I got the new Canon EF-L f/5.6 400mm lens today and had to try out the range as early as I can :) The following pics are from a paddy field near Maddur in Bengaluru - Mysuru road:

This being my first experience with a real tele photo lens, with a not so impressive maximum aperture (f/5.6) and no IS, I decided to play safe with ISO-400. The first two pics are 1/1000s @ f/5.6 and the last one is 1/640s for the same aperture. For the third pic, I tried out ISO-100 and had 1/250s and f/5.6.

I also got a 2X converter and tried it out, but didnt get any decent pictures @ f/11 (2X converter will make f/5.6 of 400mm lens to f/11), no Auto Focus (EOS400D cannot Auto Focus @ a max aperture of f/11) and no IS.

There is a building coming up next to our office building and construction is happening at a furious pace there. Here are some pics:

The bright red color of the soil is tha main reason that tempted to me to do these shots as I've found this color of the soil interesting in a few occassions before, like in this post: Once again in Gundulpet and Mysuru. Add the bright colored attire and the ebony hue of the workers themselves, I just luved the contrast :)

I was in the terrace of my office and the distance was just right for the EF-L 180mm. All pics are taken @ Av mode f/5 and ISO 400 to avoid shakes (camera returned 1/200s, 1/160s and 1/125s for these pics, even after bumping up the ISO, since it was a li'l cloudy). I later color saturated and darkened the pics a li'l bit in GIMP.

And yeah ... if u havent noticed (which I doubt), the stone in the 2nd pic is airborne :)

Pics from a corn stall near the Tv tower, on my way to office :)

All pics are using the EF-L 180mm lens @ Av mode f/6.3 and exposure times of 1/125s (for the 1st pic alone) and 1/60s (for pics 2 and 3).

Reflections on water droplets is something that I cant stop shooting :) Here are a few more pics on a rainy day in Bengaluru, from our office terrace!

The light was a li'l less, no tripod and I wanted a li'l higher DFO (f/6.3). Finally, resorted to ISO 800 for these pics. Av mode for 1/250s, using the EF-L 180mm macro lens.

More water drops and reflections in it :) Once again with the EF-L 180mm macro lens, high ISO (800) and higher DOF (f/8) @ Av mode for a 1/60s exposure.

The 3rd pic is water dropping from the ceiling. ISO-800, f/8 and 1/400s. Its highly cropped and focused more on the ceiling rather than the water drop. That should explain the sharpness.

These are a couple of macro pics I took during a trek trip to Edakkal caves and Meenmutty falls. One problem with both the pics is the excessive sunlight and the reflections, as if a flash was used :( All this while, I had found it tough to have enuf DOF to cover life size macro pics, now that I had enuf light to bump up the DOF, there are reflections! When will I learn to do it right :(

The dragon fly was a large black one, spotted hovering around near the base of Meenmutty falls. I waited patiently for about 20 mins for this cutie to sit down and it finally did ... just a few seconds. Light was ample again and I used Av mode f/8 for a 1/125s exposure @ ISO-100. Finally, I guess the pic was slightly blurred and didnt have enuf details I'd have liked.

Pics taken after a strenuous trek to Meenmutty falls :)

I know Sai looks happy coz we just had buttermilk!

Both pics are from EF-L 180mm @ Av mode. Vishal's pic had ample sunlight and I used f/5, but for Sai's there was not enuf light and I had to go to f/3.5 and ISO-800.

The grass stem seen here is taken @ a paddy field near Maddur. I initially wanted sun's rays to come in the pic, but looks like the sun was too bright and I settled with the light @ one corner and the shine around my subject :) Btw .... the sun in this picture is not direct, but reflected from the paddy field!

The pics are taken with the EF-L 180mm macro lens@ almost life size. Av mode @ f/16, with 1/250s and 1/320s.

The first two pics are reflections, in a tank bund after Mysuru in the Nanjangud road. Tank bund had very clear / still water and good reflections. The shot is not near enough for the focus and detail I wud've liked to have, but still liked the frame :) Simple shot @ Av mode, f/3.5 with EF-L 180mm and bright outdoor light.

The 3rd pic is a group of pelicans fishing in another tank bund just ahead. Again, in Av mode f/3.5.

While I was taking the 3rd pic, a black cormorant came out of the water and on seeing us, sprinted in the water and took off. This is the best I could manage.

Did I tell that I have been chasing flying birds ... if no ... u haven't read my blog! So, here is another attempt to capture flying kites and a mynah sitting in a tree. All of them, finally turned out to be highly cropped, sharpened and color saturated using GIMP (what wud I do without GIMP) to get a decent avatar!

I liked the 1st pic, in spite of having shades around the face, coz it gives a decent idea of the bird's plumage. By the way, for all the kite pics, sun was a major factor. Some angles, leaves the plumage bright and in some other, the face! The 2nd pic has enough details of the bird's eye and thats something I always like. Both of them are in manual mode, the first @ f/3.5, 1/640 and ISO-100 and the second @ f/3.5, 1/400 and ISO-400. I had to bump up the ISO since the light started fading!

The Mynah pic,@ f/3.5, 1/400 and ISO-400, is the most heavily cropped and most color saturated pic of the lot. Dunno, why I felt like moving the bird towards the right. May be the 1/3rd rule is getting to me. But, ideally the bird shud've been @ the left and facing the center, rather than facing outside. Isnt it :) Guess, the real reason is a tree trunk on to the right of the bird which I removed with this framing :)

I missed a higher range tele photo lens while trying to capture it using my EF-L 180mm lens (This is mainly a macro lens). Guess, its time for the 400mm!

The final kite pic is in Av mode @ f/3.5, 1/2000 and ISO-400. Again, the face goes in the shade, but the plumage is captured with decent clarity.

These days I carry the camera to office (off MG Road, Bengaluru) almost all days and mostly end up taking it up to the terrace during breaks :) So, here are two pics taken during office breaks!

Pigeons are regular visitors to our office terrace and I'd been trying to get flying pigeons for a while now. Never mind, atleast I cud get a decent portrait :) Manual mode @ f/3.5, 1/400s and ISO-400. Did increase the color saturation using GIMP. I used manual mode and higher ISO only coz I was looking to shoot flying birds (pigeons and kites) and ended up with under/over exposed or motion blurred all the time. Finally, I decided to try manual mode with higher ISO and this pigeon came and sat right next to me! Though, he/she flew off quickly before I cud click, he/she did pose for a few minutes :)

There are a few trees in the apartment complex next to our office and the butterfly in the pic came and sat among the trees. Once again, I was in the middle of taking some other macro pics (which turned out horrible) and I ended up re-using the same settings before the butterfly flew off. ISO-200, f/3.5, Av mode and 1/200s.