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Examples: White Mountains Marmots
This page shows examples of marmots in the White Mountains of California, shot at 11600 feet elevation. Some handheld, some on tripod, all with image stabilization.
Includes images up to full camera resolution.
Shooting commentary
On an overcast day, I spent an hour or so photographing marmots, which are pretty tough to approach in wide open spaces. Had I been willing to sit and be patient for a day, I’m sure I could have gotten much closer eventually. However, the juveniles are much less suspicious of things and are easier to approach.
The Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS worked well for the task, but something up to 1200mm would be a lot more useful, as the crops show. The Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS would have been ideal, with 1.4X and 2X teleconverters, but I don’t have one. Given the cropping, the Sony A7R IV with its 60-megapixel sensor was ideal for resolution vs something better for focusing, like the 50-megapixel Sony A1.
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Sony A7R IV + Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS @ 600mm
ENV: White Mountain Rd, altitude 11600 ft / 3536 m, 60°F / 15°C
RAW: +20 Whites, +15 Clarity, USM {8,50,0}
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