Australian bird

[Camellia]

Here's a little bird enjoying itself in my fig tree. It's a Silvereye.



Shooting Date/Time 5/03/2011 11:05:54 AM
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/250
Av( Aperture Value ) 8.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 400
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Focal Length 400.0mm

R

[jiro]

Very, very nice, Raylee! Please don't post this on the mini competitions... we can't win against this one. Just kidding! What I meant is that by all means this is really a definite winner for me. 5 thumbs to you!!!

[jeeperman]

I love seeing birds from so many different places. Nice shot Raylee.

[MiniChris]

I love how his colors blend so wel with those of the fig leaves.

[Dave Humphries]

Yes, an excellent shot Raylee,

Only thing I might have done is just take down a couple of highlights a notch, one on the fruit and one top right, but very minor points, might give a 1 or 2% improvement to a great picture.

Well done,

[Frankie]

I love this little guy! Great shot!

[rob marshall]

He's a handsome chappie. Very good shot, Raylee.

[wilgk]

The complementary colours really set off what is a great shot - you have got that new lens working a treat

[Ollokot]

Beautiful and really natural looking,well done,

Pat.

[Camellia]

Thanks everyone. This is exactly what I wanted the long lens for. The Silvereyes are quite happy to eat the figs while I'm outside, probably because they know they can fly so fast no will will catch them. I was using the tripod which made life a lot easier.

Here's another one from this morning:



This is a King Parrot from a few days ago:



R

[jiro]

That lens is quite a performer, Raylee. Stellar shots again from you.

[Katy Noelle]

Raylee, these are wonderful! Really beautiful! Like an Audubon!

[nitrus]

(This is my first post). Your shutter speed is 1/250. How do you decide this? You used manual for exposure, do you ever use shutter priority? Birds, of course, move a lot due to their heart rate and breathing being so fast. Is there a rule of thumb for this or even a method for measuring the movement? Also, how about birds in flight or even cyclists in the street and other moving objects? I would love someone to answer these questions. By the way, lovely images.

[Camellia]

(This is my first post). Your shutter speed is 1/250. How do you decide this? You used manual for exposure, do you ever use shutter priority? Birds, of course, move a lot due to their heart rate and breathing being so fast. Is there a rule of thumb for this or even a method for measuring the movement? Also, how about birds in flight or even cyclists in the street and other moving objects? I would love someone to answer these questions. By the way, lovely images.

Hi Nitrus

Welcome to CiC. I'm using manual more now than I used to. I suppose it's a matter of getting used to the camera and experimenting.

Aperture priority I found was a good way of learning about depth of field. With birds, shutter priority is very handy if they are moving a lot. I'm still learning how to use this lens, especially without a tripod. So if the birds are moving quickly, I set the shutter speed to make sure there's no risk of camera shake (based on a minimum shutter speed of 1/focal length) and to minimise any movement from the birds. The king parrot was taken without a tripod so I chose the shutter speed and then adjusted aperture and ISO to get the correct exposure. These are the settings:
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/500
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 800
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Focal Length 400.0mm

Something I've learnt in the last couple of days from William W is the f16 rule - see this thread:Candid photography is not always easy with a DSLR.

It's a good starting point.

Have you read this tutorial on the exposure triangle? Once you understand the exposure triangle, things will fall in place.

I look forward to seeing some of your photos. BTW do you have another name besides Nitrus?

R

[Buster6X6]

That lens is quite a performer, Raylee. Stellar shots again from you.

I have to agree withjiro outstanding lens and capture
Greg

[tb72]

Nice shots. I suggest you to reduce your aperture value F8. It will allow you a background more blurred and to "highlight" the bird