Random Thoughts | Moose Peterson's Website

Spring Duds are Appearing

Apr 18, 2024 | Random Thoughts

Greater Yellowlegs captured by Z 9 / Z600f4 TC @840mm handheld

Shorebirds are heading north towards their nesting grounds and their sporting their spring duds. Most are use to seeing them in their winter browns and grays and when they see a common bird like the Greater Yellowlegs in their spring finest, they don’t recognize the species they’ve seen a hundred times before. Now is the time as they are heading north to photograph them in their gorgeous spring feathers. I highly recommend getting the photo first even if you don’t recognize them and then use Merlin later to ID them if you need, just get the photo. I’m here to tell ya, spring duds are appearing!

Elementary School was A Long Time Ago

Apr 16, 2024 | Random Thoughts

Long-billed Curlew captured by Z 9 / Z600f4 TC @840mm

Bolivar Flats simply does not disappoint! This is our second year to hit the sands of this legendary birding area and while a shadow of its once grand self, we still photographed fourteen species in just two hours, 8199 captures before the tide chased birds and photographers off the tide line. Two species of delight were the Whimbrel and Long-billed Curlew. Both Arctic nestors, the Texas Coast is their first land fall after the cross the gulf. The Long-billed Curlew was a special treat, a bird that kinda started it all for me!

Long-billed Curlew captured by Z 9 / Z600f4 TC @840mm

I had just started third grade when I took a sincere interest in birds. I rode my bike to school each day. I went across the baseball / football fields to get to where I would park my bike. These fields were covered in fall with hundreds and hundreds of shorebirds. Riding my bike through them and seeing them part in harmony just grabbed my imagination. Especially the bird with the long “nose.” It was the Long-billed Curlew and I was incredibly fortunate that my third grade teacher Mrs Rayban was a birder and seeing my interest (and knowing how “distracted” I could be in my back corner seat) encouraged me to get into birds. Laying on the sand yesterday morning, those memories came rushing back. Elementary school was a long time ago.

Moose Podcast #393 – “Jamie, the Eagle Eyed Girl”

Apr 15, 2024 | Podcast

Jamie & Dad while recording the podcast. Photo courtesy from the Smarts

In this episode of the Moose Podcast #393- “Jamie the Eagle-Eyed Girl” is a very special wildlife photographer with the wide-eyed wonder of a kid! An award-winning, gifted soul with so much to share and teach us all!

Click to listen to Episode 393

and you can listen to it here as well:
iTunes
Amazon
Spotify

Howdy and welcome to the Moose Podcast! Thanks for taking the time to drop in from your week to listen! Thank you folks for listening and continually rising the Moose Podcast in the ratings … thank you ever so much! Please be so kind and continue to Tweet and/or share on the Moose Podcast on Facebook! I’d be grateful for your continuation in doing that. Want to hear about a particular topic, send in the suggestion … send them to Moose Podcast. THANKS! (sorry, emails sent to this address will get no direct response).

Podcast Transcript

People, Companies, Products Mentioned during Podcast:
Bedford Camera

Hide Your Way to Better Wildlife Photography – My New Class

Apr 12, 2024 | Random Thoughts

Pileated Woodpecker captured by Z 9 / Z600f4 TC

I’m very excited to share with you my 34th and latest KelbyOne class, Hide Your Way to Better Wildlife Photography! In the US, we call them Blinds, the rest of the world calls them Hides and they are a simple to complicated way of removing the human shape from critters vision. There is sooooooo much more than just throwing out a Hide to getting the better photograph. You might live in an apartment but you can still use a Hide, you might only have a 70-200 lens, but you can still use a Hide, you might have a backyard and you can better employ a Hide. I cover this and so much more in this hour class. Join me, won’t you, in the Hide!

ProGrade Ups The Speed!

Apr 12, 2024 | Random Thoughts

product shots courtesy of ProGrade

Simply look at the advances in their new release:

CFexpress 4.0 Type A Iridium Memory Cards:
Maximum read speed up to 1800MB/s
Burst write speed up to 1700MB/s
Sustained write speed up to 800MB/s and 1450MB/s respectively
VPG 200
Refresh Pro Ready
Capacities: 480GB and 960GB
MSRP – $479.99 and $679.99 respectively

CFexpress 4.0 Type B Iridium Memory Cards:
Maximum read speed up to 3550MB/s
Burst write speed up to 3000MB/s
Sustained write speed up to 850MB/s and 1500MB/s respectively
VPG 400
Refresh Pro Ready
Capacities: 400GB, 800GB, and 1.6TB
MSRP – $229.99, $449.99, and $949.99 respectively

CFexpress Type A Single Slot USB 4.0 Reader (PG09.6):
USB 4.0 interface
Transfer rates of up to 40Gbps
USB 4.0 certified cable included
Improved heat sink plate for extra cooling capability
MSRP – $99.99

CFexpress 4.0 Type B Gold 256GB Memory Card:
Read speed up to 3400MB/s
Write speed up to 3,000MB/s
Minimum sustained write speed 850MB/s
Refresh Pro Ready
Capacity: 256GB
MSRP: $169.99

They also released a new software, IngestPro

ProGrade Digital is also introducing Ingest Pro – a software that enables videographers and photographers to streamline their data management workflow. Ingest Pro incorporates functionality from Refresh Pro which enables you to sanitize ProGrade Digital memory cards to ensure they are ready for re-use in the capture environment and monitor the health of the card.

No Sun, No Bugs

Apr 8, 2024 | Random Thoughts

Jake on the “Root” captured by Z 8 / Z24-120

You can only have a hatch when it’s warm and the sunny typically and we had anything but as I wipe snow off my front element to get this shot of the master. We worked the river for hours but them darn fish, well, they were deep and didn’t want to play. We had a great time, saw lots of critters like the returning Osprey and Moose cow and calf but didn’t see any fish on the end of our line. The other fisherman fared no better which helps, a little. But it’s real simple, no sun, no bugs.