Starting Point

[OBie]

OK. After reading Loupey's "Out Takes" thread, I decided to post these after all. And the reason for posting them to demonstrate my starting point. Well, not my actual starting point, as I've trashed photos of birds for quite a while since I started trying months ago. But anyway, these are some of the most successful to date. When it's not so frigid outside anymore, I'll start visiting local nature haunts to get more variety.

Thanks for looking.

OH! I almost forgot - these are all completely manual (or Manuel)!

[Loupey]

And why not? We're all friends here. Besides, I showed you mine, you have to show me yours

Those were/are good. The fact that you've improved so much so fast is GREAT

I feel Copy's pain (mr. manuel)

[Copy_Kot]

OH! I almost forgot - these are all completely manual (or Manuel)!

So you hired him too, eh? :lol: He works cheap

They look great, can you post your camera settings? I'm curious to know what you had your aperture set at.

[OBie]

The first 4 are all 1/500, 3.2, 200mm. ISO 200. Spot metered and adjusted in manual.
The cardinal is 1/640 at 2.8., 200mm. ISO 200. Spot metered and adjusted.

Manuel does get around

[Loupey]

Since we seem to be going down memory lane, remember this one?

Shot last April and one of my first "bird" posts here. Since joining, I wondered why there were so many bird images instead of macros As I explained back then, out of my thousands of slides of nature/wildlife, I had less then 20 slides (not even one full page) of birds.

See what PaulNJ and Co. here started! I may now have squeezed off more digital captures of birds than I did with macros. Of course I get more "keepers" with macros since they don't go jumping around and move so fast. Still, I gotta keep my priorities straight!

Something's wrong when I have my sights on a 500mm f/4L Canon. But something like the kids college fund keeps coming to mind

[Copy_Kot]

These are great threads. They are really helping me understand what should be acceptable, and what shouldn't. I've been deleting a lot of old out of focus images this evening and I'm setting higher goal's for myself now.

[OBie]

Loupey,
What a difference a few months makes! Great seeing one of your 'older' posts. When I was looking at a new (better) zoom, I just couldn't find the extra $1,000 to spend on the Nikon VR. I REALLY wish that I could have. But, as you say, things like college funds keep popping up . . .