Junco, Pondering His Fate

Or maybe just chilling; hard to tell, with birds

Male Junco in our back yard.

I had been trying to get a photo of one of the Juncos the last few days, but they move around a lot, and tend to stay low. But this fellow sat on a branch long enough for me to get one shot that turned out well.

Taken with the new setup: Sony a7R IV with Canon 300mm lens with 2x tele extender. I made a slight adjustment to my exposure settings to get better depth of field; I changed from f/8 to f/11. ISO 800, 1/800th second.

The camera does alright with the fast ISO of 800; normally, I would prefer a faster lens and a smaller ISO setting. But the cost is totally out of reach for such a lens. Given how sharp the Canon with tele extender is, I’m thrilled with the budget solution. It’s better than most specialized lenses at this focal length, quite a stroke of good fortune.

Speaking of good fortune, also got a shot of what looks like a juvenile Junco hanging out in the landscaping.