# Wild Turkey Scenes



## PuddlePirate (Feb 7, 2005)




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## Seeker (Jul 6, 2009)

*Nice!*

Great pics! These are just 2cool!


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Awesome pics, Congrats!


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## PuddlePirate (Feb 7, 2005)

Thank you!


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## daddyhoney (Dec 4, 2006)

You are blessed!


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## JFolm (Apr 22, 2012)

Wow I bet that's amazing to witness!


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## PuddlePirate (Feb 7, 2005)

JFolm said:


> Wow I bet that's amazing to witness!


As it is with a huge fish on the line or spot and stalk with archery gear, YES IT'S AMAZING to witness! Thank you. I can't count the hours, miles and years it's taken to get here....yes I've been blessed to experience these animals in their respective world.

I have hundreds and hundreds of scenes. I lived through a period of my life where my world was work and camera for several years on end. This is some of that period. Hunting these shots....some of the toughest photography and hunting combined, I've ever experienced. They do not follow any logical photography lead, you can't move around and adjust to set up the shot...the scenes happen so fast and move non-stop, it's all simply a **** shoot at best. These animals can see and hear like no one's business.....I've learned to camo and setup well beyond logical hunting reaons and the only thing I had going for me was simply....they don't flight on scent LOL!

Super models..piece of cake. Try shooting the big boys on their terms.....it will make you freaking scream or laugh...no in the middles...when the scene unfolds, you either have it dialed in or blow it all in seconds. LOL!

300mm Canon L F/4 & Canon 50D....that's it. Not a 10 grand camera....anyone can buy and shoot this setup....it's the setup that is the challenge.

Rob


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## carlosh (Jul 10, 2008)

Oh wow! People pay big bucks for an opportunity to get pictures like that and they don't always get what they paid for. The 50d is a good camera. I have the 60d. Shooting wildlife is my passion and you truly appreciate how difficult it is. I guess that's why I like that kind of photography, because it's not easy.


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## PuddlePirate (Feb 7, 2005)

The Wild Turkey theme continued.

Thanks!

Rob
.


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## The Machine (Jun 4, 2007)

what are your settings?


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## PuddlePirate (Feb 7, 2005)

The Machine said:


> what are your settings?


I roam in full manual mode with my camera typically set for ISO 400 (to cover movement) and adjust my lens to work the light. The bottom bird on strut, for example, was shot ISO 400, F/4 with a 1/400 exposure.
Second from bottom was shot ISO 400, F/4 with 1/320 exposure. The dark tom working through the timber, 3rd from bottom was shot ISO 500, f/9.0 with a 1/250 exposure and the candid, 4th from the bottom with sunlight through his wattle (red skin) was shot ISO 500, f/9 with a 1/200 exposure.

If the light starts to wane, I will adjust up to ISO 600 or 800 and pre-set my exposure and zoom to play into my setup. I follow the light adjusting a bit under exposed which plays into this 300mm F/4 L lens and Canon 50D's sweet zone.

I prefer to shoot a fixed length telephoto versus adjustable ranged telephotos simply because there is less internal glass within the lens itself, making the images sharper and cleaner versus multi-zoom lenses with a lot more layers of internal glass (necessary to cover the lenses zoom across all MM settings). This lens supports Image Stabilization on all movements horizontal, not vertical...it pays to know this. The bulk of my shots are handheld with a support, stick, branch or shooting stick. Some are simply fast shots without any support, all hand held.

When I'm hunting with my lens, I know this setup has a sweet zone in yardage from me, Anywhere from 18ft out to 80 yards is it's zone. F/4 - F/9 are great with ISO 400 - 600 on this rig. I don't miss F/2.8 much because most of my shots are made during daylight into dusk and or twighlight on subjects that are not typically moving at super high rates of speed. I use all points of "auto focusing" within my Canon 50d with the 300mm and even if I do encounter shots that have movement, I will step up to ISOs' above 1000 - 1600.

This wild turkey fight scene was made with ISO 1600, f/4 with exposure 1/2500. Note the dead leaf suspended in the air between these turkeys yet the background has BOKEH with a very sharp foreground of the closest bird. I spotted a group of toms with a lone dominate bird in the distance. I had a feeling they would engage, so I quickly kicked my ISO up to a level I knew worked with my lens and body (lots of practice shots to compare quality low and high ranges of ISO). Dialed up 1600 and left my IRIS at f/4, white balance on auto and used my exposure meter to find my exposure speed...preferring to work with my exposure just a tad below it's recommended exposure rating. The birds engaged at roughly 25 yards from me, I was stuck unable to move so I simply fired away with the 50's 6.4 frames per second speed using a 4x 4gb card.










I use several lenses and cameras. Some of my shots were made with an older Canon 350d with the old and original Image Stabilized 70-300mm F/4.6 lens as well as a manual mode capable Olympus 770w waterproof point and shoot. The Olympus goes with me when the big gear simply can't, water and or carriability.


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## Whiplash21 (Jun 11, 2013)

You're a lucky guy and a great photographer.


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## Seeker (Jul 6, 2009)

Rob, I totally understand what you are saying. It's all about the shot. And if you were in low light situations you would have been challenged even more. These turkey photo's are the best I have ever seen. Absolutely wall hanging pictures. Very , very impressive. 

I wished I had a dollar for every hour you spent spent out in the field to get these shots. You need to make a book and sell it. I would pay good money for it!

Thank you for sharing these! You are a very talented artist and I will give credit when credit is due. Man, what I would do just to have the time it would take to go out and find birds like this.. I have hunted turkey before in Clifton Texas. I never have had the chance to see a rooster in real life, but I have heard them. I chased them for miles on miles but they always outsmarted me laughing all the way to roost.


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## Seeker (Jul 6, 2009)

Does the 50D shoot in Kelvins Rob?


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## PuddlePirate (Feb 7, 2005)

Seeker said:


> Does the 50D shoot in Kelvins Rob?


Thank you Seeker & Whiplash, appreciate that!

Yes the Canon 50D has the ability to adjust your White Balance settings with options to range colour settings from 2500 - 10000 Kelvin. I use some modified pre-sets on my 50D, I will share my settings when I can grab the body and read them here. At work and camera at home.

The Canon 50D has been a good camera for me and it's still a viable body for those who fairly decent FPS rates without breaking the bank chasing new gear. I've shot a load through this body though, I'm probably at or beyond the optimum shutter count for this body, I need to check that.


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