Some birds (5+ images)

[A.M.D.A.]

Yesterday I went with a couple friends to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. Here's several shots:

_________________
Male Mallard.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only)
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/1000
Aperture: F8
ISO: 800
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
American Coot.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only)
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F4.5
ISO: 200
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
Female Bushtit.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.
Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens. (MF-only).
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F5
ISO: 800
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
Tree Swallow.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only)
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/320 second
Aperture: F8
ISO: 200
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
Female Mallard.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only)
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F4.5
ISO: 200
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
Male Northern Shoveller.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only)
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F5.6
ISO: 800
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
Male Bufflehead.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SIGMA 70-300mm DG MACRO lens
Other equipment: Supplied lens hood
Shutter-speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F10
ISO: 800
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm

_________________
Male American Wigeon.

Photo © A.M.D.A 2009 All Rights Reserved. DO NOT publicily use or repost in any way and in any form without the owner's express prior written permission.

Camera: PENTAX *ist D
Lens: SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only)
Other equipment: n/a
Shutter-speed: 1/1000 second
Aperture: F6.3
ISO: 800
Focal length (optical): 300mm
Focal length (35mm equivalent): 450mm


Thanks for looking!

[SARtech]

"Female Bushtit"? Aww common Alex, you made that up!!

Wow... awesome stuff. Do you use a tripod? Wish you guys would please please tell me your secrets to photos like these!
waaaaaaaa

[A.M.D.A.]

"Female Bushtit"? Aww common Alex, you made that up!!

Oh... oops... I didn't realize that "Bushtit" may be interpreted in some other form... :blush2: :blush2:

But I swear I didn't make up the bird's ID or name! See here as proof: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAbou...shtit_dtl.html

Male bushtit (excuse me ) has black eyes, the female has yellow ones.

Wow... awesome stuff. Do you use a tripod? Wish you guys would please please tell me your secrets to photos like these!
waaaaaaaa

Thank You!!

I carry a Velbon CX-540 tripod pretty much all the times when I go out to photograph birds. Never know when it might come in handy, like the yellowlegs pictures I posted some time ago would not have been possible without a tripod.

Mostly what I do is go out often and practise. Then slowly learn what setting/techniques work better and which ones don't. It takes time, mind you, my pics were really crappy 3 years ago when I first started, and still have a long way to go to get stuff like some of the regulars at N&W. :cryin:

You could try shooting in either Av (Aperture-Priority) or (Sv (Shutter-Priority). For example, if the background in a photo is very cluttered and you can't switch position, select Av and a larger aperture in order to blur the background more.

Always remember to not only pay attention to either Shutter-speed, ISO, or Aperture -- keep a eye on all three.

It can be tough, I know I messed up somewhat on the Tree swallow. I could've upped the ISO to 400 and flipped the aperture down a bit, as 1/320 second is too slow for a 450mm equiv lens, handheld, and no IS. Shooting alot helps greatly. If the memory card has room, squeeze off as many shots as possible. It is surprising about how many decent ones come out... often, only 1.

Also, some issues about cropping heavily:

• Faster than recommended shutter-speed. (450mm equiv focal length, 1/1000+ second, or IS, 1/320+ second)
• With non-"pro" lenses (e.g. 70-300mm, 55-300mm, etc.), stop the aperture at down a bit. Zoom out if you can, while still having the subject large in the viewfinder. It helps sharpness.
• Decrease the ISO if lighting allows. Grain is magnified when cropping.
• Either carefully AF, or employ MF to "fine-tune". Careful focusing is critical when an image is enlarged.

Hope this helps.

[SARtech]

Thanks for all your tips!
I've tried it all, but mostly I find I'm using Av, keeping an eye on shutter speed too. I'm fairly comfortable understanding basics. I used to sell 35mm SLR's back in the day at a camera shop. Digital has me dizzy sometimes.

For example. On a normal sunny day, shooting with the sun behind me, Why can I never seem to get enough light to shoot in 200 ISO? Maybe I should try it anyway on relatively still birds.

Seems like all of my good big-birdie shots are in focus, but I can't get rid of the graininess in the blue sky like you guys do. Most of the time I'm in 400 ISO. Most of them are also shot at 300mm from my 70-300 zoom.

The shot below is one of my best. It was shot at 400 ISO, 1250 fps, f/6.3 and +1. It just doesn't pop though like the awsome shots I see here. What setting could I have adjusted to get closer to that richness? Granted, the blue sky that day was not a deep blue.



From looking at more and more of yours and others great photos here, I think it would help me greatly to somehow get closer to my subjects.... maybe I should start shooting cows or something. The birdies fly away!! :sad: :wink5:

[Singletracklovr]

Alex these are really nice. I enjoyed looking at each one. thanks

[lionman]

wow brilent photoes and sooo crystal clear there the most vivid images i have ever seen and sooo close up as well you can see every detail on some of them thank you there brillent

[A.M.D.A.]

Thanks for all your tips!
I've tried it all, but mostly I find I'm using Av, keeping an eye on shutter speed too. I'm fairly comfortable understanding basics. I used to sell 35mm SLR's back in the day at a camera shop. Digital has me dizzy sometimes.

For example. On a normal sunny day, shooting with the sun behind me, Why can I never seem to get enough light to shoot in 200 ISO? Maybe I should try it anyway on relatively still birds.

Seems like all of my good big-birdie shots are in focus, but I can't get rid of the graininess in the blue sky like you guys do. Most of the time I'm in 400 ISO. Most of them are also shot at 300mm from my 70-300 zoom.

The shot below is one of my best. It was shot at 400 ISO, 1250 fps, f/6.3 and +1. It just doesn't pop though like the awsome shots I see here. What setting could I have adjusted to get closer to that richness? Granted, the blue sky that day was not a deep blue.



From looking at more and more of yours and others great photos here, I think it would help me greatly to somehow get closer to my subjects.... maybe I should start shooting cows or something. The birdies fly away!! :sad: :wink5:

That heron one isn't too bad.

Camera settings are OK, maybe lowering the aperture down to F11 will help improve "crispness". But I think what will help most is (a) simplifying, and (b) great poses or action. b is just fine here.

To simplify means no distracting backgrounds or stuff which can direct the viewers eye where away from the subject/s. With the herons, perhaps you have a shot with one of the birds on the edge of the tree, with no clutter around it. Note, say, Canon_Bob's shots, there is almost always the bird and a bit of very blurred background visible. That immediately draws the viewers eye and keeps it on the in-focus area, which also happens to be the subject.

In my opinion, having a good background is better than a slightly sharper subject. With BIF's, you can stop the aperture down freely as the sky doesn't blur, so subject sharpness is priority over shallow depth-of-field.

To sum it up, aim to have simple-composed shots, the fewer intruding twigs or branches the better.

Graininess can be automatically-fixed in an editing program. Stray branches can sometimes also be "removed".

[A.M.D.A.]

Thanks for the comments, Bob and Lionman.

[mn shutterbug]

Nice duck portraits, even the swamp chicken.

[SARtech]

Thanks Alex! I wish I had colorful ducks too! I just love these.

[A.M.D.A.]

Thanks, Mike.

[paulnj]

Awesome images Alex! I love the detail in the headshots.

[A.M.D.A.]

Thanks very much for the comments, Paul.