Fun Day of Snow Play, Snowflake Photography, and Birds

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
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Bombs Away!

my brother Alan acting his (daughter's) age

Today was fun.

My brother Alan and
his wife Natalie and
their 4¾ year old Felicity are also
visiting my folks here in Ohio, and we had a fair amount snow.

Felicity's day started with feeding the birds with Grandma (as regularly happens here) for an
hour. It was cold (14F / -10C), so when they came
in from that it was time for some hot cocoa by the fire...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38mm — 1/40 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1800 —
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Morning Cocoa

Anthony's cousin Felicity (4¾)

I had a nice reaction to the “Goldfinches in a Light
Snow” post the other day, so I thought I'd try some more bird shots. I ended up being out there for only 10 minutes before other tasks called me
away, but got a couple of nice shots...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — 1/2500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 800 —
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Focus




Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — 1/3200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 —
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Make Way




Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — 1/3200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 —
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Out'a Here

Then it was time for some snow play, just like last year with Anthony.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 —
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Alan and Felicity





Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 500 —
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Making Snowballs with Mommy





Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
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Putting Them to Good Use

Natalie noticed humongous snowflakes on her jacket... I'd never seen the beautiful patterns of a snowflake with the naked eye, but wow, I could sure see them today...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4000 —
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Snowflake on Natalie's Jacket

taken by hand while asking Natalie to hold still




Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 —
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Inspecting Snowflakes on Her Sleeves




Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4000 —
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I couldn't believe that I could get snowflake shots with a normal lens
(even my favorite
macro). The results are not great as far as snowflake shots go (for
example, these),
but it's enough to make me wonder what I could do with a bit more preparation (and a platform
not moving around when her daughter runs up).

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 —
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Field of Flakes

I also thought I'd give a go at some snow-covered red berries, but the results are pretty boring.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 320 —
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 cropped — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 —
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 —
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Good Times