Shooting Birds...

[dorus]

Yes Peter, that seagull is very much 2 images, and very much PP'd allover....;) <br>

Actually, it is the first of series of not-so-succesfull photo's from my hollyday-trip, photo's that need facelifting just to be presentable. Personally, I'm quite content with the result (if I may say so). <br> <br>

This is what I made today, plenty imperfections, but I know what the original looks like...... :D)

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<img src="http://album.zoom.nl/public_images/17779/fimDn4.jpg">

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[personalphotos]

I really like the shots and the work you do on them O Shiva. You have presented some great work in various

threads and these follow that vision.

 

Daniel, great shot and I like the low angle. Looks like you were swimming with the fishes.

 

JDM, funny shot. I guess that sorta follows the theme.

[miserere_mei]

Some very nice and varied bird pics here, but I'm going to keep Haig's cute penguin and his park bird.<br>

<br>

Peter, I love that singing sparrow! It looks so happy :-)<br>

<br>

As for Robert's hawk, I don't know what you mean about them being skittish; maybe it's the Canadian ones, cos

down here we have them well trained. This red tail hawk was just chillin' and didn't give a damn about the cars

or people going past. I even climbed on top of a fence in front of it to improve my angle and it didn't care. I

have some 50-odd shots of it, and it was still there when I got bored and walked away. (Shot with the Tamron 1.4x

TC + Sigma 70-300mm APO @ ISO400 or so, if anyone cares.)<br>

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<center><img

src="http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/17200d1218862436-tamron-tc-converter-pics-imgp9006-small.jpg"><br>

<b>Red Tail Hawk (Hawqus Photographicus Modelae Newenglandum)</b></center><br>

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I already posted this one in the Bust-a-Prime™ thread, but I like it, so it's getting posted again. (Shot

with my

CAT lens, which seems appropriate for birding, seeing as cats like birds.)<br>

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<center><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/Miserere/SIuytaVUpeI/AAAAAAAABCw/3H-pSnl2woA/s800/IMGP8814-small.jpg"><br>

<b>Mummy mockingbird feeding her baby</b></center><br>

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O Shiva, keep going, your Jonathan Livingstone Seagull series is working out well!

[jptreen]

Mis, I loved that mockingbird series first time around - really inspirational! and, of course great doughnut Bokeh!

 

Really lovely photos guys, the quality of the shots is just getting better and better! I keep coming back and expecting to be dissapointed, after all it can't be as good as I remember, but it invariably is!

[joe_jackson4]

Do these count....?

 

<br>

 

<img src="http://koti.welho.com/pwilkins/birds.jpg">

 

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[joe_jackson4]

How about these...?

 

<br>

 

<img src="http://koti.welho.com/pwilkins/birds2.jpg">

 

<br>

 

<img src="http://koti.welho.com/pwilkins/birds3.jpg">

 

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[joe_jackson4]

Those last two are old pics from a couple of years back, BTW, taken with my pre-Pentax-era Canon 350D... I still have that camera but much prefer to use my K100D. Why...? Two words: "shake" and "reduction"... :)

[duane_mills]

Garry - love the Emu and the Egret. Nice bookeh.

 

Peter - Beautiful Osprey, have you ever managed to capture any action shots of these guys with their wings half closed and claws out diving 20-30 meters to the water for a fish? They are simply magnificent raptors to watch. I've never been fortunate enough to photograph one.

 

Javier - Peacocks in the yard! Way cool! Great photo too.

 

O Shiva - Your second seagull shot is totally mind blowing. No imperfections there.

 

Daniel - terrific perspective, beautiful photo, nice bookeh.

 

Robert - I know they're common, but I've never seen a Red Tailed Hawk before (not even on vacation) . great photo, thanks for posting.

 

JDM - a statue flippin the bird. Awesome. I bet there are politicians who would pay big bucks to place that on the lawn of their opponents. (any Canadians think Danny & Steve!)

 

Miserere - the "Mummy Mocking Bird" is a total WOW shot. Well done. That's my fave in this thread.

 

Haig - the Goose step! Lol. I really like the photo of the confident little guy.

 

Paul - yes all three count. I like the second best and your use of both BW and DOF.

[john_ferguson3]

They're all great! <br><br>

 

Did that emu have a "bad hair day"?<br><Br>Canada goose and goslings<br><br>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2060/2434431765_13b76ebcf9.jpg">

<br><br><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2165/2455503532_46db57fd42.jpg">

[shots worth sharing]

To make up for having neglected birds, I took advantage of some parental waiting time to grab a couple Goldfinch shots.<div></div>

[shots worth sharing]

and gf2<div></div>

[personalphotos]

Dave, for quick grab shots those are great. I have chased GF's for hours this year and have only one so so shot

to show for it.

 

John, excellent shots.

 

Mis, I've already said it but that series remains one of my favourites. Someday I'll buy the series from you and

hang it in the den (seriously). The Red tailed is nice and sharp. Maybe I should take a shower before shooting or

at least stay down wind. They take off on me.

 

Duane, I've tried to capture them fishing and have some shots but I'm not good enough yet to get the one I want.

Like you, I've been around the ocean all my life and spent many a day watching them fish.

 

Fun shots Paul and I really like the first one.

 

Here's a few more.

 

Sandpiper

 

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ptz1961/Images/photo?authkey=qIl17dzz824#5229382473861742946"><img

src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ptz1961/SJJ_p00uwWI/AAAAAAAAAqI/IAePCOGxWKQ/s800/IMGP3049%20Signed.jpg" /></a>

 

Egrets (almost a perfect syncro)

 

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ptz1961/Images/photo?authkey=qIl17dzz824#5213152443594383922"><img

src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ptz1961/SFjWhuhnIjI/AAAAAAAAANY/idNNto_cvCY/s800/egrets_imgp5867.jpg" /></a>

Hummer

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ptz1961/Images/photo?authkey=qIl17dzz824#5213152343011165218"><img

src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ptz1961/SFjWb30tBCI/AAAAAAAAAKY/pbzKzuLhI4o/s800/humb1sm_full_full.jpg" /></a>

 

And a gull (still one of my favourites since the colour is so good, one of the last shots with the Bigma before

it was sold)

 

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ptz1961/Images/photo?authkey=qIl17dzz824#5213152442700580258"><img

src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ptz1961/SFjWhrMgxaI/AAAAAAAAANg/J0tW-8zs3UY/s800/gull.jpg" /></a>

[shots worth sharing]

The finches are regular visitors to Clara's tutor's garden so I just brought the DA*300mm with me today to Clara's session. I sat on the ground, leaning against the back tire and waited. Same old story though: these are heavily cropped (I didn't bring the TC.) It also didn't do my back any good ;~\.

[jgredline]

Mis got me to thinking about stuff I have thats just been sitting so I took off from work early again. I turned

off my cell phone, grabed my K20D and Sigma 500mm lens and went to the beach. I was actually able to hand hold

this beast....Boy the K20D is really a fine camera....What surprised me is how close it would focus. These head

shots where about 4 feet away. The other is about 50 yards away....In order to focus closely, I needed to really

close up the lens. I tried it at F/4.5 but it would not focus...

 

Anyway, here are three more.

<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/'><img

src='http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/3803/sigma500f451qv8.jpg' border='0'/></a>

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<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/'><img

src='http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1566/sigma500f453bz4.jpg' border='0'/></a>

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<a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/'><img

src='http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9789/sigma500f452lt5.jpg' border='0'/></a>

[dorus]

this last seagull en face is just terrific !

[shots worth sharing]

"Seagull en face": YES!

[personalphotos]

"Holy snappin' " Pardon the pun. Those last 2 shots are sharp and well taken Javier. Love the last shot with him looking straight at you. I'm impressed you could get that kind of detail in the feathers with the background so much darker. If you look at my similar shot above, there is a noticeable difference in the white feathers (I think much more a sensor difference between the K10 and K20 than a lens difference) . Also impressive that these are this sharp when hand held.

 

Now time for those Peacocks but then the work will start pilling up...

[miserere_mei]

Javier, any time I can get you thinking, just let me know what I need to do, especially if you're going to produce such a fantastic shot as that Portrait of a Seagull.

 

As a side note, I don't understand how stopping down the lens improves focusing because auto-focus (or any focus) is always done with the lens wide open. The lens only stops down when you hit the shutter release.

[jgredline]

Thanks guys. Peter, had I got results like your seagull with my Bigma, I would have kept it...

 

Mis, What I meant to say was there was so much bokeh with the lens wide open that the images all came out blurry and only by closing it up was I able to get good clear shots. Even at F8 it had way to much bokeh. F11 was starting to get ok.

 

What perplexes me is why the two different tones of sky? WB maybe?

[dorus]

Went digging in my files, cause I remembered this one bird. Called a woodpigeon, in english? <br>

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<img src="http://album.zoom.nl/public_images/17779/JNcSLl.jpg">

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[personalphotos]

Javier, it could very much depend on the metering. I'm going to assume that you were using spot metering and the first shot was metered off the white profile (unless these are cropped) since the eye is not in the center. The second shot was metered off the beak which is very yellow. So it may have tricked the AWB a little. I can only guess but the WB looks better in the 2nd. The blue is the first is more vibrant but probably not a natural water or sky colour.

 

It's a very tough scene to have the camera try and WB. There's nothing even close to 18% gray in either shot. Considering the white is almost perfect in both, the camera did a great job estimating correct WB where many cameras would have used the white as the reference and dulled that colour. In my gull above, there's lots of gray for the camera to adjust.

 

As for the gull shot (and the goose above was also the Bigma), it was a good lens without question but just so big. I'm just as happy with the FA*300 and either Tamron 1.4 or Pentax 1.7 to get the same reach. That combo doesn't hunt focus as much and is a touch nicer in IQ. Of course the 300 alone smokes any when used alone. If the funds had permitted it, I might have kept it but it wouldn't have gotten much use I don't think.

[jgredline]

Peter,

I do not remember the metering I used. Yesterday I was a total air head. If interested I can you send you the image at full res through e mail. There is no PP done other than resizing them. I wonder if this is a case where RAW would have been better...Well since I was to lazy and tired when I got home yesterday, my Lens and camera is still in my truck. Perhaps another trip to the beach is in order. :)

I need to take a picture of the rig. That body with Grip looks like a tiny point and shoot with that mamath lens on it.

[personalphotos]

Javier, The EXIF data will tell you the metering mode. I'd guess it was spot for both. Mutli-point may not have been a whole lot different (no gray to work with) but the blue might have been closer to each other. Raw will always produce a slightly better (in some shots) and significantly better (in other shots) WB exposures. And even if there is little difference from a Jpeg, there's a lot more latitude for PP changes later. You should shoot RAW +. That way you can use the Jpegs for review and then save the RAW's of the special shots you might work on later.

 

But don't take any of this negatively. I like both shots and like the others, the second one is outstanding. Just offering some thoughts on the colour difference question you posted.

 

It's a massive lens without question and produces some incredible shots. You are a brave man to leave that gear in the truck. I hope no crooks are reading this.

[joe_jackson4]

Javier's stare-out seagull portrait is the clear pick of this bunch for me... It's hard to take a pic of such a familiar bird that makes you stop and stare (back...!), but that one does... :)

 

Quality.

[shots worth sharing]

I'd call that a Mourning Dove, O Shiva I guess the name refers to the lamentation-like call. It really is a handsome bird but don't seem to be photographed very much (because they look so bourgeois? ;~) I practically have to shoo them away to make room for the woodpeckers.