More on the Turtle-Flambeau

Last Friday I mentioned I made my first trip to the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage.  It’s been a trip I’ve wanted to make all summer having heard of the abundant wildlife and acres upon acres of serene waterways to navigate.  While scouring the web for more information on the location I came across photos of eagles, osprey, herons, bear and even a moose!  With the kayak loaded up and camera gear stowed I departed around 5 am for the 2 hour trip north with dreams of the incredible photos to come.

I hadn’t paddled too far into the flowage when I began to realize just how difficult those “incredible” photos would be to come by.  It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of wildlife.  Within minutes I’d seen a Bald Eagle fly over head, a Northern Harrier investigating the marsh grass and a Great Blue Heron fishing along the river bank.  The challenge was the pure vastness of the location.  Even with my wife’s 150-500mm Sigma lens, all of the subjects seemed MILES away.  As I mentioned in Friday’s post, “stealth” wasn’t necessarily on my side either.  Sneaking up the river between lanes of marsh grass just teaming with ducks and other waterfowl proved to be almost impossible.  Never the less, I took my time and kept my eyes pealed for opportunities.

And then there was the “bear”.  From what seemed to be miles away, the sharp contrast of this big black object caught my eye.  Even after putting the glass on the “critter”  I could neither confirm or rule out that what I was seeing was indeed a black bear.  As I continued weaving back and forth through the marsh grass, my mind was trying to convince me that the black object was moving.

“Look! Now it’s standing in the middle of the channel.”  Right. Well it’s me that’s moving, not the big, black, bear-like tree stump.  I have to admit it did have me going for a while though.

After passing “bear channel”, I found myself in some shallow, densely vegetated waters that made peddling pretty much impossible.  By now the wind had picked up too just to make things even more difficult.  I did manage to spot a large flock of Canadian Geese hanging out on the drift wood and a pair of Trumpeter Swans, one of which was banded with a yellow band sporting “72N” in black letters.  I did a little research trying to match up those numbers, but no luck.  So, if you had a hand in banding Trumpeter Swan 72N, he/she and it’s mate seem to be doing just fine in the quiet waters of the Turtle-Flambeau flowage.

After getting myself “unstuck” I decided to head back to the slightly more wind protected area that I had passed through earlier in the morning.  It was shortly after that another movement caught my eye and I captured a photo of this coyote bouncing down the opposite shoreline.  Soon after it turned back into the land and was gone from sight.

By this point I was starting to see a pattern.  All of the wildlife I was seeing seemed to be on the OTHER side of the flowage.  After a quick stop to stretch and check out one of the many campsites along the river, I ate my lunch and then once again snaked through the marsh grass to the other side of flowage.  I thought maybe if I just sat still for a while something would come within range of my lens. 

It wasn’t long after when I saw the Bald Eagle appear above the tree line and land in a tree (you guessed it) on the OTHER side of the flowage!

There is NO question that the wildlife is here.  There is also little doubt that they have the space and freedom to avoid those of us visiting this incredible wilderness if they so chose.  Perhaps one would have had better luck with a full blind over the top of  their kayak, but even then you should be prepared to invest a significant amount of time and conjure up all of your luck before you find yourself in a position to get quality photos.

 

 

 

So did I ever get within range of a critter to get a decent photo?

As a matter of fact I did.  This American Coot was kind enough to surface within my range and hung around long enough to pose for this photo.  Thank you.

In summary, it was a great trip despite not coming home with any “wall hangers”.  Paddling through this vast wilderness it wasn’t too difficult to imagine what it was like through the majority of the north woods a few hundred years ago.  Due to the incredibly windy conditions that day I only managed to cover just a fraction of the area that I had hoped.   I guess that just means I’ll have to go back again .

Do you have any experience with the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage?  Can you recommend particular areas better suited to wildlife photography?

Photographer Wanted

Currently seeking motivated landscape/wildlife photographer for an unlimited term engagement which includes a minimum 10 year guarantee.  Candidate must be willing to accept the following responsibilities and conditions:

• Annual starting salary of $195,000 per year with a guaranteed minimum 10% increase annually.
• A willingness to receive, test and review ALL of the latest photography gear from the vendor(s) of your choice.  The gear will be provided at no cost to you and is yours to keep, free of charge, once the review has been completed.
• All testing must be completed in the field at locations of your choosing.  Any and all travel, lodging and miscellaneous trip expenses will be covered by the corporate sponsor(s).
• Candidate must possess a valid drivers license.  A new SUV, complete with unlimited gas allowance, will be provided on a rotating 2 year cycle.
• Once per year, you will be honored along with the photographic collection of your choosing at a prestigious New York gallery at the expense of the corporate sponsor(s).  All sale proceeds will be donated to the charity of your choice.
• An annual bonus no less than 25% of your annual salary will be granted upon the successful completion of the aforementioned conditions and responsibilities.

If interested, please re-read the above and ask yourself “If this were for real, do you really think Ken would have shared this information with anyone rather than just take the position himself?”.

If you have knowledge of such an opening, please email me at ken@KenSchramPhotography.com.  Heck, I might even share a lens or two with you.

"NO!!! Focus on the Bird! Not the foreground! THE BIRD!"

Last week I shared the story of the shot I "Almost" had for our wall as well as a series of images taken during the "Second Chance Round" when the other eagle of the pair took pity on me.  Today I thought it would be fun to show the entire series of images from that second attempt mingled with a little color commentary.  Here we go...

Dateline: Monday, April 2, 2012
Eagle River, WI

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 1100 @ 500mm

Time: 8:35:42 AM
"Ah, FINALLY some sunshine after 4 days of gloom.  To bad we go home today.  There you are pretty girl.  How are you doing this fine morning?  What do you think about maybe helping me out a little here? Throw me a bone and give me something to shoot at before we have to leave..."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 1000 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:08 AM
"Oh, crap! There she goes!  Ha, Ha! I'm ready this time.  Center of the frame? Check. Pan. Click. Pan. Click. Keep panning... Come on auto focus, wake up...."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 1800 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:09 AM
"I've still got you! Keep coming... keep coming. Pan. Click. Pan. Click.  Camera's drifting down a little. You know what, this thing is pretty heavy.  If I shot this lens with any regularity, I'd really need to invest in a good monopod. Hey! Wake up! Day dream later!..... Ok...Get her back in the center.  Give yourself some buffer.  Why is she all blurry?  That pine tree behind her looks awesome though.  Can never have enough shots of pine trees.  Come on auto focus, come on ...."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 220 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:11 AM
"Ok. Ok. Ok. Going up above the tree line.  Stay on her. Stay on her. Pan. Click. Pan. Click. Take it easy on the shutter, buddy.  Save that precious buffer for when you need it. Ha, Ha. seven frames per second... how lucky am I? Do people really spend hundreds of dollars for faster memory cards?.... Pan. Click. Pan. Click. Come back this way, girl. Don't be taking off down river on me.  Oh man! Look at that light. Sweet GLORIOUS light!  Now we're talkin!  I've got you right where I want you now!  And way to go auto focus!  I knew you could do it..."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 220 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:12 AM
"Hey! That's a pretty good shot!  Nice cinematic crop will look good.. show off that impressive wingspan. And those eyes. How beaut.... Wait! She sees something! I think she sees som......"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 400 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:13 AM
"HERE WE GO! HOLY CRAP! IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!  Don't lose her now..... ah man, PAN! CLICK! PAN! CLICK! PAN!  STAY ON THE BIRD! Where'd that light go! Come on AF! Come on!"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 400 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:13 AM
"I am NOT going to lose you now! Keep panning! CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.  PAN. CLICK. PAN. CLICK. CLICK. Dude, you're laying on the shutter release! Save some! How far are we from the water anyway? STAY ON THE BIRD!"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 560 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:14 AM
"Who in the hell put a house right in the middle of this photo?  Man! Look at the drumsticks on that bird! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of those talons. Whew! What a great pose.  Too bad about the house though.  Did you know peregrine falcons can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph when in a dive? I wonder if there's any of those sausage patties left for breakfast? Sure am glad she isn't going that fast or I'd never keep up... FOCUS!"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 500 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:14 AM
"I can see the river bank now and, hey, whatta know, that's almost in focus. Nasty shadow from her wing though. I wonder if I'll be able to lighten that up in Lightroom? PAY ATTENTION! PAN. CLICK. CLICK. PAN. CLICK. PAN. CLICK. CLICK... Is this really going to happen?"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 900 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:14 AM
"TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! NOW! LAY ON THAT SHUTTER RELEASE! CLICK. CLICK.CLICK. CLICK. PAN. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. PAN.....Wait. Where's the focus? WHERE IN THE 'H' 'E' DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS IS THE FOCUS?!?!?!"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 900 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:14 AM
"NOT THE GRASS YOU PIECE OF #@!#$! THE BIRD! THE BIRD! THE #@!$%'n BIRD! FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!"

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 720 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:14 AM
"Alright. Deep breath. Let's just take a 1/1000 of a second for myself here. Regroup. What am I doing wrong?  Well, you're drifting down a little bit.  Yeah, I know, but this thing really is sort of heavy with this monster 150-500mm you know. Quit your whining you big baby. I'm not whining. I'm just saying... Is you a man or is you a mouse? This really isn't helping.  Let's run down the checklist quick. Shutter speed? Check. Aperture? Well, if you opened it all the way up.... Hmm. What do you mean open it up all the way? The light's decent.  Auto ISO is still only at 720. What's wrong with that? Well, you know. I'm just saying... By the way, did you notice those two ducks in the upper right a few frames back? I think they're laughing at you. You know, the one where your horizon line is all kittywampus? And another thing... TIME'S UP!  Oh yeah, right! CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 720 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:15 AM
"There we go! Now things are coming into focus. Another beautiful, sharp shot of marsh grass.  That's going to look great hanging on the wall next to that shot of that pine tree from earlier.  Too bad there's that distracting blurry eagle in the background."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 560 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:15 AM
"Another awesome shot of the grass.  I'm thinking maybe a nice triptych... grass, tree, grass? And what if we converted them to black and white? Maybe apply some cool filters or something? Oooooo... artsy! Hate to say I told you so, but if you'd just lift the camera up a little...  Ah, leave me alone. I'm admiring the grass."

1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 560 @ 500mm

Time: 8:36:18 AM
"PAN. CLICK. There! I've lifted the camera back up. You happy? Well, if you'd have focused on her head...and of course there's no fish... Oh, shut up!

Well, THAT was exciting!  I wonder how many of these are going to turn out? Think we got any keepers? Do you really think there are a few of those breakfast sausages left? Those were really good."

And there you have it. The full seven seconds in all its glory. ;-)

Until next time, keep click'n.
-Ken

Almost. It's Not ALWAYS About the Camera Gear

"Almost"

The above photo was included in Tuesday's final post in the "Eagle River Redux" series and I wanted to talk a little more about the emotion behind the image.

I've titled the image "Almost" in my catalog.  As in, I "almost" got the whole bird in the frame.  The photo was "almost" in focus.  The eagle "almost" caught a fish.  I "almost" had a photo worthy of hanging on the wall.  As a life event, it was a very exciting, memorable experience.  As a photography event, it was incredibly frustrating.  Frustrating because it was an opportunity that went unrealized.  

Photography is my form of "collecting".  A wall worthy shot of an eagle or osprey snagging a fish is something I'd really like to add to that collection.  Turning that wish into reality is all about making the opportunity happen and then executing when it presents itself.  Now the ideal opportunity would be to be sitting on the shores of the eagle's winter fishing grounds in Homer, Alaska with 300 or so of these magnificent creatures to photograph using the best equipment money could buy.  Right.  Well, that may be a while.

While this situation may not have been the ideal, its was a pretty good opportunity none the less.  I have an excellent camera in my Nikon D300s, I was lucky enough to be able to borrow my wife's Sigma 150-500mm lens, I'm sitting along the beautiful, peaceful Wisconsin River with not 300 eagles, but 2 - all of the pieces I needed to make it happen.  So what went wrong? In a word - me.  I wasn't well enough prepared when the time came to put it all together. 

"Well, maybe if you had the new $3K Nikon Dxxx or a $10K Nikon 600mm f/4?".  How many of you know THAT photographer?  The photography forums are FULL of them.  These are the people who pre-order the instant the "new model" is announced and can recite the spec sheet verbatim.  They'll cut you down because you're shooting with an "old" camera and tell you how great they are because of what's in their gear bag.  And then you look at their photos.  You think to yourself, "They could have just as easily taken those shots with the camera in their cell phone.", and then you feel sorry for all that gear going to waste.

Instead of blaming the gear, the lighting or the eagle for moving too fast, I'm going to go on record as saying I wasn't prepared enough when the opportunity presented itself.  I don't need a new camera (although a faster, longer lens would be nice ;-), but instead I need to continue to get myself in front of more opportunities.  I need to continue to study and understand those thousands of camera options and the conditions in which I will benefit from using them.  I need to focus on my technique and most of all I need to keep putting the camera to my eye and pressing the shutter release.

Maybe someday I'll find myself at the winter feeding grounds in Homer, Alaska with hundreds of eagle shots to choose from.  Or maybe, and more likely, someday I'll find myself looking through the viewfinder at that single bird on the river.  Both scenarios provide the opportunity.  It's up to me to provide the preparation.

Think about it.

Eagle River Redux - Until Next Time

Over the last couple of weeks we've been reliving our extended weekend in Eagle River along the banks of the Wisconsin River (See Part I and Part II).  While the first two days and most of the third could not be categorized as "ideal weather", toward the end of the third day there were hints of blue sky and the thermometer started to creep up just a little bit.

In last week's post I recounted the excitement of finally having the opportunity to have a bald eagle dive down to the river for lunch while I was right there in the action AND had the camera in my hand.  While exhilarating, the one word I would use to sum up the experience would be "almost" and the one image that most represents that feeling is this one.

Day 4

Coming at ya!

Our last day at River Escape came way too soon and was a short one to boot.  Having to repack and reload left little time to park my butt on the dock, but I did get up early and spent a few hours on the river with my wild friends.

A king fisher does a fly by

It was pretty foggy that morning and things were pretty quiet to match the atmosphere. Eventually though, the sun rose high enough into the sky to burn off the fog and the river once again began to come alive.  The ducks made their normal ruckus, a few other birds, such as the king fisher, made their presence known and I even had a mink run past so close that I never got a photo.  He came down the hill behind me and scooted under the dock before I was able to turn the camera its direction.  He then got in the river and swam around the corner along the bank so fast that all I could do was sit and watch.

Sitting in the fog that morning you could hear the eagles calling from above in the trees.  Very cool.  As the fog lifted, opportunity came knocking again when the second of the eagle pair perched in the trees across the river from me.  Could this be a repeat of yesterday?

Sure enough! Down she came from the tree tops at a nice easy glide looking for breakfast to resurface....

No fish today either, but what a way to end the trip.  Thank you!

Until Next Time

I started out the "Eagle River Redux" series of posts by painting a picture of my ideal venue for recharging the ol' batteries and boy did this trip deliver. Again.  It was a real treat to have my wife let me shoot with her longer Sigma 150-500 f/6.3 lens (thank you again) and what I could only describe as a spiritual experience to share this incredibly tranquil section of the Wisconsin River with its wild residents.  Relaxing with my wife in the outdoor hot tub in the evenings, walking our dog down this wooded, rustic stretch of territory during the day and enjoying our feathered children (the parrots) in this beautiful rental in between resulted in a vacation we won't soon forget.  Thank you too to Adventure Rentals for allowing us to share this amazing location.

Until next time, keep on click'n.
-Ken

Adventure Rentals

If you've been following the posts on our recent Eagle River trip and the idea of a Northwoods getaway is starting to sound appealing, we highly recommend Adventure Rentals in Eagle River.  I think they are up to 8 different properties now so there's sure to be something that meets your needs.  We've had the privilege of 3 different dealings with them and they've always gone our of our way to make sure our stay has been a good one.

Title This...

No matter how many times I put the lens on these beautiful birds it never gets old.  This shot was taken moments after the eagle had dove from the top of a tree on the opposite side of the river in an attempt to snag a fish, but ultimately came up empty handed.  He then continued on to my side of the river and perched just a few trees over to regroup.

From this perspective it looks as though he's contemplating the leg bands and is deep in thought.  I know I'd love to know the history of what this guy has been through.  Other images such as the one to the right indicate he may have undergone some rehabilitation for trauma sustained to its beak.  Whatever the reason, he's a big beautiful, wild and free bird today and for that we are happy.

Have an interesting title for this image? Use the comments section below to share it with the rest of us. 

Eagle River Redux - Part II

Last week we started a photo journey through our recent getaway in "Eagle River Redux - Part I" and left off with a pair of curious river otters checking out that strange camera wielding thing sitting on the dock - me.  They were so curious in fact that, while shooting with my wife's Sigma 150-500mm lens, they came in so close that I was no longer able to focus!  I thought this one was going to climb right up on the dock with me!  Eventually they decided there were probably more exciting things up river and continued on their way.

Day 2 Continued...

Life on the river is a paradox.  On the one hand, the absence of human "noise pollution" instills a deep sense of calm and relaxation.  On the other hand, the river is constantly teaming with activity in the wildlife that it helps to sustain.  The wake caused by the swimming river otters barely had time to subside when I spotted one of the bald eagles appear from down river on its way back to the nest.

As you can see the weather was still serving up "the blahs".  The overcast skies raised a few photographic challenges with high ISOs and indecision on my part over picking the right metering mode on my camera.  Generally I set my camera to matrix metering and forget it. Things just didn't seem to be working out for me, however, when trying to get the detail of these large, dark colored birds against a flat white/gray sky.  I tried switching over to center-weighted mode to put more emphasis on the bird and less on the sky.  Better, but the problem is these large, dark colored birds don't just stay in one spot.  No sooner did I flip the metering mode than the eagle would descend to the point that the background became the wooded banks or the dark river.  Back to matrix mode.  It would be so much simpler if the sun would just come out :).

The eagles weren't the only large birds cruising the river.  This great blue heron treated me with a fly by and one of my better bird shots of the day.  Thanks Mr. Heron.

Day 3

More clouds with sprinkles in between.  The ducks and eagles didn't seem to mind and I was inclined to still share some time on the dock in between the rain drops.  At one point, both of the adult eagles landed on what I referred to as "the staging tree". This is the tree immediately next door to their nest where they liked to trade off sitting responsibilities.  On this occasion it appeared there was a disagreement over either someone forgetting to bring home a fish or remembering who's turn it was to watch the nest.  In the end, my leg banded friend (for some reason I want to think this is the male, don't ask my why) flew off to the top of a nearby pine to keep an eye out for lunch.

I've taken probably hundreds of shots of the eagles sitting in the tops of the trees while waiting for something to happen.  Just when you think you know the pattern and drop your guard, nature happens.  With the camera in my lap, I saw the eagle spring off its perch and dive toward the river!  The shot that I've been longing to add to my collection forever is about to take place right in front of me and I'm asleep at the wheel!  Throwing the camera to my eye, it took just fractions of those precious seconds to find the bird in the viewfinder when I start firing off rapid bursts of the shutter release hoping for the best.  I'll share more on this specific event in a future post, but for now let's just say the eagle and I both came up empty on this attempt.

Well, almost empty.  The eagle grabbed a fist full of weeds and I captured one of my best in flight shots of my magnificent friend.

As a consolation prize of sorts, the eagle completed the cross-river trip and came to light on a nearby branch to pose for a nice portrait shot as we both contemplated where we went wrong. 

You win some and you lose some my friend.  In this case it would be difficult for me to say I lost. Beautiful! Thanks for the prize.

Stay tuned as there's still more to come from the Eagle River experience.

Until next time, keep click'n.

-Ken

 

Who Are You?

And what are you doing on my river?

This VERY curious river otter is one of a pair that eventually came in so close that I was no longer able to focus the lens on them.  What an experience!

If you're interested in hearing more of our recent Eagle River trip, stop back tomorrow for Part II of the photo adventure.

Eagle River Redux - Part I

If you've been a reader of the blog for awhile, you may remember a post from last March titled "The Eagle River Adventure".  Even then we knew we'd go back and we recently kept our promise with a return trip to Adventure Rental's "River Escape" vacation rental property.  The trip proved even more magical the second time around.

First, picture your dream getaway.  I know for many of you your thoughts may immediately turn to the island vacation for fun in the sun or the European trip to journey back through history.  While I certainly wouldn't turn down either opportunity, if I'm looking to relax, I mean really relax and recharge, put a camera in my hand and drop me someplace off the grid where it's just us and the wildlife.  Sitting on the end of the dock overlooking the Wisconsin River at River Escape was exactly what the doctor ordered.

This year we scheduled the trip a week later in the year in hopes that the ice would be off the river.  As it turned out, the unseasonal weather we'd experienced through most of March resulted in the ice being long gone.  We'd even considered taking our kayaks, but as luck would have it the "seasonal" weather returned just in time for our trip.  Less than a week before the temperature had been consistently flirting with the 80 degree mark.  On the first morning of our stay we awoke to a fresh layer of snow blanketing the ground.

Day 1

As mentioned in last year's post, one of the many reasons this is a great location to have a camera in hand is the fact that there is a bald eagle nest high in a pine right across the river.  If you can hold still long enough you're nearly guaranteed a view of these magnificent raptors.

Shooting with the Nikon D300s and a Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 gave me some additional reach to interact with our wildlife buddies, but the lighting was horrible all day.  I had my camera set to 1/1000th of a second and auto-ISO topping out at 3200 whenever I took my seat on the dock.  Pretty much all of the photos I took that day ended up being at 3200 ISO.  As they say, a grainy photo is better than a blurry one or no photo at all.

Two mallard ducks express their opinions on property rights.

Day 2

While it had warmed up enough to dispense with the snow, the thermometer was still struggling to break the 40 degree mark.  The temperature being what it was, my wife was resigned to do her relaxing indoors and offered me the use of her Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 lens for the first time ever (and I say thank you)!  The challenge for the day was not only to hold up 5 pounds of lens (someone needs a monopod), but to find the subject in the viewfinder to focus on.  The longer reach also came at the price of a slower shutter speed, but at least it was a tad brighter than the day before.

Mr. and Mrs. H. Merganser (nice doo Mrs :-)

In between waiting for one of the eagles to return to or depart from the nest, the mallards and hooded mergansers kept me entertained.  Then from the corner of my eye I saw two newcomers to the scene.  A pair of river otters!  Did I mention that I simply parked my butt on the dock bench and all of these photo opportunities came right to me?  Truly unbelievable.  At first I only saw one otter poking it's head up and looking around before slipping back beneath the surface all the while continuing to close the distance between us.  And then....

...wait for it ........

Perch anyone?

Up comes an otter with a face full of fish looking right at me seeming to say, "So are you getting this? Nice catch, huh?".  After he was sure I had realized the photo op, he turned has back and began working on his prize.  He was still going at it as he start up the river once again.

These two still weren't done with me, but we'll save that for another post. :-).

Before I wrap up for today, I wanted to provide just a little more feedback on the experience with the Sigma 150-500.  Of course I've seen many, many images that my wife has taken with this lens and heard a lot of feedback from her on its performance (or sometimes the lack thereof).  It probably also comes as no surprise that I secretly covet a nice long reaching, fast piece of glass, what photographer doesn't. Those day dreams usually surface after looking at some of the wildlife images of Moose Peterson or others with their $10K Nikon 600mm lenses (Nikon, if you're reading, I'm now accepting sponsors ;-).  Even the most "practical" option I've pondered, a Nikon 300mm f/2.8 with a teleconverter would put you back in excess of $6,500.  More than likely that one's going to be contained to "dream land" for quite some time. 

That being said, if your options are shooting with a considerably less expensive 500mm lens or not shooting with a 500mm lens, then I'd pick the first option.  It's probably not going to be the fastest lens in your bag at f/6.3, but with my camera focus mode set to continuous servo and my shutter-release set to "Release + Focus" priority, I was reasonably happy with the results.   Most definitely there were some shots where I wished the focus had caught up with me a little faster, but I'm also reasonably confident that additional practice at getting and keeping the lens pointed in the right direction would improve the percentage of keepers.  Overall, it was a real treat to shoot at 500mm even if the light was less than desirable.

Keep your eyes on the blog as I'll continue to share more images taken with this lens as well as the stories behind them.  If you've read enough to be intrigued by the possibilities of the River Escape property, give Cassandra at Adventure Rentals a call.  River Escape is just one of the options they have available to you and we HIGHLY recommend them.

Until next time, keep click'n.
-Ken