# Murphy's Law



## Al Chemist (Dec 21, 2014)

I'm very new to the forum but am learning a great deal...thank you all for sharing your knowledge so freely! I have a great time reading the posts.

Just read a post this morning with this link and thought, Wow...this applies to me...little did I know what was in store for me later in the morning.

http://www.diyphotography.net/murphys-laws-photography/

It was raining pretty hard so my wife and I donned GoreTex outer wear and we proceeded to do a 7 mile walk on our local Greenbelt by the river. Left my good cameras at home, of course, since they are weather proof, not water proof and I haven't seen many critters on our recent walks. As fate would have it, a bald eagle was perched in a tree by the path and all I had was my phone...here is my wildlife photo of the day...same day I laughed at the article...kind of a slow learner, tempting fate that way. He didn't even fly away when we were directly underneath him.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 21, 2014)

Al Chemist said:


> thank you all for sharing your knowledge so freely!



Well, in the age of the Internet a lof of former inside knowledge is public anyway, and most things shared around here are "experiences" under the terms "whatever it's worth". Still, it's interesting to read what other people are up to.



Al Chemist said:


> He didn't even fly away when we were directly underneath him.



Yup, these wild animals are pretty perceptive when it comes to taunting photogs :-> ... with wildlife, you simply have to develop a skill to instantly forget about botched shots, or you'll never be a happy camper. Well, at least not with a af system like my 6d which screws up all the time :-\


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## meywd (Dec 21, 2014)

no bald eagles here, but yeah happened many times, i go out to walk and see a strange bird, but when i have the camera all life disappear, but sometimes luck is on my side, for example this little guy landed 2 meters away, though at that moment i had the 70-200 *with out* the 2xTC so yeah not perfect but good enough


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 22, 2014)

Its tough to photograph eagles. A few years ago, in Yellowstone park, I spotted a osprey in a tree right next to the parking lot and tried a shot with my 20D and 70-200mm f/4 IS on it, but it was totally inadequate. I had put the lens on a old 20D that I had just bought as a backup to my 5D MK II, but I needed 400mm plus a TC. I cropped 80% of the photo such that little was left.

I don't recall why I did not have my 400mm lens along, I had sold one and bought a different one later, so I must have been between lenses.

The Canon SX50 with its 1200mm equivalent zoom is great for carrying around to have when you get a rare glimpse of wildlife. It would have done much better. Canon has a really excellent buy on refurb ones going on right now $200. I'm really tempted.

In Fact, I went ahead and ordered it just now. I have too many cameras, so a couple of others, maybe three may go.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-powershot-digital-cameras/powershot-sx50-hs-refurbished


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## meywd (Dec 22, 2014)

PropeNonComposMentis said:


> ...
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> meywd said:
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I agree its a better crop


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## dgatwood (Dec 23, 2014)

Yeah, a 1200mm equivalent zoom would be a good range for eagles, because they tend to perch high in tall trees, from what I've seen.

The last time I shot photos of bald eagles, I was using a 70-300L with a 3x non-reporting teleconverter (900mm). It worked, but I had to keep the lens stack propped against something, because otherwise it was impossible to control. And at just shy of f/17, I was limited to using live view autofocus, and even that wasn't entirely accurate or reliable.

Either way, just remember, when the park ranger asks what you're doing, the correct answer is *not* "shooting bald eagles".


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