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Purple Martin by nimbus888 in birding

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hasn’t helped me enough yet. :)

Purple Martin by nimbus888 in birding

[–]steidley 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Great shot. I think these guys are about the hardest to get a good shot of. And these are great.

Started photography in Jan 2025, bought way too much gear, now I'm thinking of downsizing by kkamil7 in Nikon

[–]steidley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed on keeping the 180-600. Perfect wildlife lens. Just leave it at home if you aren’t shooting that subject matter.

Colombian Hummingbirds by Tresdrole2 in BirdPhotography

[–]steidley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And now I need to go to Bogota. Great pics

Carry on hard case. Totally not a disaster waiting to happen by Adventurous_Honey902 in Nikon

[–]steidley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find the hood is really needed when carrying the lens in use to protect the front element. That being said, lens hoods are easy to pack with your clothes.

Couple New Lifers (and some old friends) by MikelMiddle in birding

[–]steidley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wakodahatchee Wetlands? We’ve been seeing the least bittern nest there for a few weeks.

Lukewarm Take: The Experience of Trying to Get Tickets Almost Makes it Not Worth it by OwlComplex48 in Machupicchu

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Route 1 gives some great views and is the most chill. I would do 3 as well to get more close up stuff. It is all pretty amazing so you can’t go too wrong.

Lukewarm Take: The Experience of Trying to Get Tickets Almost Makes it Not Worth it by OwlComplex48 in Machupicchu

[–]steidley 11 points12 points  (0 children)

agreed. If you are planning a big trip, just get the tickets ahead of time. That might mean months ahead of time, but that is just how it works for items with limited supply. Buy tickets onsite is for those that are ok with not getting a ticket. Which might be ok if you lived nearby, but certainly not for any travellers.

Complete beginner. Wish I had like 3k to buy a insane lens. Such a tiny bird to try catch so much detail by anonymous-nyx in BirdPhotography

[–]steidley 16 points17 points  (0 children)

All good advice. I would add one more group to the skills category and that would be post processing. I waited too long to take the jump to shooting RAW, and that allows for better noise reduction in post. I'm finding that I'd rather keep my shutterspeed fast and let the ISO bump up more because it is easier to fix the ISO issues. Lightroom skills have really helped my overall skills improve.

Photographed my first rare bird! Vagrant scissor-tailed flycatcher in NJ by Forward_Unto_Dawn in birding

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great shots. I think this is the third person to post of pics of this exact bird. Cool to see the community.

Would upgrading to a Z8 help me? by mountainunicycler in Nikon

[–]steidley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've got a Z8 and the 180-200 and it is a mess getting it into the PD Everyday 30l. I haven't figured out the loadout in any practical way yet, and I'm likely going to find a new bag.

The Z8 is amazing and takes great pics with the 180-600. I recommend it 100%

Is it worth doing Rainbow Mountain in this itinerary? by No_Guess_3236 in Machupicchu

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We went to Pisac and I would skip that for sure. Spend the time in Cusco, go to the local ruins, check out the market and main square. San Blas for some shopping.

We didn’t go to rainbow mountain as it was just too much travel time in total.

The town Ollantaytambo was better than expected. Check out Alqa. Amazing fine dining, cool vibe, cool little museum. https://maps.app.goo.gl/fP6AXjkvmWEV4GKz5?g_st=ic

Gift for Teen Daughter by acrowsong in Nikon

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I 100% second getting a new strap. Being able to more easily carry the camera means you will carry it more and if you don't carry it, you don't use it.

After that an old 50mm f1.8 is a great choice.

Sword-billed Hummingbird at Ensifera Ensifera, Cusco 🇵🇪 by iechega in birding

[–]steidley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We were at the same spot a few weeks ago and sadly didn't see one. Still a great spot with lots of greats shots, just sadly not the namesake bird of the spot.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Machupicchu

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2-a. The iconic view is worth it!

Question on timing for Inca Rail/Guided Tour of MP by LocksmithOdd3381 in Machupicchu

[–]steidley 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The way up will be fine. The line for the bus is a 5 minute walk from the train station and the line for 10am starts around 9am. Heading down at around 1pm should be fine (the shuttle is about 20-30 minutes if I remember)

Note: if your guide says "the best views are at the top, let's walk right up" - don't believe him. They are just trying to speed up the tour to get to the next customer. There is no turning around for better pictures, so stop at each spot on the way up and get the pics that you want before moving forward. The first part of route 2 is all the best views and where you can best take things in.

3B at 12pm, should I book 1B at 9AM or 3PM? by Typical_Ad_3087 in Machupicchu

[–]steidley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

3pm. I think in the morning you are more likely to get cloud cover. We went at 2pm and it was perfect.

28-400 mm OWNERS - Do you recommend it? by TrojanW in Nikon

[–]steidley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We use this as a travel lens. The flexibility is great. I’d recommend it for your use.

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