icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Crow
and the Osaka skyline 30 miles away
As I've been doing lately in hopes of catching a great sunset, I headed up again the other day to the overlook at Shogunzuka, which offers a commanding view of downtown Kyoto.
The sunset was not particularly interesting....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/800 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Well, It Was Worth a Try
While waiting to see how the sunset would develop, I occupied myself by practicing to track focus on crows as they flew around....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/800 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
I had a 1.7× teleconverter on my 70-200, and with the resulting big zoom, I knew I could isolate the little bit of color the far-away sky did offer, so I tried to catch a bird in front of it. The result is a photo that holds more color and excitement than you actually felt in person (and when you consider just how little excitement the above photo generates, you'll have a good idea of the boring sunset I witnessed. 🙂 )
Crows tend to congregate in that area around sunset, and they alternate between quiet and frenzied. Sometimes for no apparent reason a bunch will take off or a new wave will come in, which feels like it should make for an interesting shot, but doesn't...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/640 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bunch'a Birds
yawn
This time, though, the crows outdid themselves and sometimes hundreds and hundreds would fly up at once creating a huge, swirling cloud of Hitchcockian proportions....
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lots'a Birds!
I wondered what why they were doing that until I was on my way back to the parking lot and I saw this guy...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1/80 sec, f/5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slingshot in Hand
I chatted with him a bit. He likes to feed the cats that congregate in the area, but the crows eat what he puts out, so he's... er.... “training” the birds that it's in their best interest to leave the cat food alone.
Crows will gather in huge flocks (called “murders”) at sunset to settle in (roost) for the night. I suspect there is an ideal roosting spot near that mans place and their eating of his cat’s food is incidental to their roosting for the night. At least that is my theory of the moment. I’ve seen such behavior before.
By the sound of things, it’s lucky it wasn’t a great sunset – even if it had been, it would probably have been ruined by all those crows.
Talking of which, there is a similar problem with taking pictures of Matsushima in Miyagi, because the tour boats are pursued by lots of seagulls. The tourists love feeding them, but they were a right pain when it came to taking pictures of the islands. I did get some great pictures of my wife feeding the gulls, though. Highly recommended if you ever come to visit Tohoku.