Back to the Birds!

[Otavio]

Hi. Today we had a great morning here (no rain, blue sky, 35ºC) and I drove to a national park close-by, to find some birds. Here are some shots. Thanks for viewing/commenting. Kindest regards...

#1 - Frigate bird


#2 - A vulture


#3 - Frigate


#4 - Chalk-browed Mockingbird - Besides not allowing desirable approach, it almost always stays in the middle of branches to get shelter


#5 - Another frigate


#6 - An owl - Unfortunately too far from my 300mm. This was the tighter crop I could handle, with reasonable details


#7 - A view of the place

[Bobobird]

Beautiful set, especially #2. I also like the owl.

[Otavio]

Thanks, my friend. I appreciate your comments, as always!

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Otavio​,
Apparently, your photos were taken near midday, when the light conditions are not the most appropriate. However, the photos were good and I liked them all.
I especially enjoyed the photo 4 (Chalk-browed Mockingbird), which is not very easy to get because the bird has a color similar to the branches of the tree.
I also enjoyed the photo 6 (Owl), despite it being a bit far.
Congratulations
Antonio.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Beautiful shots. #2 is best for me. I would love to see #2 as a high contrast black and white. Thanks for sharing

[Otavio]

Antônio, thanks for your kind words. And you are right about thelight conditions! I think the result could have been better if I had arrived to the place earlier in the morning...Cheers!

[rawill]

I hope for shots like 1,3,5,

I have not attempted them yet, well I have actually but haven't achieved anything.

I like the way you have "1" almost corner to corner, for me that seems like quite a feat.
I have to give it a go.

I have a 300 lens so I figure if I don't have work tomorrow I should give it a go,
after I have hooked up my waste/fresh water tank monitors in my campervan!!

[jprzybyla]

Nice set of images Otavio. The Frigate bird is most interesting, here they are only occasionally seen because they stay way out to sea. I find that with my 300mm (450mm FFE) that one still has to get close for good images. Regarding your owl, been there done that.

[Otavio]

Hi Matt, and thanks for viewing. Your wish is my command. Here is a B&W version of the vulture. Cheers!

[Otavio]

Hi Robin, thanks for viewing/commenting. Waiting for your frigates shots too!

[Shadowman]

All very nice, especially #4, sense of movement around the bird.

[Otavio]

Hello, joe. Thanks for your feedback. The frigates are quite common here in our beaches. The problem is: They fly high! They only land on their nest (very high places) from where they "throw themselves" to fly again. They can not take off if they land on a beach, for instance. I've read that they can fly for over a week, without landing. Yesterday, though, I was lucky enough to find a group of them flying a bit lower while I was in a small sand dune, what allowed me to get these shots. Of course a 400mm or 600mm (600/900 FFE) would bring out more details. But as you said, "been there done that". It is wildlife afterall...

Cheers!

[Otavio]

Thank you John! You are right about the sense of movement on #4! At the very moment I shot it, I was thinking "If it allows me to, I will approach a bit further" while the bird was thinking "if he comes a little closer, I will fly away".
Cheers...

[FlyingSquirrel]

Hi Otavio, thank you for making a B/W version! I do like the photo in B/W and also the color version. I was rather bad at explaining what I was thinking in regard to the conversion I was visualizing, so I am including a rough version here. What I did was select the background and make it pure white. Then I added a vignette. I then tweaked the contrast specifically on various parts of the bird and sharpened it. Thanks as always for sharing your beautiful photos

[jeeperman]

Nice series, Otavio. The Owl is my favorite one. Not on the merit of quality because your inflight images beat it.....but because I like owls.

[Otavio]

Hi Matt, I wonder to see your version, but it looks like there was a problem when posting. I am not seeing the picture.

[Otavio]

Hi Paul. I know you like owls and remember some very nice owl images from you!

Thanks for viewing/commenting!