mourning dove

[jamn4ex]

let me know if i post this pic right,then lemme kno what ya think

[Peter Ryan]

Hi James and welcome to CiC,

Yes the image is posted correctly.

I could not see any EXIF data on your image, as I do not have that facility on this computer. Bird shots are difficult and you need to be really close, have a really long telephoto lens (or both) and/or crop hard in Photoshop (or whatever program you use). The bird needs to fill the frame (unless you have a flock of birds).

So in this shot the bird is too far away to be the point of interest and the surroundings are messy, that just what trees are, messy when photographed from this distance. You either need to concentrate on the bark or a leaf or step right back and take the whole tree in its location. The bright background has caused the exposure meter to underexposure this shot and hence it is a little dark. This can be rescued in post production.

Having said all that this is how I started and if you start to work on the above aspects discussed you will be taking great bird shots. Have a look at some of the bird shots here to get an idea on framing.

Keep shooting and posting and if you have any questions - ask.

[jamn4ex]

Thanks Peter I can count on you for insightful critiques..... which is exactly what helps me most ILL post a hawk shot I like a lot

[Peter Ryan]

Really nice light James and contrast between the feathers and the sky works really well. No doubt you did use a long lens here and probably needed a slightly faster shutter speed to stop camera shake - but a good effort. I do like birds of prey.

[jamn4ex]

Wow I was looking at your albums.I am very impressed . I shot the hawk with a 500 mm mirror(all I could afford)and a shaky tripod.I plan on remedying the tripod situation soon I want a tripod thats good to hike with, durable,and in the 150 - 200 range anybody got suggestions.thanks all . shot this hawk with my 55-250 zoom, then cropped it hard .

[Peter Ryan]

Thanks James. If you do a search on tripods there has been a lot of threads on this topic which should help. If in doublt please ask.

[tameigh]

I am new to this, so take that into account. But if you are planning to shoot birds or other wildlife outside of zoos, I would suggest that you get one with one of those pistol grip heads. That allows you to aim it quickly, then lock it in place by just relaxing the grip. They are worth the extra money, even if you live with your old one for a while while putting the money together. The least expensive one I have seen that has this feature was $287 US, but I am betting that you could find one cheaper on line.

[Geoff F]

For that type of lens you certainly need a good stable tripod. But for now keeping the shutter speed high will probably help. I would want to use at least 1/400 on a cheap tripod. A cable release or using the camera mirror lock up option might help but that isn't very easy for wildlife shots.

With regard to tripods, Velbon make some reasonably priced lightweight models and I use their Luxi L model as a lightweight occasional carry around tripod because it folds up smaller than the average. But there are several other equally good brands.

But for any serious stuff, I always use a heavy and somewhat expensive Manfrotto with one of those pistol grip ball heads; which I have reversed so I can operate it with my left hand while having my 'trigger finger' always above the shutter button.

That set up is cumbersome to carry around as well as being heavy. I strap it onto my camera backpack when walking any distance.

Back in the days of film, I had a 300 mm mirror lens which I purchased secondhand and never managed one decent photo from the day that I bought it until the day I threw it away. Another expensive lesson!

[jamn4ex]

Thanks all sounds like good advice,I found a manfrotto055xprob that sounds sturdy enoughI dont mind a little weight in order to get better stability. I will look into the trigger style heads, thanks again .

[Geoff F]

You won't go wrong with that tripod, James. A little bit pricey initially, but it will last for years.