Bird Photography

[Hero]

Hi Hero,

That's nice and sharp when viewed full size, but by then it is overflowing my screen, I would definitely crop that down so we can see the falcon larger.

Lovely shot,

Yes I could crop it, but then it's just a picture of a falcon in a tree. What strikes me in this picture is not just the falcon, but also how the light plays with the leafs and pushes and pulls on the depth of the image. (you should see this one in print (300x400mm) on my wall, the falcon realy jumps out of the warm summer-afternoon light.

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Peter,
Just to let you know that I experimented with a higher iso and exposure today... Some shots were still too blurry (when in A mode) but I learned that it is okay to use a higher iso, and that S mode or M mode is better for more control... Overall the lighting was better in the photos and some photos were sharper... I need to practice more, but I just want you to know that your advice was very helpful... here are a couple of shots from today.









Thank you... Will post again when I have a perfect shot... Give me a couple of months..

Hi Christina,

The exposures are looking much better but the shutter speed it too slow to freeze birds in flight. The shutter speed is faster than your focal lenght of 200mm but too slow to freeze the action. You need to be around 1000 sec. So you need to open your aperture more or increase your ISO above 200. Given the light you were shooting under I would like to see you open your aperture two stop (say f/5.6 and that would fix your shutter speed issue.

You have to admire someone who tries. Well done.

[TobyMac]

I'm off to the coast for a week at the end of the month, really looking forward to using everything I learned off this thread there, pity I only have a 300mm lens though, guess my stealth skills will be required

[chrisa62401]

I find being stealthy is the best solution for the lack of a long lens. I have a Canon 300 f/4 and often sneak around and spend a lot of time just waiting.

[ddp4me]

Thanks for the feedback, Dave and Christina.

I had thought, at the time, it was kinda neat that he was trying to "hide" behind the foliage. I guess a bit too much as you say.

But it was hard to miss his eye. Maybe I'll rework it to concentrate on the eye?

Thanks for the advice with the jay. Much better!



I'll re-look at the others I have and see if I can come up with some more for advice.

I took some of a cardinal at the same time and could see something actually stuck in it's beak. It still seemed able to eat OK.

Thanks again.

[ddp4me]

Here is the rework of the bird behind the foliage. I like better. May still hid the bird too much, but would appreciate comments.



Thanks for the comments.

[jeeperman]

Walking the beach the other day and these guys were sitting in a fresh water pond just of the ocean sand. Yep, just ducks but I really like the shot and am still not for sure exactly why. lol

[Dizzy]

Yep, just ducks but I really like the shot and am still not for sure exactly why. lol

Why? 'Cause they're cool looking ducks!...

Nice shot Paul, and the way that one on the right has his foot propped up and turning back
towards looks like you were directing him..

Mike

[Dave Humphries]

Here is the rework of the bird behind the foliage. I like better. May still hid the bird too much, but would appreciate comments.



Thanks for the comments.

Hi Darlene,

It is much better, but there are still two that I think cause the 'problem'; the one that spoils the outline of the top of the head and also encroaches (just) on the eye lid/brow plus the other large one on the neck, the rest 'around the edges' I could live with.

I am still unclear whether that is a huge beak, on its right wing, I am looking at on the left though.

Cheers,

[Peter Ryan]

Dave this bird looks like the Boat Billed Heron of Costa Rica only its colouring is blue not brown. I would think it is in the same family somehow.

[ddp4me]

Thanks Dave and Peter,

That is a bill on the left. What a great bird.

Thought I would give it a go and see your response. Oh, well. It is difficult to be critical of your own work sometimes.

Here are other shots of a similar bird in the same exhibit at the Knoxville Zoo. It may be a Boat Billed Heron of Costa Rica as the exhibit was of South American Birds. The blue beak and feathers were very appealing. Maybe my colors are off on that shot as this one looks more gray than blue.

Would appreciate your opinions on the four shots. I do like the one where he is looking at the camera (such attitude) but it may not be the best of the bunch. Most likely #3?

Thanks.

[Peter Ryan]

Yes Darlene that is more the colouring of the Boat Billed Heron. I think the first has a blue cast from indirect light being reflected from the sky above. A white balance issue. In 1 & 2 I find the crop too tight. The birds feet are cropped off and he feels squeezed in to the frame. Filling the frame is good for patterns etc but it is a good idea to give your subject room to breath in the scene.

The pose in #4 does not do much but I love the #3. I would like to see a bit of additional sharpening on these images. I cannot see the Exif data on this screen but I would say the shutter speed might need to be a bit higher to freeze the bird. Slower shuuters are an issue when shooting in rainforest type conditions where light is generally poor.

I still think there is a slight blue cast to the image but I am not looking at this on my profiled screen so will bow to others opinions. When I get a chance (this computer does not hold my images) I will post the shot I captured of the Boat Billed Heron while in Costa Rica for you to compare colours.

They are a lovely bird, well done.

[Brownbear]

Absolutely Gorgeous!

[kaneohebud]

Here's another bird photo for you. A hawk dining on a field mouse. Yellowstone National Park, Sept 2011

[Tobman]

[Tobman]

And yet more birds:

Mountain Bluebird



Chickadee



Ruby-throated Hummingbird

[ddp4me]

Thank you Peter and Christina,

I think the first has a blue cast from indirect light being reflected from the sky above. A white balance issue.

I would appreciate some help with setting the white balance. I have tried the exposure option in PS but have yet to get my mind around how to do it well. I shot these before "discovering" raw, so these are JPEGs.

In 1 & 2 I find the crop too tight. The birds feet are cropped off and he feels squeezed in to the frame.

The first two crops were my shooting technique. I failed to get the feet in the picture. As you can see I took multiple shots to get it right. Practice makes perfect, so they used to say.

I did sharpen the photo using the sharpen filter. Is this the correct way to do so and does it just need more sharpening?

I really appreciate all your help and thank you for the positive reinforcement.

There are a series of other birds from that exhibit that I will work on and present at a later time.

Thanks again!

[ddp4me]

Bud,

I really like the hawk photo. So much so I did a quick search for information on that type of raptor.

http://www.ferruginoushawk.org Is a site where they are following banded birds. Some info as well on the birds themselves.

Beautiful bird and even more beautiful photo!

Thanks for sharing and I have enjoyed your other posts as well, but just didn't comment. I could spend all day WOWing all the great photos here!

And Toby,

I really like the barn swallow photo. Spot on with that capture!!! Truly amazing.

I tried to take shots of a nest of barn swallows awhile back in Missouri and failed miserably. They fly very fast so for you to get the adult in focus is wonderful. And the babies with those lovely yellow mouths wide open. Great shot!

Love the others as well. I will look them over in detail before commenting. Glad you joined and I did see your introduction in that welcome thread.

Hope you will enjoy the time spent here as much as I do.

[Tobman]

Thanks Darlene. It helps to have a camera that can shoot many frames per second. ;-)

[kaneohebud]

Bud,

I really like the hawk photo. So much so I did a quick search for information on that type of raptor.

http://www.ferruginoushawk.org Is a site where they are following banded birds. Some info as well on the birds themselves.

Beautiful bird and even more beautiful photo!

Thanks for sharing and I have enjoyed your other posts as well, but just didn't comment. I could spend all day WOWing all the great photos here!

And Toby,

I really like the barn swallow photo. Spot on with that capture!!! Truly amazing.

I tried to take shots of a nest of barn swallows awhile back in Missouri and failed miserably. They fly very fast so for you to get the adult in focus is wonderful. And the babies with those lovely yellow mouths wide open. Great shot!

Love the others as well. I will look them over in detail before commenting. Glad you joined and I did see your introduction in that welcome thread.

Hope you will enjoy the time spent here as much as I do.