Mannat - pensive.

Ah, the lovely old Nikkor manual-focus 50mm f/1.2 AI-s lens: I decided to dust mine off and start using it again... especially to take advantage of a FF sensor - this lens is just perfect for portrait use again. Though the plane-of-focus is so shallow from f/1.2 to f/4 - critical focus is an absolute must else the photo looks soft overall whereas this lens is not soft - when used properly, that is. Not easy, because of the shallow depth of focus!  The sharpness of this lens is different to the newer lenses - this one has lovely «soft-sharpness» which I just love.  This lens is outstanding used wide-open and up to f/8... beyond f/8 not so good... but then why use this very special f/1.2 lens if one needs to have «every thing in focus»?  Oh, and one more thing - just the heft and feel of this metal body smooth [manual] focus lens - a real pleasure in itself!

Birding trip around Jahangirnagar University in Savar, Bangladesh.
We had planned to head out 5:30AM today, but a massive thunder-storm delayed us to 7. We had a great trip  watching the wide variety of birds around Jahingirnagar University in Savar just around 30km from Dhaka.... it turned out to be a very hot day and with most of the group fasting during this month of Ramadan - dehydration became a big concern and so we called it a day by 10:30 AM. Met some great guys, avid birders and photographers. A special thanks to Z. Faisal for inviting me to the trip and to Samiul for being our guide - he has an extensive knowledge of the eco-system of the area and the flora and fauna of the surrounds. Thanks also, to Saud A Faisal the group leader of «Through The Lens: Bangladesh».

A group photo, by Sharif, is here.

I just took over a spare room which has large glass windows across almost the entire width of the room - and it faces right into the Mango and Mahogany trees. I can slide open the windows, and reach into the tree. No mangoes yet, but that would be something to look forward to in the comming summer

There are a lot of birds who come visit- Treepies, Sunbirds, Mynas, Crows, a couple of Brahminy Kites ... and an assortment of other tiny birds yet to be identified [hail to the Inskipp book!]. So, I have the camera and a 300mm lens on a tripod almost all the time, facing out into the tree... just need to wait for that moment and CLICK!

Here is one from today afternoon,  a curious Rufous Treepie [called Hari Chacha in Bangla].

And a few more added later....

Sunbirds ~ Magpie Robin ~ Tailor Bird [Tuntuni in Bangla]