Venice Rookery on a brighter day

[Saorsa]

My camera club had another outing to the Venice Rookery last Tuesday and conditions were a lot better.

There was so much activity it was hard to decide what to focus on.

[Wavelength]

Awesome images

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[Dave Humphries]

Good shots Brian,

If mine, I would clone out that branch top right corner of #1 though.

Talking of #1, those webbed feet always look so incongruous when they are perched in a tree, but their owners seem to cope OK

Cheers, Dave

[marlunn]

Very nice images Brian, and not a Rook in sight The Egret is the one for me with the reflection and wing tip touching the water joining them together

[chauncey]

Might be spending more time there...

[bnnrcn]

Very nice images, I like the way they argue in #1

[rpcrowe]

Very nice captures!

I am going on my very first bird photography venture on Wednesday March 9th to make use of my brand new 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lens... http://www.meetup.com/pacificphoto/e...9217583&rv=me1

I wonder, when shooting black or very dark colored birds, if using fill flash (say with a Better Beamer and using HSS) might not be helpful...

[Saorsa]

Very nice captures!

I am going on my very first bird photography venture on Wednesday March 9th to make use of my brand new 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lens... http://www.meetup.com/pacificphoto/e...9217583&rv=me1

I wonder, when shooting black or very dark colored birds, if using fill flash (say with a Better Beamer and using HSS) might not be helpful...

Well, it might. A lot depends on what type of bird shooting you will be doing. I find the Beamer excellent for shooting in brush or shadow but I don't think it would have made much difference in the Anhinga shot above. The inverse square law still applies and at long distances I think it becomes less effective

I wrote up my use of the Better Beamer at https://birdsnbugs.wordpress.com/201...better-beamer/

One thing not often mentioned in using the beamer is that alignment is critical for shooting at longer distances. It is held together and to the flash with velcro fastenings and you might find hot spots on one side or a total miss of the beam at longer distances.

A friend made his own with a fresnel lens and some foamboard which is easier to align and a lot cheaper.

[IzzieK]

I like #1 -- someone was out last night with another bird (pun intended) so missus found out... Two others has no problem like that, they just turned their backs away from the fight. In fact, I like the third shots too with the wing just skimming the water. The reflection with it is excellent. Always a good shot with Brian when it comes to birds, there will always be one that will make one smile.