Tag Archives: rabbit

This Stabilization is Amazing

Another episode in the testing of the RF 200-800 for today’s post. This is more focused on the image stabilization in the lens. When shooting stills, I have commented on the slightly odd jerking effects visible in the viewfinder. I think this is most apparent when panning very slowly and I think the camera is trying to work out if you mean to stay still or not. However, one area which is really effective at showing the capabilities of the stabilization is video.

I have some footage below that is taken with the lens at 800mm and hand held. No tripod or monopod here. The rabbit was at the other end of our back yard while the bees were on the lavender plants in our beds. You can see that the image is remarkably stable. It is amazing to see it lock on so well. I have also shot some video of an F-35B in the hover, also at 800mm. It was interesting to see a lot of movement in the viewfinder for a moment and then it seemed to lock in on what it was doing and then things get really solid. This tech is most impressive.

Getting Eye Level With the Rabbits

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There are times when I just seem to want to take photos of something, irrespective of what it might be or what I might do with the images afterwards. I was sitting out on the deck behind our house and there were some rabbits eating our grass (as there often are). I had been watching some videos on wildlife photography and they had been emphasizing the need to get the camera angle low to improve the focus on the animal and separate it from the background. I had the camera and a long lens and there were some rabbits so why not give it a go.

Unfortunately, the rabbits are rather skittish, so some patience was required to get down on the ground without scaring them away. Then I had to wait until they looked in the right direction. Meanwhile, I was struggling with the angle being so low that the rabbits were partially obscured by the ground. (I might also mention, that wasn’t the only struggle. Lying on the ground for a while was making me quite uncomfortable and, when I did finally get up, it wasn’t elegant.) These were the results of my experimentation.

A Hawk and a Rabbit – One Isn’t Happy

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While waiting for the arrival of some jets, we were treated to a little bit of wildlife spotting. A hawk had been hunting over the fields in our vicinity, but it started to head our way and I grabbed a bunch of shots as it came by out of habit. One of the group checked his pictures out while we continued to wait and noticed that the hawk was carrying its next meal. It appears a rabbit had been caught out in the open and was now no more. The nature of life in the wild, I guess.

My Nemesis Returns

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When we first moved to our current house, we used to get lots of rabbits in the back yard. For a while, it was nice seeing them around. However, they did have a habit of “leaving” seeds for other plants in our grass and the weeds became an issue. We went about blocking up the various access points for them to keep them from coming in. This was broadly successful, but it is a continuous process as they find ways to breach the perimeter.

Recently I looked outside to see a rabbit not eating but stretched out and sunbathing in the back. Now that is taking the Michael. I went outside and he bolted so I saw where he had punched a new way in and closed it off. Later in the day, I saw him out front – where I have no issue with him being. Instead, I decided to get some images of my latest intruder. Now I’ll have proof if he ever denies being the one to break in previously!!

You Weren’t Expecting Me Were You?

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We did some work on our backyard this year including replacing the grass. Previously, the rabbits had been giving free reign in the yard since the grass was in poor condition. Once we replaced it, it was time to stop them coming in and “spreading weeds”. We have successfully blocked most of the access points that they had but there are still some areas where they have been tenacious enough to find a way in. I stepped out on to the deck recently with camera in hand. There, right in front of me, was a rabbit. I was quite surprised and it looked pretty surprised by me for a moment too. I grabbed a couple of shots of its slightly startled look and then, as soon as I moved, it bolted. I encouraged it back out the way it had come and then replaced whatever it had pushed out of the way. The battle continues…

Cannon Beach Black Bunny Population

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We were walking through Cannon Beach back towards our hotel when we saw a couple of black rabbits eating grass by the road. They didn’t seem easily spooked by our presence and we walked on our way. A little internet searching when we were back in the hotel explained that there is a population of black rabbits in Cannon Beach that are descended from rabbits that people have released. They are big rabbits compared to those we see around here.

I decided to grab the camera late one afternoon to see if I could get any photos of them. I didn’t have long to look but figured it was worth a try. I had walked about ten meters when I saw my first rabbits. There were a bunch of them within a block of the hotel. I saw some on an open area of grass and one that was closer to me did run away towards a bush. It them leapt up on top of the bush and stayed there chewing on the leaves. Never seen anything like that before!

Stalking the Rabbits

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We get a lot of rabbits in the back garden. They are a bit of a nuisance, but our yard is not good enough to justify the effort to do battle with them getting in. Instead, I accept their presence and consider them a photographic subject instead. Getting photos of them usually means subdued light. During the brighter parts of the day, they stay out of the sun and then follow the shadows across the grass as they eat.

I have tried to stalk them to get shots from a lower angle where possible. They are clearly a twitchy bunch and quite unwilling to hang around while I am moving about unless I stay far enough away. Therefore, some cautious movements and picking a spot and hoping them come to you is in order. Here are some more shots of the visitors.

Resting Rabbits Are Visiting

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We get a ton of rabbits in our yard. They happily eat our grass and spread the seeds of weeds amongst our grass. We figure it is a battle we will lose so why fight it. Instead, we watch out for them. Most of the time they are chomping away on the grass. Occasionally, if it is warm or they are feeling relaxed, we might see them stretch out and take a rest. Here are some of the resting poses of rabbits. If we appear, they instantly return to alert status.

Baseball Mitt Sculpture

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I went down into the middle of Woodinville to try and get pictures of the smoke from the wildfires. I ended up walking alongside the playing fields that are usually so busy with various sports. At this time, they were empty. What I had never noticed when driving by is that they have a sculpture by the fields of a baseball mitt. This bronze sculpture has the mitt and a bunch of rabbits. I am not sure what the meaning of the rabbits is but maybe it is designed to appeal to kids that are at the park to play their sports.

Rabbit Rescue

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A slightly sad tale for this post. We get plenty of wildlife in our backyard including loads of rabbits. They come in to much the grass all the time. They are a combination of cute and inconvenient since they tend to spread a lot of seeds for things we don’t want in our grass. Such is the way of nature of course. Most days we will see one or more of them out there but they disappear quickly if we go outside.

One weekend morning Nancy looked out and saw one on the grass but not looking normal. We went out to check what was going on and the rabbit seemed to have some injury which was preventing it from moving properly. Without the ability to examine it, I thought its leg was hurt. We pondered what to do. Meanwhile, a bunch of crows started gathering on the fence sensing a meal. They flew off when we went outside but the rabbit had moved itself somehow behind the aircon unit. We know that nature has a course in these things but figured, if there was something we could do for the little thing, we should at least make an effort. If it wasn’t going to make it, so be it.

A call to a rescue service told us that we should bring it to them and they would assess it. Despite its injuries, the flight mentality was strong and it was not easy to scoop up. However, I managed to get it wrapped up in a towel and into a box on another towel and off to PAWS in Lynnwood. They did an evaluation and confirmed that this was definitely a fixable issue but not by them. Off to Sarvey in Granite Falls. This bun was getting quite a road trip. We dropped it off with them which is when I took the picture above. I hadn’t wanted to photograph it if it wasn’t going to make it since that seemed wrong somehow but, with someone taking care of it, I decided a photo was okay.

All this effort for one rabbit might seem strange when so many must die every day but it seemed like the right thing to do and it introduced us to two good organizations that deserve support.