H.J. Ruiz – Avian101

Finally! I got my new camera on Friday at the end of the day. Didn’t have time to test it so instead charged the battery fully and just sat and read the Manual Book.The camera is made in Japan by Fujifilm, it is a mirrorless X-E1 and I bought it with a zoom lens 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS

Even when it may seem that I do to bird photography  exclusivity it’s not so, I do landscapes, people, nature etc. I was in need a small camera, easy to carry and light in weight but loaded with all necessary features to create great pictures, I had one camera like that before but I gave it to my wife last year for her use, she takes her own pictures, mostly of Tyler when he has events at school. She doesn’t shoot many pictures but it’s her camera now.

On the other side, photography for birds, take you to another dimension! In order to get good shots of birds a photographer needs extra heavy long lenses (more appropriate for the job), tripods and heads sturdy enough to support the weight of the camera and lenses. I do have most of that gear already and I feel satisfied with what I got. The purchase of this new camera was to replace my other camera, lighter and more portable.

Thus, the following morning I went out to my backyard in search for any subject that I could find and try the new camera. I took a dozen or so shots, looking at the pictures later I loved the sharpness of the lens and the rich colors that remind me of film shots. Not very long after I was outside the weather made a drastic change, got dark and rain began.   Today is Sunday and as I write these post, I have no Internet connection that is out because we had a heavy thunderstorm an a torrential downpour! It ruined my plans to  go out and shoot some pictures outdoors… yeach! I’m almost finished writing this post and the Internet is back on after 6 hours of being down! However, the persistent rain still falling.

This is a sample shot made with my new camera in my backyard.

Next are some photos from my archives:

Northern Cardinal (M)

American Goldfinch (M)

Common Grackle (J)

Red-winged Blackbird (M)

Field Sparrow

Text and photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101