With over two miles of beachfront, Hammonasset State Park in Connecticut is a beautiful place to photograph wildlife, especially shore birds and even seals. For shooting birds, a long zoom lens is recommended so I bought a Sigma 150-600 mm f5-6.3 lens. When paired with the cropped sensor on my Nikon D7000, I have a 225-900 mm range to capture the action and close-up activities of fast-moving birds. This image was taken on a cold, winter day in late afternoon with high winds and rough seas, but these hardy sandpipers found some fleeting safety – and food – along the shore in this rocky cove. These little guys move very fast – on the sand as well as in the air. With such a long lens, I was able to observe and capture their hunt for food without interfering in their movements. So much fun! My camera settings were f6.3, 1/1000 sec, 250 ISO at full zoom of 600/900 mm. I used the plugin, Topaz Impression, to add some artistry to the photo.