ok.. I truely hate the recycle time of my 550ex, but it makes for a great example of with and without fill flash :)

one with fill at -.3 ev, one without.. 1 second apart .. these are crops BTW

I know I needed -.7ev or -1 ev AND they are a bit soft, but .........

here's one with fill at -.3ev flash and +.3ev camera(needed at meter camera and -.7 flash for perfect exposure though) SS was 1/1250th flash was in FP

cropped to verticle from a horizontal

Love the one in your second post - it's gorgeous! You know, that would make a great photo card! I can see the caption... "Keep close to nature's heart" John Muir ;-)

Check out http://PhotographerEdge.com for photo greeting cards to use!

I don't use a BB unless i'm tripod mounted.

have you ever tried to walk around with one on your flash...... fresnel gets ripped off 10 times a day

oops . you forgot the S in photographerSedge :)

thanks for the great link, wonderful comments and....... THAT QUOTE is GREAT :D

oops . you forgot the S in photographerSedge :)

thanks for the great link, wonderful comments and....... THAT QUOTE is GREAT :D

OOPS! lol Just go there and request the catalog. Another great resource to use in conjunction with that company is http://epixel.com to order prints from your digital files! I use them a lot too!

Nice red-eyed vireo! It's pretty clear that you wouldn't have gotten the eye color without the flash.

yeah those red eyed vireos are pretty cool birds ;)

but that guy had the nerve to jump infront of me while shooting an ALDER FLYCATCHER on territory.

I was on the beach chasing late migrant birds(mostly females of NORTHERN species)

I must gloat a bit.....I FOUND MY FIRST CAPEMAY WARBLER EVER :) but it was a female :(

I have heard 3 mourning warblers this spring.... still haven't seen one EVER though :(

I think the ones going through went.... time to get nesting birds ;)

ok.. I truely hate the recycle time of my 550ex, but it makes for a great example of with and without fill flash :)

one with fill at -.3 ev, one without.. 1 second apart .. these are crops BTW

I know I needed -.7ev or -1 ev AND they are a bit soft, but .........


Of too much flash, and flash being needed.

What range were you from the bird?

When you start cranking in - EV, you need to carefully judge how much is needed or you risk underexposing. BTDT!!! :-(

Great examples my friend! Thanks for sharing them.

What lense are you using to do these? And also, how much of a crop is this off of the full image?

And, well... what are your techniques for getting so close? I really want to get good bird shots, but haven't been able to get anywhere near as close as I need to be.

What lense are you using to do these? And also, how much of a crop is this off of the full image?

And, well... what are your techniques for getting so close? I really want to get good bird shots, but haven't been able to get anywhere near as close as I need to be.

GEAR 1D/100400IS

about 12ft I'd say

and getting close to nature takes time, patience, knowing your subjects habits and...... a bit of luck too at times

some cheat and use recorded calls/songs, some use screech owl tapes, some are skilled enough to get them in with just their own vocal cords( like me) and most great images are being at the right place at the right time.

KNOW YOUR SUBJECT!!

find nesting pairs, find suitable habitat, find migration traps, watch weather paterns...

taking images of wildlife is part photography and part science if you ask me ;)

this is a FAST 20 second resize from the original JPEG so you can see 520mm at 12-14 feet. though I do need to back up at times because the bird is closer than 6 feet :)