SWAN LAKE

Lucy, the lighting here looks great.  I especially like the drama and textures in the water reflections.  I shoot with Canon 5D3 and 7D2 and they are very different in terms of how they handle "blown" highlights during raw processing, with the 5D3 allowing quite a bit of recovery and the 7D2 almost no recovery.

Striking image, Lucy. The swan has lovely form and the water makes a very nice background. Amazing what pp can do these days with raw files.

Oh yes, Scott....I actually have some taken of the last cygnet and Mom in a bit of shadow, that doesn't need much pp.   but lightroom and PSE are 2 of my best friends.

One question for you, Mark, and anyone else...I have a Canon 70D.  Right now, I use a canon zoom with a 1.5 x Kenko.   But, I need to get farther.  the Canon zoom to 400 is just too heavy for me to handhold.  I am interested in buying a used Sigma 150-500 (the new sigma to 600 HAS to have a tripod).  I've heard, that it's a great lens, but a bit on the fragile side.  What do you think?  And, since it's not supposed to last a lifetime, should I buy a new one instead of used?   I know, I should put this to the forum, but curious if you, two, have any ideas on this.

































 

Sorry, Lucy, I can't help with your lens question since >95% of my work is from a tripod where I leave the ball head somewhat loosened for "action" shots.

Lucy; the new Sigma  150 to 600 mm contemporary is not that fragile and how many times are you really going to drop your lens. First of all, it's very easy to handhold this lens and you do not need a tripod at all.  It only weighs 4 1/2 pounds. And yes, I've already dropped mine from 6 feet and it actually started working better. For what that's worth. It started focusing faster.
I think you can find a new Sigma contemporary for under $1000. The Sigma sport is heavier and more expensive and built a little stronger.  A real advantage of the new Sigma lenses is that you can change the firmware with your computer and this does make a difference. If you can afford it, I think you would be happy with the new lens rather than a used one.  By the way, your image does show really nice detail although the lighting is harsh.

This did work well, Lucy.  The reflection is really neat and the dark water with the reflection of the swan and small bit of blue sets the swan off nicely.