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I'm pretty new at DSLRs and photography in general, but having two parrots myself I really am enjoying bird photography. I don't own a zoom lens yet so all of these are with my 35mm f/1.8. Only the last few are of wild birds, the rest are either my parrots or at the zoo or a bird store. I welcome any suggestions or criticism. Ringneck Parakeet, Denise's Parrot Place, Seattle WA  Alexis, my Dusky Conure  Some species of pheasant, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA  Humboldt Penguins preening each other, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA  Western Rosella, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA  Steller's sea-eagle, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA  Chilean Flamingo, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA  Alexis, my Dusky Conure  I don't know, outside of PCC, Fremont, Seattle WA (ok, this one is wild)  Seagull, Alki Beach, Seattle WA  Seagull landing, Alki Beach, Seattle WA 
Kenshin fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Oct 16, 2013 |
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Oct 16, 2013 07:07
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Kenshin posted:I don't know, outside of PCC, Fremont, Seattle WA (ok, this one is wild) Nice shots all around. It's too bad the Sea Eagle was at such a bad angle though. I know you didn't ask for ID's on your wild birds, but allow me to sperg a bit. First one is a male House Sparrow. Second one looks like a first cycle Glaucus-Winged Gull. Third one is probably a Glaucs-Winged or a hybrid Glaucus-Winged with some Western Gull genes which is a very common gull around here. It's not fully mature either.
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Oct 16, 2013 15:17
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Nice shots all around. It's too bad the Sea Eagle was at such a bad angle though. I know you didn't ask for ID's on your wild birds, but allow me to sperg a bit. Awesome, thanks! I like this enough I think I could really get into this and identifying species, so this helps. I'll probably see about buying a 150-500mm for myself for my birthday in January. My camera body is a Nikon D3200 and despite being the entry-level model I've been super happy with the shots I've taken. The Sea Eagle was at the zoo, so unfortunately that was the only angle I could get a picture at that didn't have the fence in the picture.
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Oct 16, 2013 16:01
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Went to Vancouver Island on the weekend Great Blue Heron by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  Great Blue Heron by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  Black Oystercatcher by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  Belted Kingfisher by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  Killdeer by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  Killdeer by tylerhuestis, on Flickr I'm not too familiar with shorebirds, so I'm not 100% certain this is a Least Sandpiper, and not sure about the last one either  Least Sandpiper by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  Least Sandpiper by tylerhuestis, on Flickr  20131012-DSC_0936 by tylerhuestis, on Flickr
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Oct 16, 2013 16:08
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neckbeard posted:Went to Vancouver Island on the weekend Your shorebird looks like a Spotted Sandpiper. The best distinguishing characteristic is that they dip their tale up and down constantly. See this video for an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQX2EzsGjzo They are also much more likely to be seen foraging alone. The second bird is a Whimbrel. I'm surprised it was still that for north in mid-october.
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Oct 16, 2013 16:24
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neckbeard posted:Went to Vancouver Island on the weekend First one looks like a Spotted Sandpiper. Leasts are tiny "peeps" (sparrow sized), and usually in flocks with other Leasts or Western sandpipers. Spotted sandpipers are ~ 1 or 2 sizes up, maybe mourning dove sized or a little smaller than that. Also, Spotted are constantly twerking (god, I can't believe I just typed that). Second one is looks like a Whimbrel- slightly smaller than the Long-billed Curlew, with more pronounced head stripes and overall more tan and less red/brown color. Great pics- I really like the 2nd heron and the oystercatcher.
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Oct 16, 2013 16:29
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Your shorebird looks like a Spotted Sandpiper. The best distinguishing characteristic is that they dip their tale up and down constantly. See this video for an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQX2EzsGjzo BetterLekNextTime posted:First one looks like a Spotted Sandpiper. Leasts are tiny "peeps" (sparrow sized), and usually in flocks with other Leasts or Western sandpipers. Spotted sandpipers are ~ 1 or 2 sizes up, maybe mourning dove sized or a little smaller than that. Also, Spotted are constantly twerking (god, I can't believe I just typed that). Thanks guys, the Sandpiper was doing the motion in that video, but it's bill isn't yellow/orange. Was also smaller than the Killdeer, they were in within a foot or two radius of each other. Whimbrel is on the opposite page of the Long-billed Curlew my bird guide so I had no clue. neckbeard fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Oct 16, 2013 |
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Oct 16, 2013 16:45
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Kenshin posted:Some species of pheasant, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle WA Its actually a type of pigeon! Kenshin posted:Awesome, thanks! I like this enough I think I could really get into this and identifying species, so this helps. Get yourself a field guide and some good binoculars while you're at it. Birding and bird photography can be super fun.
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Oct 16, 2013 17:06
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Kenshin posted:Awesome, thanks! I like this enough I think I could really get into this and identifying species, so this helps. 800peepee51doodoo posted:Get yourself a field guide and some good binoculars while you're at it. Birding and bird photography can be super fun. Yea, a field guide is really, really helpful for bird ID. There are certainly websites for reference, but nothing beats a good book in your hand when you're in the field. Unless you do a lot of traveling east of the Rockies Sibley's Western Field Guide is my go-to recommendation. Binoculars can also be really, really helpful as well. I life just north of Seattle and am pretty familiar with most of the good locations in the area. All the major Seattle parks (Discovery, Magnuson, and Union Bay Natural Area) all get very good diversity of birds.
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Oct 16, 2013 17:49
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Thanks everyone! This has got to be the friendliest thread outside of Bird Crazies in PI.  I'll add the field guide to my wishlist.
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Oct 16, 2013 19:29
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Yea, a field guide is really, really helpful for bird ID. There are certainly websites for reference, but nothing beats a good book in your hand when you're in the field. Unless you do a lot of traveling east of the Rockies Sibley's Western Field Guide is my go-to recommendation. Binoculars can also be really, really helpful as well. Sibleys is great but I find myself using the NatGeo 6th edition more than anything. The Sibley phone app is awesome too. I might hit you up for some Seattle area winter spots if that's alright. I'm in Portland and I'm gonna try to take a trip up north this year/early next year if I can, especially if we get another snowy owl irruption.
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Oct 16, 2013 19:54
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Sibleys is great but I find myself using the NatGeo 6th edition more than anything. The Sibley phone app is awesome too. I might hit you up for some Seattle area winter spots if that's alright. I'm in Portland and I'm gonna try to take a trip up north this year/early next year if I can, especially if we get another snowy owl irruption. Please do. I have far more information in my head than time to go use it in the field, unfortunately. I'm curious what this year will look like as far as Snowy Owls go. 2011/2012 was an unusually high irruption. Typically there have been "echo years" the year after a big irruption, but 2012/2013 was as good if not better than the year before. I'm curious if we'll have an actual echo year this year with some birds or if it will go back to it's normal cycle where only one or two birds show up. The point about field guide preference is a good one. Most library systems have both Sibley's and National Geographic on the shelf so check them out and see what you prefer. Sibley tends to show a lot more variations as well as things like in-flight shots which can sometimes be very helpful.
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Oct 16, 2013 20:28
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A great feature of the phone app: confusing the hell out of your parrots with the bird call sounds.
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Oct 17, 2013 00:55
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InternetJunky posted:Nice! I'm addicted (to the point I want to get into owl banding) and am going again tomorrow. He also said he pretty much never re-catches a bird he's banded. But your description of the procedure - nets, CD of calls on loop, check every 30 minutes - is exactly what we were doing. smallmouth posted:That owl has seen things.  Owl in a juice can by Execudork, on Flickr
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Oct 17, 2013 02:19
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Oct 20, 2013 07:05
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The following shots cost me about $250 yesterday. My wife and I rented an SUV and drove a few hours north to check out the Hawk Owl situation where we found them last year (site of a massive forest fire). The Hawk Owls weren't down for the winter yet, but neither was anything else. I've never seen such a barren wasteland of animal life. The following are the only birds we saw: Snow Bunting  Raven  Forest Chicken  Raven Portrait @ 25k ISO (with heavy background NR)  I had to do a double-take on this one since it's nearly the same shot I posted on the last page. I love the rich, dark background you got on this.
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Oct 20, 2013 15:44
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Went to Mount Auburn Cemetery to try to spot a late season Green Heron that had been spotted at one of the ponds in the last few days. There was no sign of the heron, but there was a Wild Turkey roaming around, not a bad trade off. Wild Turkey [Meleagris gallopavo] by EPICAC, on Flickr  Wild Turkey [Meleagris gallopavo] by EPICAC, on Flickr  Wild Turkey [Meleagris gallopavo] by EPICACs, on Flickr
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Oct 20, 2013 23:24
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I rented a 300m f/4 but I don't have a tripod, and I don't feel like the light was very good this morning. That said, I got some shots I like:       
Kenshin fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Oct 21, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 22:26
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Those look really good; sharp and well exposed for the poor light. I don't think you would generally need a tripod for that setup. I really only use a tripod in a hide and my setup is significantly larger. You're using a d3200, right? Pretty impressive noise control for the conditions and, I'm assuming, cropping on an "entry level" body.
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Oct 22, 2013 04:18
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800peepee51doodoo posted:Those look really good; sharp and well exposed for the poor light. I don't think you would generally need a tripod for that setup. I really only use a tripod in a hide and my setup is significantly larger. The eagle pictures are the ones most cropped, yeah--much harder to get close to them than any of the others. Here's the only half-decent one I was able to get of anything small. They were tending to stick to the darker bushes so it was very hard to get enough light to shoot them, they move so quickly: 
Kenshin fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Oct 22, 2013 |
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Oct 22, 2013 07:56
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 great blue heron by wallofinsanity, on Flickr
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Oct 23, 2013 04:05
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Unfortunately, there is no making GBS threads in these photos.  Hypnotized fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Oct 23, 2013 |
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Oct 23, 2013 17:47
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I rented a Nikon 300mm F/2.8 VR II to go birding with tomorrow. It required a $3000 deposit.  Here is a quick picture I took right after I rented it. 
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Oct 24, 2013 01:15
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Hypnotized posted:Unfortunately, there is no making GBS threads in these photos. Brown pelicans are cool as heck. They do such weird poses. Did you have to bring up the shadows a bunch in post? There's a halo around the head in the 2nd pic and the tones look a little odd. Otherwise very nice! Kenshin posted:I rented a Nikon 300mm F/2.8 VR II to go birding with tomorrow. It required a $3000 deposit. gently caress it, rent a 800 next. Go hog wild.
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Oct 24, 2013 01:38
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800peepee51doodoo posted:gently caress it, rent a 800 next. Go hog wild. Here's their whole equipment/price list: http://www.glazerscamera.com/sites/default/files/summer13.pdf
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Oct 24, 2013 01:47
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Kenshin posted:Here's their whole equipment/price list: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/supertelephoto/nikon-800mm-f5.6e-fl-ed-af-s-vr Only $500 for 4 days! Seriously though, you'll really like the 300 2.8 and anything else in that focal range will feel like a toy after using it.
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Oct 24, 2013 02:01
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800peepee51doodoo posted:There's a halo around the head in the 2nd pic and the tones look a little odd. Otherwise very nice! They are a fun bird to watch. Yeah, I had to to bring out the shadows. I didn't want to spend a bunch of time processing so I didn't bother trying to remove the halo.
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Oct 24, 2013 06:16
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800peepee51doodoo posted:http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/supertelephoto/nikon-800mm-f5.6e-fl-ed-af-s-vr I started to write a post about how terrible Glazer's rental prices are, but apparently they're actually really competitive for that lens, so I guess I'll shut up.
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Oct 24, 2013 15:42
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I started to write a post about how terrible Glazer's rental prices are, but apparently they're actually really competitive for that lens, so I guess I'll shut up.
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Oct 24, 2013 15:46
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I started to write a post about how terrible Glazer's rental prices are, but apparently they're actually really competitive for that lens, so I guess I'll shut up. Yeah, I checked them against Pro Photo Supply here in Portland and they're basically the same. Lensrentals and Borrowlenses may be a hair cheaper on long term but renting poo poo is expensive no matter what. It kind of sucks because I'd love to rent a Nikon system to compare to my current setup but I'm not gonna lay out like $600 to do it. Kenshin posted:The trick with Glazers (for Seattle area people) is to rent after 3pm--then you get all the way through the next day and don't need to return it until the day after before 10am. I don't know how Glazers does it, but Pro Photo charges a single day rate to rent over the weekend. Rent Friday afternoon, bring back Monday, charged for a one day rental. Not that bad going that route.
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Oct 24, 2013 19:26
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Kenshin posted:The trick with Glazers (for Seattle area people) is to rent after 3pm--then you get all the way through the next day and don't need to return it until the day after before 10am. This would be awesome in the summer, but in the winter you'd be lucky to get out of there in time for sunset. There certainly are some major differences in prices for some lenses. When I was looking to rent a 100-400mm for Yellowstone a few years ago the difference between BorrowLenses and Glazers was huge, and still is. I think Glazers was almost double.
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Oct 24, 2013 20:41
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I'm done with lens renting in general. They hold their value so well you can buy them new and sell them used for less cost than that of the rental in most cases. If you are a Canon CPS member this is especially true given the discounts they give (I'm pretty sure I could buy big lenses and sell used for a profit with the discount they give).
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Oct 24, 2013 20:46
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InternetJunky posted:I'm done with lens renting in general. They hold their value so well you can buy them new and sell them used for less cost than that of the rental in most cases. Sure this is great if you have the cash or credit line to do it but putting together 7-13k for a lens is a big stretch for most people.
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Oct 24, 2013 21:08
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oh my god this lens. I'm going to have to rent it again. Seriously. It was really, really foggy in Seattle this morning, and the lighting--especially in the forest for the Great Horned Owl shots--wasn't great. But this lens is amazing. It's just too bad I cannot possibly justify spending $5400 on a lens on my new hobby. Maybe in a few years! Here's the imgur album: http://imgur.com/a/UsTPi And here are some of my favorite shots: Great Horned Owl        Crow bathing in a tide pool. A bunch were there alongside seagulls, I saw at least 6 different crows take turns taking baths.   
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Oct 24, 2013 23:06
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drat. Nice shots. Did you go to Nisqually? That's the only place with reliable Great Horned Owls around here that I know. That lens does some amazing things.
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Oct 25, 2013 02:15
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BeastOfExmoor posted:drat. Nice shots. Did you go to Nisqually? That's the only place with reliable Great Horned Owls around here that I know. Discovery Park was where I saw the Great Horned Owl. Apparently they winter there. I also went to Golden Gardens. EDIT: I rented the lens again, this time with a 1.7x teleconverter and a carbon-fiber monopod. I'm going to head out to the Mercer Slough tomorrow morning. Kenshin fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Oct 26, 2013 |
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Oct 25, 2013 02:25
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Today, the local Audubon Society released a pair of peregrine falcons that they had rehabbed. Smith and Bybee Lakes will sometimes host avian botulism in the late summer and there was a small outbreak this year. These young falcons must have eaten some infected waterfowl or shorebirds.   Feeling much better now! 
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Oct 26, 2013 22:38
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Wow, those are amazing shots. I went out again today with the 300mm f/2.8 VRII. I think the focus is slightly off, and I'm not sure if it's my camera or the lens. I've heard reports that occasionally this lens comes from the factory being very slightly out of focus. In my case it only seems to affect shots that are 50+ feet away--the focus is slightly behind whatever I'm focusing on. Not quite sure what to do about that. Anyway, didn't have much luck today finding birds to shoot, but here is what I did manage to get:      
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Oct 26, 2013 23:18
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Those of you drooling over the 300 f/2.8 should seriously look at the sigma 120-300 2.8, it's excellent.
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Oct 27, 2013 03:28
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torgeaux posted:Those of you drooling over the 300 f/2.8 should seriously look at the sigma 120-300 2.8, it's excellent. DXOMark finally got around to scoring the Sport version and it did pretty well, but not quite as well as the VRII (which I guess should be expected with the price difference) http://www.dxomark.com/Reviews/Sigm...ens-performance It looks like they have the same corner sharpness complaints that I do about the non-Sport version, but it should be excellent on crop sensor bodies. I suspect more profound differences emerge between the Sigma and the Nikon when using a doubler, though (I usually stop down to f/11 with a doubler on the Sigma to get decent sharpness on a D800). Kenshin posted:
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Oct 27, 2013 19:44
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