Went to shoot birds

[MiniChris]

But soon discovered this requires some very sharp lenses..and the Tamron 70-300 Macro Zoom doesn't fall into that category...and in reality, neither does the Kit lens with the D7000...it's not bad, but it's not sharp like some of the shots I see on here.

Ibis out for a stroll



Great Blue Heron

[hoffstriker]

The Great Blue Photo is lovely in composition. I would do a little photoshop editing and also remember to consider the sun location while shooting. I think you are underestimating the possibilities of your equipment. Now, this image below that I took could be sharper and the colors are a little flat but I will accept this since it was taken with a cheepee lens (Canon 75-300, the cheepest one). It's not great, but it is good enough to show my friends and not hide my head in shame. As a matter of fact, I have gotten quite a few compliments. You all are the ones that will see the flaws, most normal people will not.




So then, my words to you are keep shooting and enjoy what you can until you can afford a couple thousand dollar lens. Make the most outta what you got.

[Shadowman]

Both of you have a lot going against you (wind movement, fat bird on a small branch) trying to get a sharp photo of a bird. Your only weapon besides aperture control is shutter speed.

[MiniChris]

Even with the wind, I have seen some outstanding bird pics...so, I think I have to ask what lens do you use...or maybe this is a thread question I missed or hasan't been asked yet.

[tameigh]

If your PP software supports "photomerge", maybe you could bump up the number of pixes you are getting by taking multiple shots zoomed in close, at least on the heron, which moves very little, giving you a lot more pixels. I have been experimenting with this on mountain shots, and I get incredible detail, but haven't figured out how to translate it to a 700 pixel wide image at 78 dpi on the screen here.

[MiniChris]

If your PP software supports "photomerge", maybe you could bump up the number of pixes you are getting by taking multiple shots zoomed in close, at least on the heron, which moves very little, giving you a lot more pixels. I have been experimenting with this on mountain shots, and I get incredible detail, but haven't figured out how to translate it to a 700 pixel wide image at 78 dpi on the screen here.

I do have photomerge in CS5 and have used it on several occasions but not in that capacity...good idea since the D7000 can shoot 6 frames per second in burst mode. I am still learning a lot about my camera and more about PP...so much to learn, so much to learn.

[Geoff F]

Birds are never easy, Chris. Those perfect photos usually involve a lot of 'stalking time', plus luck and a 90% reject rate.

You have to get the light at exactly the correct angle; and the bird in a suitable pose.

Auto focusing is often the cause of soft photos. The camera prefers to focus on a hard edged branch or stone instead of a soft edged bird. Manual focusing is best, providing you can do it fast enough! I find that just using the centre focusing point does reduce the number of false auto focus problems. But some people like multiple focusing points for flying birds.

Correct exposure is another nightmare, so be prepared to use some Exposure Compensation; or sometimes switch to spot metering.

And with regard to editing. I usually find that a little bit of selective sharpening will help to make the subject stand out from the background.

But by far the most important item for good bird photos is - patience!

ps. I have occasionally managed to merge a couple of wildlife photos but find that in many cases a little bit of wind rock or tripod movement between frames makes this practice difficult.

[tameigh]

I think that Geoff makes some really good points. Another thing that sort of bothers me about the heron is that it looks like it was shot from a golf cart path and so that makes it look ordinary. If you could shoot it from a more dramatic angle, read lower to the ground, and move to place a more contrasting background behind it. That would go a long way to improving it.

[MiniChris]

I would have loved to get closer but there was a rather large alligator between me and the bird...this shot is from about 60 feet away.

[hoffstriker]

The Gator don't look that big Chris, I think you could take him.....

[tameigh]

Well, this one is already better. It is a little soft and needs sharpening. I can see though that to get the light to your back, you would have needed a boat.

[MiniChris]

Well, this one is already better. It is a little soft and needs sharpening. I can see though that to get the light to your back, you would have needed a boat.

A big one...not real fond of those critters after seeing one take off the end of a kayak a friend was paddling...I am not sure she'll ever be the same...

[Shadowman]

A big one...not real fond of those critters after seeing one take off the end of a kayak a friend was paddling...I am not sure she'll ever be the same...

There is a saying for photographers "always look over your shoulder a better photo could be right behind you". I think this goes equally well if you see an aligator.