Animal planet

The suburban wildlife just seems happy to pose for me lately.

In this case I swung by the local cemetery to try out some of my manual focus lenses but I took along my telephoto zoom also, just in case. I was really there to test my ability to use my manual lenses in a speedy manner. I love my old Takumars but they take an extra effort to get a good shot. The manual focusing is difficult and slow in a modern cameras viewfinder or on a LCD, even with newer technologies such as focus peaking or magnification, which help to a degree but still take time to master. In most cases that’s not a real issue since I generally shoot static subjects, but in some instances it can be a bit of a nuisance, especially compared to the swift action of a modern AF lens. So I most likely will supplant my old lenses with modern AF equivalents and keep the Taks for more leisurely outings.

Anyhow, while I was in the cemetery which, by the way, was quite calm and tranquil on this cold snowy day, I had a number of deer approach me while I was testing my lenses. So I decided to switch over to the telephoto and try a few close-ups. I’m still sticking with the warm black and white conversions for now because I think it works good with the snowy scenes.

© David Guidas

© David Guidas