Photographing Flying Geese with a 600 mm lens

Photographing flying birds with a 600 mm lens can be challenging due to the narrow field of view, but it can be done! I used a Canon RF 600 mm F/11 lens on a Canon R7 body to do exactly this, and I am glad to state that the results were impressive!

Although a much underrated lens, the Canon RF F/11 STM lens is a capable lens when used in tandem with the Canon RF7 body. I wouldn't be wrong to state that the prime lens is no laggard in doing its job! Even though I have a Canon 70-300 mm USM STM II lens, I had deliberately decided to use the 600 mm prime lens to photograph birds in flight. I wanted to test the lens and take it through its paces. I selected focus tracking, set the ISO to auto, and selected a minimum shutter speed of 1250/second for the shoot. Needless to say, the results came out to be pretty impressive! Of course, the lighting was favourable, although there was a trace of light mist.

Patience can be a virtue, and predicting bird movement can play an important role in flying bird photography. To help speed up focusing, I disabled the full autofocus switch and instead selected the other options, which limit the lens from focusing on close objects. All of the photographs shared in this post were taken handheld for ease of movement, which speaks loudly about the capability of the lens.

Of course, the lens-and-camera combo used for the photographs can be a bit tiring to hold for long periods compared to the 70-300 mm lens, but it can be done! I have not yet used a lens hood with the lens, which might make the combo a bit unwieldy for handheld shots.

The Last Lesson-Important Questions

 

Prose Extract-Based Questions for The Last Lesson

Page 5, 3rd Paragraph

1. “I heard M. Hamel say to me, “I won’t scold you, little Franz; you must feel bad enough. See how it is! Every day we have said to ourselves, ‘Bah! I’ve plenty of time. I’ll learn it tomorrow.’ And now you can see where we’ve come out. Ah, that’s the great trouble with Alsace; she puts off learning till tomorrow. Now those fellows out there will have the right to say to you, ‘How is it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you can neither speak nor write your own language?’ But you are not the worst, poor little Franz. We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with.”

1. Why do you think Little Franz might be feeling ‘bad’?

2. Where do you think the people of Alsace have ‘come out’?

3. What, according to M. Hamel, is the ‘trouble’ with Alsace?

4. Who are ‘those fellows out there’? What will they say to you?

Page 5&6 5th paragraph

2....it was the most beautiful language in the world - the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.

1. Who said these words and what was the occasion?

2. Who are 'we' in the above extract?

3. Why according to the speaker, should we 'guard it'?

4. Who is the narrator and how does he feel about the whole situation?

Page 7, 3rd Paragraph

3.On the roof, the pigeons cooed very low, and I thought to myself, "Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?"

1. Whom does 'they' refer to?

2. Who is 'I' in the above extract?

3. Why does he wonder if 'they' would make the pigeons sing in German?

He was aware about what the Prussians were trying to do, impose their language on the people of Alsace. He was aware about the concept of Linguistic Chauvinism.

4. Is the narrator aware of linguistic chauvinism? Yes

Page 7 Last Paragraph

4. Whenever I looked up from my writing I saw M. Hamel sitting motionless in his chair and  gazing first at one thing, then at another, as if he wanted to fix in his mind just how everything looked in that little school-room. Fancy! For forty years he had been there in the same place, with his garden outside the window and his class in front of him just like that. Only the desks and benches had been worn smooth; the walnut trees in the garden were taller, and the hopvine that he had planted himself twined about the windows to the roof. How it must have broken his hear to leave it all, poor man; to hear his sister moving about in the room above, packing their trunks! For they must leave the country the next day.

1. Who is I the above extract?

2. M. Hamel was sitting motionless in his chair because:

a) He was embittered by the events.

b) He was saddened by the events.

c) He was angered by the students who had not studied French well.

d) Both a) and b) are correct.

2. With reference to the extract, choose the correct option with reference to 1) and 2) given below:

     1) M.Hamel was sitting motionless in his chair gazing at the worn benches, the hopvine and the walnut trees.

     2) M.Hamel wanted to preserve the memories of forty years of service.

a) 1) is correct, but 2) is incorrect

b) 1) is incorrect, but 2) correct

c) Both 1) and 2) are incorrect

d) Both 1) and 2) are correct.

3. Describe the tone in the above extract in one sentence.

4. What would have broken his heart according to the extract?

Short answer questions

1. Why according to M. Hamel were the people of Alsace not very fluent in French?

2. How would you differentiate between the Prussian’s Linguistic Chauvinism and M. Hamel’s pride in the French language? Are they the same?

3. How did M.Hamel attempt to infuse pride, respect, and a sense of patriotic fervour in his students during the last French lesson?

Long Answer Type Questions

1. It takes a catastrophic moment to change the course of history. Support this statement with evidence from the lesson.

2. Write a letter to your sister in Paris describing your last French lesson. You are Little Franz.

3. Draft a diary entry in 120 to 150 words. You are M. Hamel. Describe your last day as a French teacher at the school in Alsace.

4.  M. Hamel in 'The Last Lesson' and Edla in 'The Rattrap' are the guiding lights of self-realization to Franz and the peddler, respectively. Comment

The Tale of Melon City - Analysing Satire in the Poem

In this post, I am going to attach photographs of slides I created on a PPT to analyse Satire with reference to Vikram Seth's poem, The Tale of Melon City.

Spotting the Amazing Bar-headed Geese at the Chandu Budhera Wetland

 

Bar-headed Geese never fail to amaze me each time I spot them, whether it is in Gurgaon or even elsewhere! These migratory birds are known for their endurance, having flown in from as far away as central Asia and Tibet! They are important overland guests who visit the Indian continent in the winter months of November to March. It is unfortunate, however, that their nesting grounds are disappearing due to development. There used to be a wetland known as the Basai Wetland, where one commonly spotted them, but it no longer exists, as it is now the site of flyovers and residential buildings.

It looks like the Chandu Budhera wetland, where these birds converge in large numbers, too, will become a victim of developmental activities. These sightings of these venerable guests will soon be remembered in the days to come. Bar-headed Geese happen to be indicators of climate change, and their changing migratory patterns are strong indicators of changing food patterns. Till then, however, one cannot help admiring their ruggedness and grace.

One can't help wondering how they manage to traverse such long distances, flying at heights where there is a scarcity of Oxygen. Moreover, these amazing birds manage to follow the magnetic patterns of the Earth; they follow landmarks, rivers, and other markers, often landing up in the same spot in Gurgaon every year.

Seeing them in such large numbers at the Chandu Budhera wetland area, against the lush green fields of Wheat and greenery, can be a most refreshing sight for visitors. While spotting them in flight can be a sight worth treasuring, finding them in large groups on land can be equally amazing!

Birds of Keoladeo - A Photo-essay

The Bharatpur National Park is a treasure trove of wild birds, resident and migratory. A wide range of Duck species visit the spot during the winter season, and then they fly away to colder regions as summer approaches the Indian continent. Among the migratory birds that visit the park are the Ruddy Shelduck, White Eyed Pochards, and Red-crested Pochards. Incidentally, Ruddy Shelduck birds are also called Surkhab in Hindi.

The large number of birds that descend on the Bharatpur National Park provides photography enthusiasts with a great opportunity to photograph some of the rarely spotted birds. Unfortunately, the weather plays an important role in wildlife photography. Spotting a flock of Northern Shovelers swimming in formation and a flock of Common Coots swimming together can be a most fulfilling experience.

Darters are large water-dwelling birds that have long, slender dagger-like bills. They are also known as snake birds because of their long twisted necks. Ibis birds also have long, curving beaks. They probe the water for food.