Nikon D500 autofocus

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This is a test. A full version of this story is on my SmugMug website. 

The autofocus of the new Nikon D500 camera is awesome. This gallery shows one of 14 consecutive shots in a burst of 9 frames per second. Thirteen of the 14 can be seen if you click on the link above. All were in almost perfect focus. The image not included was also in focus, but the 78 year old photographer (me, 79 now) was not tracking the bird perfectly and part of the bird was out of the frame. Exif data indicate that the first shot was taken at 9:08:49 AM and the last one at 9:08:51 AM.
Location: Jefferson Island rookery (LA)
Date: May 26, 2016
Equipment: D500 camera, 300mm f/4 lens + 1.4x teleconverter, handheld

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.