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Perhaps the shortlist is a % cut of the full list and they got slammed with lovely entries.
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Jan 24, 2017 05:12
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Here are some hawks (Red Tail, Northern Harrier, Northern Harrier, and another Red Tail). Not the greatest, but alright for morning walking around. DSCF9616 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF9655 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF9666 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF9802 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr
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Jan 24, 2017 06:11
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Dread Head posted:You are not joking, some are not even close to being sharp/in focus... However I would agree there some weaker ones in there, such as the Red Cardinal photo that's standard Flickr-fare, I'm not I'd go far as to say 'lots'. The portrait category does have the most that are fairly standard but I think to an extent that's a function of the category. The moment the bird or photography does something interesting it ends up in a different category...
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Jan 24, 2017 09:08
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Here are some more pictures of birds. DSCF9885 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0141 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0106 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0074 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0037 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0025 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0016 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr
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Jan 28, 2017 05:23
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Still working on getting used to this big rear end lens. Question - I have read both pros and cons but do you all leave your lens stabilization on past 1/500 while panning and tracking birds? I have read that it is possible to get sharper images leaving it off and haven't had a chance to try it yet. I live in central nj so I was shocked to see that I got a bald eagle since I had no idea any nested such a short distance from my house. I talked to a birding person and she said that a couple eagles had, in fact, nested on someone's property nearby. It was pretty far off and at the time I didn't even know that's what it was - it was only after I got it in lightroom that I saw what it was. So here are the problems I am finding. The harrier shot, for example, was at 1/320 and missed a bunch of shots because although it was really, really close to me my shutter was too slow to freeze the action. With the eagle, I was shooting 1/1000 and under exposing to try to keep the iso down but that made it so there was a LOT of shadow recovery to do in post and it got grainy because of that (it was basically a sillouette). With the other photos, it was rainy and not that light out but I set the shutter to 1/1000 - this bumped my iso up to max. So I am trying to figure out my settings and I think the answer is to just keep trying so I learn when to use what settings. I am comfortable with my settings outside of birding but with the smaller apertures and longer lens I am finding it different enough that I am going to really relearn things to be able to get better results. Anyway here are some shots from a rainy morning on Thursday (the Harrier is from Wednesday)  DSCF4082 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF4455 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF4488 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF4651 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF4690 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr
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Jan 28, 2017 17:02
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Rio, I think many of us shoot in Aperture-priority mode with Auto-ISO configured with minimum shutter speeds and a maximum ISO cap, which may help you solve your problem. Find out what the sweet-spot for sharpness is with your lens in terms of aperture and generally have it set there. I'm noticing that your aperture, ISO, and shutter speed are varying between almost every shot, and that's going to make it hard to get consistent results (and more importantly, consistent results you can learn from by changing one or two things at a time rather than letting your camera change lots of things automatically) Generally with these longer lenses I have found that as long as there is enough light it's best to shoot at 1/1000s or faster (I almost always shoot at 1/1600s or 1/2000s with my 200-500mm lens).
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Jan 28, 2017 17:36
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Yeah find out what aperture your lens is sharpest at, shoot at that aperture with a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000 and let auto-ISO sort it out if you don't want to manage that yourself as light changes.
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Jan 28, 2017 17:46
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Unfortunately, the minimum shutter speed setting of the X-T1 (which rio and I both use) is 1/500, which is a little too slow to stop motion in some instances. I have been shooting with aperture priority trying to stat around 7.1 or 8.0, but I don't have much a basis for this aperture.
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Jan 28, 2017 18:09
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accipter posted:Unfortunately, the minimum shutter speed setting of the X-T1 (which rio and I both use) is 1/500, which is a little too slow to stop motion in some instances. I have been shooting with aperture priority trying to stat around 7.1 or 8.0, but I don't have much a basis for this aperture. edit: Here are some metrics on the resolution of the XF 100-400 at varying focal lengths and apertures: http://www.lenstip.com/475.4-Lens_review-Fujifilm_Fujinon_XF_100-400_mm_f_4.5-5.6_R_LM_OIS_Image_resolution.html
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Jan 28, 2017 18:11
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accipter posted:Unfortunately, the minimum shutter speed setting of the X-T1 (which rio and I both use) is 1/500, which is a little too slow to stop motion in some instances. I have been shooting with aperture priority trying to stat around 7.1 or 8.0, but I don't have much a basis for this aperture. Just change that in the settings? I'm sure you can.
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Jan 28, 2017 18:14
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VelociBacon posted:Just change that in the settings? I'm sure you can. The allowable maximum minimum shutter speed ranges from 1/4 to 1/500.
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Jan 28, 2017 18:41
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Thanks for the advice guys, I have been trusting the camera more and using aperture priority. I am having a hard time letting go of shutter speed though - I just want to change it as often as I can to keep my ISO as low as possible and if I see a stationary bird I don't want to shoot it at 1/1000 and have the ISO cranked up when I don't need to...at least I am getting used to adjusting the shutter knob by feel and it is pretty easy to do, but automation would be nice. Question - I have seen some phenomenal photos of owls here - are some owls out in good light? I went out to shoot some short eared owls and they all didn't come out until the last 1/4 of sunset...it got dark so quickly and although the autofocus kept up amazingly (so happy with the af on the x-t2) trying to catch them flying with that little light had be at 12800, and towards the end I had to drop down to 1/500. It was still fun but the results look messy. Also, I hate to say it but now I think I need the 1.4 teleconverter...600 equivilent is not getting me close enough and I am having to crop way in (again, so happy with the X-T2...I can crop in so far and still have a usable, if crusty image). Here are a few from tonight.  DSCF5070 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF4880 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5134 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr
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Jan 30, 2017 07:39
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If you're having such issues with ISO that you feel the need to micromanage the shutter speed to drop the ISO, the 1.4 TC is going to make your images pretty awful. SEO are mostly out at dawn and dusk as these are the times their primary food source is out and foraging. I find it funny how similar your images are to my own owl shots re: the background. I take it you aren't in Vancouver because I've never seen that MCPC sign.
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Jan 30, 2017 16:52
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rio posted:Thanks for the advice guys, I have been trusting the camera more and using aperture priority. I am having a hard time letting go of shutter speed though - I just want to change it as often as I can to keep my ISO as low as possible and if I see a stationary bird I don't want to shoot it at 1/1000 and have the ISO cranked up when I don't need to...at least I am getting used to adjusting the shutter knob by feel and it is pretty easy to do, but automation would be nice. quote:Question - I have seen some phenomenal photos of owls here - are some owls out in good light? I went out to shoot some short eared owls and they all didn't come out until the last 1/4 of sunset..
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Jan 30, 2017 18:18
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InternetJunky posted:There are some owls like the snowy, pygmy, hawk owl that will hunt all day, others like SEO or LEO that you might catch at sunrise or sunset, and then nocturnal owls that can be found during the day because other birds in the area are making a ruckus. Finding some owls is incredibly weather dependent around here. For my Great Greys, I'll be out looking as soon as the temperature starts to go around -30C. The cold forces the owls to hunt 24/7. I've found barred and great horned owls hunting all day at these temperatures as well. Very weather dependent and location dependent. The Short-Eared hotspot(s) north of Seattle can have birds at any time of day, but often have multiple birds even several hours before. I've observed Short-Eared owls in other places, but only right at dusk. Pygmy can and will be visible/active throughout the day at times. I went on a hike a couple years ago and encountered three just sitting out in the open during the middle of the day. Content:  Yellow-Billed Loon 3 by Josh, on Flickr Short-Eared Owl by Josh, on Flickr Harlequin Duck In Flight by Josh, on Flickr Harlequin Duck by Josh, on Flickr
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Jan 30, 2017 22:47
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VelociBacon posted:If you're having such issues with ISO that you feel the need to micromanage the shutter speed to drop the ISO, the 1.4 TC is going to make your images pretty awful. SEO are mostly out at dawn and dusk as these are the times their primary food source is out and foraging. Nope, I'm in Lawrenceville NJ. When I moved here one of the pluses is that my condo is right at the end of a dead end street and there is a park there - walk through that park and you end up in all of this protected land. Tons of wildlife, and some of it comes to visit outside my back window. I saw an albino deer just about 10 feet from me yesterday! The ss micromanagement is just in low light, which happens to be about half the time I go out birding to see what comes out around sunset. The rest of the time though I would love to have that extra reach. Thanks guys for the owl info. I have another question - do you all usually just use auto white balance? There seem to be so many variables with lighting compared to shooting people (different times of day, sky colors, bird colors vs. knowing what skin tones should look like). I know they are super common but I was hoping to see some turkey vultures around since they look so badass, and today there were a bunch right outside flying low over the parking lot and perching on the roof. This is also what had me wondering a bit about white balance. In the second shot the head ended up better - the red is much more appealing to me there.  DSCF5203 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5208 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr
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Jan 31, 2017 01:27
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rio posted:I have another question - do you all usually just use auto white balance? There seem to be so many variables with lighting compared to shooting people (different times of day, sky colors, bird colors vs. knowing what skin tones should look like). Never saw a need to mess with white balance in the field.
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Jan 31, 2017 01:30
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I ended up getting the teleconverter and am glad I did. Had a little trip to the ER so I haven't had a ton of time to use it but here are some birds that came to visit outside my flat. And a swan from the park. DSCF5604 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5601 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5561 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5510 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5539 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF5221 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr
rio fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Feb 4, 2017 |
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Feb 4, 2017 04:40
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 DSCF0272 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0299 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0415 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0430 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF0454 by Albert Kottke, on FlickrA pair of peregrines soared down wind and made one fast pass. This was the best of the bunch, but it was the last of a burst and terribly framed.  DSCF0467 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr
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Feb 5, 2017 06:04
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So many good photos! I had a good bird day. I've been putting in a lot of time with my setup and starting to get a feel for it. Better yet, I am having a good time doing it.     
ant mouth fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Feb 6, 2017 |
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Feb 5, 2017 07:07
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Superb Owl Sunday was a success! Went down to Calgary over the weekend, my sister was wanting to go look for owls as there's been shittons all over the city this past month. Went to a park that was said to have Long Eared Owls, walked over 5km in the snow at -17 and when we finally got back to where we parked we found this GHO less than 50 feet from the car...  Great Horned Owl by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr Great Horned Owl by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr
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Feb 7, 2017 03:04
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neckbeard posted:Superb Owl Sunday was a success! Beautiful!
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Feb 7, 2017 04:33
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neckbeard posted:
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Feb 7, 2017 04:37
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Nice GHO shots! I've recently started meeting up with a local birders group and they've keyed me in on a GHO within a few miles of my place. Just need to make the time to go now. I went out both days this past weekend and got a few decent shots out of it.   
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Feb 16, 2017 00:42
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Grackles are so cool. I probably should clean my windows because these could have been sharper. DSCF6469 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6476 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6475 by Paul Hofreiter, on FlickrHere's another fluffy bird. I think it is a song sparrow but because of the puffyness I'm not sure.  DSCF6090 by Paul Hofreiter, on FlickrAlso is shooting birds at the zoo cheating? I am pretty sure it is cheating. But very fun.  DSCF6271 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6292 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6299 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF3145 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF3152 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6318 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr
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Feb 17, 2017 05:36
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rio posted:Grackles are so cool. I probably should clean my windows because these could have been sharper. rear end in a top hat trash birds that occasionally make me take down my feeder for months at a time because they start arriving in huge flocks and live at the feeder eating everything. 
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Feb 18, 2017 13:56
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 Tilden Turkeys-9440 on Flickr Tilden Turkeys-9510 on Flickr
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Feb 19, 2017 07:25
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Tilden Park? I used to take pictures of the turkeys in the Mountain View Cemetery before I moved to the Peninsula. I will post pictures of Snowy Plovers from yesterday after I go through them, but I wanted to get this posted ASAP.  DSCF1058 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr
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Feb 19, 2017 15:58
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Is that ... poop?
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Feb 19, 2017 16:10
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rio posted:Is that ... poop? Have you read the title of the thread? 
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Feb 19, 2017 17:39
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accipter posted:Tilden Park? I used to take pictures of the turkeys in the Mountain View Cemetery before I moved to the Peninsula. Yup- we went to the Tilden Nature Center to check out the Golden Gate Audubon centennial exhibit (probably not worth a trip in itself, but it's cool to know we have a 100 year old bird conservation organization in the area) , and the farm animals are right there next to the nature center. There were a few big male wild turkeys just chilling in the sheep area. One male kept harassing one of the other males- it was pretty funny, the male would just try to chill on a fence, and the other male would jump up on the fence, but there would be a fence post in between, so he'd have to jump down and then jump back up in the right section, at which point the first male would jump down and wander over to a different part of the fence then jump back up. This repeated 5 or 6 times while we were watching. By the way- for any of you guys who are eBirders (or if you aren't but want to contribute bird ID sightings), a reminder to submit observations this weekend as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count  Tilden Turkeys-9529 on Flickr
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Feb 19, 2017 19:22
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Here are some  DSCF1333 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF1340 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF1349 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF1354 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF1385 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF1392 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr DSCF1401 by Albert Kottke, on Flickr
accipter fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Feb 19, 2017 |
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Feb 19, 2017 21:36
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That's a lot of Sanderlings! (not snowy plovers)
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Feb 19, 2017 22:02
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BetterLekNextTime posted:That's a lot of Sanderlings! (not snowy plovers) Thanks! I was a little suspicious of the identification, but I didn't see Sanderlings when I went through Sibley the first time.
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Feb 19, 2017 22:47
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I was in Stockholm last week and watched this coot systematically make a number of different swans his personal bitches. My 80kg dog is scared of swans but this 400g bird gives no fucks. IMG_4963.jpg by Iain Compton, on Flickr
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Feb 19, 2017 23:04
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Helen Highwater posted:I was in Stockholm last week and watched this coot systematically make a number of different swans his personal bitches. My 80kg dog is scared of swans but this 400g bird gives no fucks. Coots give no fucks- they kick the poo poo out of each other and peck their own kids to death. I'm picturing this one hopping on a swan and yelling "To War!"
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Feb 19, 2017 23:14
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That coot owns (that swan) Met a bluejay yapping its face off at all the other bluejays today.  DSCF6656 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6665 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr DSCF6678 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr
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Feb 20, 2017 04:08
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This owl is a little underexposed. I guess I'll have to fix it in post. I also wonder how many goons were in Massena, NY this weekend. There were quite a few candidates, but grownups can't really ask about stairs.  I said I'll fix it in post. 
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Feb 20, 2017 17:20
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Farm goose with some survival instinct still going- it spotted a soaring hawk way the hell up in the sky. I spy with my little eye-9284 on Flickr
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Feb 21, 2017 21:02
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I am now in the fold.
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Feb 23, 2017 22:48
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