Yep, I now have a huge, new found respect for bird photography...LOL Today was the first real time I have gone out and concentrated on shooting birds. Things learned:

1. Damn those little guys are fast. Got so frustrated at not being able to set up fast enough on the tripod, I ended up shooting freehand.
2. Judging by my hand shake, I may have a medical condition...LOL
3. Probably should practice more in open fields before going into the woods. Hard trying to shoot through tree branches

Anyway, all joking aside, here's a few of my shots that I thought came out okay. Shot freehand, with my D50 and a 300mm f/4.5 MF lens. Now I realize these could be cleaned up a bit more in Photoshop but, how did I do otherwise? Also, can anybody ID these little guys? I'm in Southern Maine if that helps with the ID'ing.

Nice work for a first time out. Better than my first shots lol. I tend to try and stick to a simple rule for fixing hand shake. Set your shutter speed the same as the distance you are zoomed out to.... if that makes any sense.

When shooting with my 500 mm I try to keep the shutter as fast as possible (at or around 1/500th at first.. I can now shoot at 1/250th and even 1/100th on dark days if I prop myself) and control the light with the Aperture as much as possible. The faster you can shoot the less shake you will see in the shot. With practice the speeds can come down and into the area where you can use them to control light as well. Just keep shooting and having fun.

Holy Crap! You can shoot 1/250th at 500mm freehand? Dang, I need A LOT of practice then...LOL Was good fun though and yet another reason to get out on the trails :)

I can shoot 500mm at 1/125th without IS :)

Those birds are ... first 2 eastern pheobe and last 2 palm warbler. Both species are a bit tough at times, but are some of the easier species to capture compared to the ones still migrating up :wink:

I can shoot 500mm at 1/125th without IS :)

Oh sure, just rub it in...LOL At least now I have some new goals to reach for :D

I spent 10 hours a day for 18 months chasing birds with my camera(not to mention all the years to follow)...... practice, practice practice.

Yeah, I can imagine 10 hours a day for 18 months would do the trick ;) While I don't see myself getting quite that much practice, I will sure give it a good shot. Any advice for the beginner?

Any advice for the beginner?

1) Start close to home
2) Start with common birds

Getting great-looking images of even the most common birds takes some getting used to. Don't start globetrotting looking for subjects to shoot until you master the fundamentals with the easy stuff.

Even with a significant telephoto (400mm ~ 600mm), you may be surprised just how close you need to be to get those high-res, high-impact images. Practice getting to within 10'~15' of the smaller birds. Then work on your timing, focusing skills, and composition.

Good luck! Please post your evolution here regularly.

Thanks for the advice Loupey :) After being in the area for about 45 minutes, the birds started letting me get within about 15' - 20'. I didn't realize how close I would actually need to get with a 300mm :( These shots were well cropped down. Now I need to go sell some plasma or something so I can afford a better lens...LOL I'll make sure to post shots of my progress.

Thanks again :)
Aaron

Kidney. One should just about cover it :p

Good lord. Been "window" shopping online. I don't know if even a kidney would cover it :o Now where are those teleconverters at? :D

That 300 you have will do the trick for now. I started out with a film camera with a 400mm and learned how to get close.

KEH.COM sells used lenses for a decent price and can be trusted too.

try this for better handholding
http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/shortlens.html

These are great shots for your first time out! Be careful or you will get hooked... there is no 12 step program to get un-hooked (lol).