[GarenM]

Winter Blooms at Valley Forge Park.

Winter Blooms by Garen M., on Flickr

[Itsed65]

Nice one Garen.

Dang it Dave, stop trying to get me to spend more money! My 500v1 now seems hopelessly out of date after reading that.

Had I not just just bought another car, I'd probably be getting one of these for the weight savings alone, much less the IQ boost.

I do have a tax refund coming though...

[GarenM]

That lens is amazing! I've always wanted one of those 500mm lenses, but just can't justify the purchase because 99% of what I shoot wouldn't require that focal length. If I started shooting wildlife, it would probably be a fixture at the end of my camera.

I also shoot with an Olympus OM-D E-M1 and have the 40-150mm 2.8. With a 1.4x converter, it get me to 400mm, which is most of the way there. Not enough to capture eagles in flight...

[Itsed65]

Ok, I lasted 10 days with no harrier pic, but these are the only ones that seem to be around here lately. I like the ducks in the background on this one. 560mm using the 100-400MKII and the 1.4TC on the 7D2. Pretty tight crop so there is not that eye bleeding sharpness of the big guns, but printed and viewed from a distance, it still works well.

Hunter and Hunted by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[dcstep]

Yeah Ed, that works.

[Rodny]

He's only 3 years old.

[ShopVac]

First picture posted from my Ecuador trip - this is a local overlooking the city of Quito.

[GarenM]

Great shot, ShopVac. If you hadn't noted that it was taken in Ecuador, I would have guessed that it was taken in a European city. I shot this one in Verona.
Verona by Garen M., on Flickr

[ShopVac]

Definitely has a little bit of that feel, with the clay roofs and all - but nowhere near as nice as you have posted. I've never been to Verona - I'll need to catch it on my next trip to Italy. Anything to do/see there?

Quito has a church that they copied off of Notre Dame in France - I'll post some pics of it once I go though all these.

I leave tonight with this one from the Galapagos. It was a bit hard to capture, as I was pretty excited about it swimming right up to me. I was trying to pet it while it was pecking at the lens of my camera. My brother caught the whole thing on video though, which I'll toss on YT later on.

[GarenM]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

Definitely has a little bit of that feel, with the clay roofs and all - but nowhere near as nice as you have posted. I've never been to Verona - I'll need to catch it on my next trip to Italy. Anything to do/see there?

Yeah - lots to do there. Setting aside the standard stuff, like excellent food and drink, I'd check out any performances at the Colosseum in Verona. We caught an opera there on a moonlit night, and it will go down as one of the best experiences of my life. In addition to the perfect sound, you can take in the entire city on a clear night from inside the Colosseum. The city itself is seeped in history, and one of my favorite things to do is just walk around and take in the sights and culture. It's also centrally located - close to Milan, Venice, Lake Como, and the Dolomites.

[Itsed65]

Love the travel photos!

[Itsed65]

Harrier and Turbines by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Trijicon]

A couple from the Vatican

[ShopVac]

That 2nd picture from inside is just incredible.

I pulled off as many pics as I could until I was told to put the tripod away.

[M_Six]

Agree with Joey. Second shot is killer. Nicely done.

[GarenM]

Great shots of the Vatican. Love the unique angle of the interior shot.

[Itsed65]

My pal Carl

Carl in Morning Light by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Trijicon]

Here is a series from The Great Wall

[M_Six]

Wow, no people. Did you Photoshop them out or was it really that deserted?

Great shots.

[Trijicon]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Wow, no people. Did you Photoshop them out or was it really that deserted?

Great shots.

Yup it was really that empty. We went off season (winter) and near the end of the day. Perfect light (golden hour)

[remmib]

Nice day for a hike along the beach.

[M_Six]

Wow, Norway in February and no snow. Was it at least cold?