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Jerm324 posted:I don't expect to win but I think I might submit a photo or two for this. Which of these do you all think is the best bet? I would definitely study previous winners: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2020/the-2020-audubon-photography-awards-winners https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2019/the-2019-audubon-photography-awards-winners In general, I would suggest leaning towards entries you feel have a strong story/behaviour element.
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Feb 11, 2021 00:19
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 Anna's Humm picking up supplies no logo-0281 on Flickr Anna's Humm picking up supplies no logo-0282 on FlickrProbably in the fun-but-not-great-photos category but I like 'em.
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Feb 11, 2021 02:51
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BetterLekNextTime posted:
These are really nice, do you do much editing? Because I think they could really stand out with some more touching up.
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Feb 11, 2021 10:25
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jarlywarly posted:These are really nice, do you do much editing? Because I think they could really stand out with some more touching up. Thanks! I did a first pass but haven’t tackled it like I would a print. What stands out to you? I’m not very skilled in Lightroom and even worse in Photoshop, so whether I’ll be able to execute it is another story. I’m partly wondering about what I was thinking in the field. I juked the iso up to 3200 to get the shutter speed up but for some reason I must have kicked the aperture up to f/9. I guess I was worried about depth of field in case the af grabbed the bush or the bird moved, but I might have had better luck stopping the wings with another stop of light. e: this is the un-tweaked .jpeg of one of them  Anna's Humm unprocessed-0282 on Flickr
BetterLekNextTime fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Feb 11, 2021 |
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Feb 11, 2021 17:57
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The quickest thing is do a curves shot for contrast.
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Feb 11, 2021 18:16
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BetterLekNextTime posted:[img - the best picture of a hummingbird i've ever seen in my life] God this thread is insanely bad for me as a hobbyist bird photographer who is just starting out. Everything in here is so loving incredible.
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Feb 11, 2021 19:00
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Corla Plankun posted:God this thread is insanely bad for me as a hobbyist bird photographer who is just starting out. Everything in here is so loving incredible. Definitely not my intention when I made that comment. When I started posting in this thread I was using an 8mp point and shoot.
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Feb 11, 2021 19:39
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Corla Plankun posted:God this thread is insanely bad for me as a hobbyist bird photographer who is just starting out. Everything in here is so loving incredible.  . Worst case somebody points out that it’s not a great shot, which you seem to already be aware of. Best case somebody points out something that helps you improve next time.It’s a hobby and you’re doing it for fun and there’s no shame in not being great at it.
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Feb 11, 2021 20:31
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i like this thread and how its a subculture unto itself within the dork room and i like to come in here and look at the new bird pics every day
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Feb 11, 2021 21:07
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torgeaux posted:The quickest thing is do a curves shot for contrast. Going back to this, you can see some improvement from the original from the curve region sliders. I'll try working on the curve directly and see what I can do.
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Feb 11, 2021 22:50
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Beautiful. The soft light really makes this guy pop. Thanks! Corla Plankun posted:God this thread is insanely bad for me as a hobbyist bird photographer who is just starting out. Everything in here is so loving incredible. I too am baby tier and have had my 100-400 for like a month at this point. Before that I used an ancient 400mm manual lens or the plastic Fuji 50-230. I just go out in my neighborhood and take snapshots of the birds I see (usually at someone's feeder, at this time of the year, or magpies digging through garbage cans) and sometimes I luck out and get a shot that's actually in focus while the bird is looking in my general direction. I think it's good practice though. This thread is great inspiration, it's humbling and shows what is possible, but I also come here just because I wanna see some fun birds and I don't really care if the shots are actually good or not. Please show me your local birds. TheFluff fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Feb 11, 2021 |
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Feb 11, 2021 22:50
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Going back to this, you can see some improvement from the original from the curve region sliders. I'll try working on the curve directly and see what I can do. It's not going to matter much. It's a fantastic shot, the hard lighting is part of it and helps, frankly. But, a bit more of a hit with the contrast could make it slightly better. I never get to see my hummingbirds outside the feeders. The pine trees aren't conducive, and there isn't any natural flower feeders for them.
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Feb 11, 2021 23:42
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African Grey
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Feb 12, 2021 04:48
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Submitted 3 of my owls. Can't win if you don't play, though I seriously doubt I'll win anything. I've spent more on way dumber things.  
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Feb 12, 2021 05:02
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samantonio posted:African Grey Whoa, that's cool. How did you do the lighting? I submitted some photos to a photography magazine in my state a few months ago, but didn't win anything. It's still fun to play, and it's interesting to compare my shots to the finalists. I've posted these before, but here are two that I submitted that I'm pretty pleased with.   For reference, here are the finalists for the competition I submitted to: https://www.arizonahighways.com/2021-photo-contest-finalists. The lighting on the owl is really nice. Good luck to everyone who submits to Audubon!
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Feb 12, 2021 16:42
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DorianGravy posted:Whoa, that's cool. How did you do the lighting? Thanks. This was my uncle's bird for thirty years. He was chronically ill and passed away in November. I saw the end coming and started to reach out to the bird to help her transition for the upcoming loss. The family decided it would be best if the bird went with me after he died, basically nobody cared to take her and I didn't feel that was right. We became really good buddies over the last couple months and now we're inseparable. She goes everywhere with me, we play and groom each other, etc. She's helped me with a lot of depression and anxiety issues I'm currently facing in my life. I was in the unfinished basement one day and walking around and saw a sunbeam coming through the little basement window up above. I tracked it across the room and saw it was cutting through a lot of basement dust, front lighting the dust particles in slow motion and saw the opportunity for a neat shot. I set up a chair, threw a throw blanket over the chair and went to get the bird. I sat her on the back of the chair to play around in the sun. Most of my camera gear was stolen at a live band gig a while back so I've been stuck with just what I had around my neck at the time which was my 70D body and a 70-200/2.8. The body is jacked from wear and tear over the years and the mounting ring is warped so the lens doesn't fit properly causing me to only have manual focusing ability and slightly unfocused final images even at peak focus. Since I was on a telephoto I had to cram myself back as far as I could against a wall and just wait for the right moment constantly messing with the focus while she danced. Viginti Septem fucked around with this message at 17:07 on Feb 12, 2021 |
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Feb 12, 2021 17:04
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charliebravo77 posted:Submitted 3 of my owls. Can't win if you don't play, though I seriously doubt I'll win anything. I've spent more on way dumber things. These are incredible, I love the color contrast of the hills to the foreground.
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Feb 12, 2021 17:09
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Winning bird photography contests is difficult, based on the general winners I see you need Great, soft light which generally means lower light than usual so having a faster lens is going to help. Low/eyeline angle, hard to get because birds are often above or below you Interesting or uncommon subject/behaviour, largely luck or time based ie get lucky or scout and stake out a section and look for hunting/feeding/fighting/breeding/nesting etc. I think everyone here has the skill to get that type of shot, it's largely luck and time so competing with retired birders with all the time in the world, 30 yrs experience and 600mm f/4 primes doesn't help as well. Portraits/flight shots just doesn't get you there as there are so many of those shots already.
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Feb 12, 2021 17:23
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samantonio posted:Thanks. This was my uncle's bird for thirty years. He was chronically ill and passed away in November. I saw the end coming and started to reach out to the bird to help her transition for the upcoming loss. The family decided it would be best if the bird went with me after he died, basically nobody cared to take her and I didn't feel that was right. Wow, sounds like you are dealing with a really rough year. Thanks for sharing the photo. DorianGravy posted:Whoa, that's cool. How did you do the lighting? The owl is my favorite too, next might be the egret which also has nice moody lighting. That looks like a pretty cool contest. The national contests get filled up with people who just dropped 8 grand on a Yellowstone or Arches photo workshop. jarlywarly posted:Winning bird photography contests is difficult, based on the general winners I see you need Definitely good advice. I will say while the pro-level equipment helps, it's certainly not a requirement. (not a contest) but many years ago I got a scientific journal cover using a zoomy point and shoot, and I've had a tiny bit of success in these contests without a big prime or top of the line body. I think there's a lot to be said for getting to know a place and finding the unique photo opportunities there. The advice to look at the old galleries is great.
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Feb 12, 2021 19:56
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samantonio posted:Thanks. This was my uncle's bird for thirty years. He was chronically ill and passed away in November. I saw the end coming and started to reach out to the bird to help her transition for the upcoming loss. The family decided it would be best if the bird went with me after he died, basically nobody cared to take her and I didn't feel that was right. That's quite a story, you should come to the Bird Crazies thread and say hi, we'd love to meet you and your bird: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3513778
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Feb 12, 2021 20:01
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Definitely good advice. I will say while the pro-level equipment helps, it's certainly not a requirement. (not a contest) but many years ago I got a scientific journal cover using a zoomy point and shoot, and I've had a tiny bit of success in these contests without a big prime or top of the line body. I think there's a lot to be said for getting to know a place and finding the unique photo opportunities there. Yeah, reading the blurbs under the winners is helpful as well, especially for understanding the context of how the winning shots happened. One of my favs was someone who dressed in a full Ghillie suit for something like a week to get a shot of baby peregrine falcons at daybreak. There definitely seems to be a theme of rare / impressive species + distinct behavioral narrative + gorgeous framing / lighting which is basically a trifecta of difficulty. That's a big draw for me, actually. Once I feel burnt out on the photography aspects I can focus on becoming a better birder, and vice versa.
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Feb 13, 2021 00:38
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BetterLekNextTime posted:The owl is my favorite too, next might be the egret which also has nice moody lighting. That looks like a pretty cool contest. The national contests get filled up with people who just dropped 8 grand on a Yellowstone or Arches photo workshop. Yeah, the egret is really nice too. I love the low angle, nice lighting, and narrow focus. I sometimes feel a bit too lazy to get good lighting. I typically can't be bothered to get up before dawn on one of my days off (but I'm fine being a casual birder, haha). The contest I linked (https://www.arizonahighways.com/2021-photo-contest-finalists) is for an Arizona magazine, and all photos need to be taken in Arizona in the past year, so sorry to all of you in other parts of the world. I bet there are regional contests for other states/countries, though. Regional competitions do help cut down the competition a bit. The contest I linked also posts all submissions, so you can get a sense of what the other non-winning photos look like: https://www.arizonahighways.com/photography/photo-contest.
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Feb 13, 2021 01:28
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Definitely good advice. I will say while the pro-level equipment helps, it's certainly not a requirement. (not a contest) but many years ago I got a scientific journal cover using a zoomy point and shoot, and I've had a tiny bit of success in these contests without a big prime or top of the line body. I think there's a lot to be said for getting to know a place and finding the unique photo opportunities there. I've said this to friends and probably posted it here too way back but gear isn't that important after a certain baseline. The real expense of high-level bird photography, like for contests, is free time and the ability to travel. Like this: vonnegutt posted:One of my favs was someone who dressed in a full Ghillie suit for something like a week to get a shot of baby peregrine falcons at daybreak. This is something most of us don't have access to due to work and life constraints. I can save up to buy a big lens but finding the time to sit in one spot for a week to get a photo is much more expensive. I'd love to be able to do stuff like this but I have a job that expects me to be there all week if I want to continue eating food and living in a house. I don't really get jealous of the 600mm f4s and 1DXmIII's but I do sometimes get jealous of the trust funders with infinite free time to pursue expensive hobbies like this. I think its definitely true that for most of us, learning our local bioregions and how to photograph them is the best way to have a good time and get nice results.
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Feb 13, 2021 03:53
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800peepee51doodoo posted:I think its definitely true that for most of us, learning our local bioregions and how to photograph them is the best way to have a good time and get nice results. Oh yeah, I think most people are definitely not able to find that kind of free time. I know I can't. It does encourage me to do a little more research around my area, and now I know a spot an owl hangs out that's about a ten minute walk from my house. And apparently one of the local reservoirs (15 minute drive) is actually a really great spot to find osprey and bald eagle as well as overwintering waterfowl and I would never have known that without having a reason to look. The elements of luck and of finding hidden gems are what I really like about it.
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Feb 13, 2021 04:04
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800peepee51doodoo posted:I've said this to friends and probably posted it here too way back but gear isn't that important after a certain baseline. The real expense of high-level bird photography, like for contests, is free time and the ability to travel. Like this: Being social is a great long-term investment. There's a couple local bird photographers I see on a regular basis, one of them is in his late 60s or so and retired so he's got all the time in the world. But he's also been very active/respected in the local nature clubs for decades so he's always getting the hot tips on owls from property owners, or rare species showing up
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Feb 13, 2021 18:06
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neckbeard posted:Being social is a great long-term investment. There's a couple local bird photographers I see on a regular basis, one of them is in his late 60s or so and retired so he's got all the time in the world. But he's also been very active/respected in the local nature clubs for decades so he's always getting the hot tips on owls from property owners, or rare species showing up For sure, 100%. Its something I don't put enough effort in to and should. Being involved in local birding communities is a great way to learn about where birds are, especially stuff that's hard to find like owls. My only photos of pygmy owl are from someone at the Audubon society calling to tell me one showed up in a tree in their parking lot. I think there's a few really key components to good bird and wildlife photography that get underplayed because gear becomes such a focus, especially online. Gear is great, I love gear but its really secondary to learning about the birds, their behavior and their habitat. I think where most people, myself included, could see the most improvement is by spending more time with field guides, binoculars and other birders.
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Feb 13, 2021 20:53
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A day of mostly trash birds. Three degrees, with wind chill of -8, the camera did not want to focus, and my body wanted back in the car.  Magpie in their Natural Setting by B. B., on Flickr Gull by B. B., on Flickr Gulls on Ice by B. B., on Flickr Eagle2 by B. B., on Flickr Bald Eagle by B. B., on Flickr
torgeaux fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Feb 13, 2021 |
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Feb 13, 2021 21:27
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 White-breasted Nuthatch by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr Great Horned Owl by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr
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Feb 14, 2021 00:41
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neckbeard posted:
Owls are my wish list birds. I've got some near where I shoot, but weather has been really bad. I need to stake out their area.
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Feb 14, 2021 02:47
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torgeaux posted:
I really like the hazy vibes here neckbeard posted:
both of these are awesome, good poo poo. love sleepy owls. I went back to see my friends the herons today. Love these guys so much. Never seen a heron tongue before.  Heron doing silly faces  Heron wingspan demonstration Bonus bird:  Blue tit Not terribly happy about that last one - it's technically pretty good (in focus, very sharp, well lit, decently clean background) but it's just not that interesting to me. TheFluff fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Feb 15, 2021 |
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Feb 14, 2021 22:17
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I had a great birding day on the coast seeing and taking pictures lots of cool birds: a barred owl asleep in a tree, buffleheads, red-breasted mergansers, surf scoters, white-winger scoters, harlequin ducks, common eiders, loons, and greater scaups all in a few hours... but every shot was just an adequate photo to remind me I saw the bird. What was the one actual decent picture on the day?  A chickadee. Bird photography, man.
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Feb 15, 2021 15:34
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE posted:I had a great birding day on the coast seeing and taking pictures lots of cool birds: a barred owl asleep in a tree, buffleheads, red-breasted mergansers, surf scoters, white-winger scoters, harlequin ducks, common eiders, loons, and greater scaups all in a few hours... but every shot was just an adequate photo to remind me I saw the bird. What was the one actual decent picture on the day? You had a great day, and gently caress it man, good pictures of chickadees are good pictures.
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Feb 15, 2021 15:47
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There have been White-winged Crossbills about an hour away that I've been meaning to make the drive to see, but there were a few reported yesterday 10 minutes away. I managed to find them right out of the car, and watch for about 5 minutes before they flew. I've been really happy with the new setup, I doubt any of these would have turned out with my old camera/lens. The low light performance, and autofocus have been great. White-winged Crossbill  White-winged Crossbill  White-winged Crossbill  White-winged Crossbill I had a pretty good GBBC, none of it was actually in my yard, since our neighborhood is pretty densely packed, and we don't actually have a yard. I managed to ID 38 species (only the Red-breasted Nuthatch was heard only). code:
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Feb 15, 2021 22:53
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Nice list. Crossbills are always a treat. Here's a few of the usual suspects from a couple of GBBC's in my neighborhood.  Gyuto Oak Titmouse-0359 on Flickr Gyuto Red-tail-0390 on Flickr Gyuto Fox Sparrow-0481 on Flickr Gyuto Spotted Towhee-0520 on Flickr Gyuto Song Sparrow-0534 on Flickr Gyuto GC Sparrow-0734 on Flickr Gyuto Fox Sparrow-0764 on Flickr
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Feb 16, 2021 05:31
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Took a drive out to the Mississippi River and found a poo poo ton of making GBS threads birds.         
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Feb 21, 2021 08:49
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getting a  vibe here(good shot tho, really like shots of birds with their beaks open) Got myself my first owl shot   Tawny owl Pretty aggressive crop, was hard to get closer. I would never have noticed this guy at all on my own though. I've started going on birding walks with a local guide and it's really really helpful for getting to know my local birds and especially for getting places like owl perches pointed out to me. Didn't really get any other photos today but I'm very happy with the owl. Really looking forward to seeing the explosion in activity that's gonna happen in a month or so when the ice is gone and the migratory species start coming back. Other birds:  Robin  Common moorhen I also can't not post this amazing version of one of my heron shots that mindhack on discord came up with: 
TheFluff fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Feb 21, 2021 |
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Feb 21, 2021 19:23
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charliebravo77 posted:Took a drive out to the Mississippi River and found a poo poo ton of making GBS threads birds. These are fantastic!
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Feb 21, 2021 22:02
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Not that many Snowy Owls around this winter. This is just my second one this season, and of course its up on a pole on a cloudy day Snowy Owl by Tyler Huestis, on FlickrBut sure was nice to photograph a Great Horned Owl with it not being up in a tree  Great Horned Owl by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr
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Feb 22, 2021 16:07
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Fantastic owls on this page! I've only ever seen a Great Horned Owl, and it was way up in a tree.neckbeard posted:
I like this one a lot. The gradient in the sky and the minimalist plants make it look somewhat like a painting.
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Feb 25, 2021 02:52
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 Flying Away by B. B., on Flickr Close Crop Geese by B. B., on Flickr
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Feb 27, 2021 17:18
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