
 
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What a beautiful series of shots. I've always wanted to go to Bosque del Apache, but have avoided it until now because I've heard stories of the horrendus crowds and people shooting shoulder to shoulder. I just can't tolerate crowds. Perhaps the key is to go early as you did. Your shots are certainly spectacular and I enjoyed looking at them.
 
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frdjohns said:
What a beautiful series of shots. I've always wanted to go to Bosque del Apache, but have avoided it until now because I've heard stories of the horrendus crowds and people shooting shoulder to shoulder. I just can't tolerate crowds. Perhaps the key is to go early as you did. Your shots are certainly spectacular and I enjoyed looking at them.
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Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed the images.

I believe this was my 5th trip, I live about 5 1/2 hours from the refuge so it's not all that far to make the drive.

Two of the trips, 40-50 photographers were at the flight deck area taking shots of the birds coming in for the evening or taking off in the morning. The weekends can be busy as bird watchers and photographers gather. At no time did I ever feel like people were in the way or it was overly crowded. You have miles of roads you can "slow roll" around to capture shots of the wildlife.

I will say... this trip had the least amount of people by far. There were periods of a few hours and I wouldn't see a person on the loop/s. But, the migration wasn't/isn't in full swing and the bird concentrations are not nearly as high as they will be towards the end of this month on in to December.

Don't let the people hold you back... the crazy photographers are the ones up before sunrise to snap shots :) Others are still in bed for another hour or so. lol Now... personally I'm not ever going to attend the crane festival in the 1st week of December as I'm not a fan of crowds. Maybe this is what they were taking about when the mentioned the horrible crowds?

I've said all that to say this...GO! :) The end of October or the first couple of weeks in November are ideal in my opinion...fall colors are in full force... birds are headed in... few people. I did a trip in the middle of January once and there were still plenty of cranes/birds to photograph. There were fewer people as it is FREEEZING cold lol But worth it.

Thanks again.

Hatch
 
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Hatch1921 said:
Many thanks. I've run across his work from time to time. I think he was doing aviation photography the last time I browsed his site. You have to give one of the big primes a try... or don't ... as it ruins you and will ultimately drain you savings. LOL Sounds like you have a nice time at the refuge. I tried capturing some coyote shots and even with the 1.4x TC on the 600mm... in crop mode... they were a little far... and the heat distortion did me no favors. Thanks again for the comments. Hatch

Thank you. I would say from now until the end of January you will have more than enough opportunities to capture plenty of bird shots. The cranes and geese are migrating in now. I would say there were a couple thousand geese there last week and at least that many sandhill cranes spread out in the refuge. Plus you have raptors and red-winged blackbirds and kestrels... etc. It would be worth a visit if you can make the trip.

Thanks again.
Hatch
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Thank you for the information. I keep that in my mind for my next trip there
 
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