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Thanks guys! I'm with Clayton, jhoc. I'd be terrified about getting the gear soaked. But it looks pretty peaceful there so I imagine there's not a huge risk. I imagine you're going to get some awesome shots with that setup, can't wait to see more! Jadeilyn posted:I tried to get lower down when I shot the ducks today. It's not easy since the lagoon is built with walkways that extend over the water, but the angle is definitely better. I like it! Great lighting, and the lower angle definitely does help a lot. Although I'm pretty big into macro photography and while I'm not afraid to crawl around in the grass/mud for the right angle, it's taking awhile for me to get used to getting low for bird shots. It makes such a difference most of the time that it's worth it though. edit: Top of page 2, so I gotta include a shot. Here's an unintentional birding shot:  There's an Owl chilling at the top of the largest tree. I was just going for the cloudless sky and didn't even see it until I was processing the shots on the computer a little while later. I've been watching for it ever since and I can hear it at night/morning but I'm not having any luck finding out where it's hiding. PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 17:42 on Jul 27, 2009 |
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Jul 27, 2009 17:37
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It's quiet, too quiet! I wish this was some sort of hawk or something, but I suppose a starling will work too: 
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Jul 30, 2009 16:47
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diarrhea for girls posted:edit: Top of page 2, so I gotta include a shot. Here's an unintentional birding shot: That's some pretty fantastic composition, especially for an accidental shot. He fits perfectly into the eye line created by the stars. Good complementary color use and tone too.
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Jul 31, 2009 17:34
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diarrhea for girls posted:
Very nice, what is up with the foreground light? Looks like a streetlight? Have been out on the water a lot this week and am missing focus like crazy, it is really starting to drive me nuts but my 210mm isn't nearly long enough so I'm stuck with this hit-or-miss 400. Had to trash a ton of (what I thought would be good) osprey and hawk shots because they were just out of focus. 
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Aug 4, 2009 01:36
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I used to rent the 100-400L IS for nature trips (mostly birds) and that thing was awesome. May not have the pixel density of an X0D(or 1-series AF) but on a 5D2 you can jack the ISO way up and still get very nice results, which is something to consider. Very seldom had cause to use it on a tripod, unless I was taking video or using the 2x TC on it. Even with the TC I could handhold it at f/11 in a lot of cases (manual-focus only). The 70-200 f/2.8 with the TC sounds very close and more versatile than the 100-400 on paper, but I hated it the one time I tried it. Boss ultimately decided to pick up the Sigma 100-400 OS, I didn't really like it. As much as I hate on push-pull it actually does seem to work better in a lens of that type, the AF is slower and noisy, etc. On the plus side I think it only set us back like $425 at KEH, whereas the Canon is more than twice as expensive. Frinkahedron posted:This owns.
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Aug 4, 2009 02:13
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pistolshit posted:That's some pretty fantastic composition, especially for an accidental shot. He fits perfectly into the eye line created by the stars. jhoc posted:Very nice, what is up with the foreground light? Looks like a streetlight? Thanks a lot guys! jhoc, that's basically what it is. There's a Nissan factory just past those trees and they've got traffic going in and out all the time so there are a ton of sodium vapor lights lining the property. One of the last places I'd ever expect to find an owl! jhoc posted:Have been out on the water a lot this week and am missing focus like crazy, it is really starting to drive me nuts but my 210mm isn't nearly long enough so I'm stuck with this hit-or-miss 400. Had to trash a ton of (what I thought would be good) osprey and hawk shots because they were just out of focus. Took me a minute to spot that white one, haha. Great catch! The composition is great, and if you're in the kayak for this one it really put you at the perfect height. I think that angle is right on. I've never noticed their eye color before, very cool! edit: Baby Mockingbirds are now making their way to my backyard, and they don't shut up when they're hungry. At least they make good subjects though! I'm hoping to catch this scene again with proper lighting, as I had to crank the ISO and it doesn't look too hot any larger than this. 
PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Aug 4, 2009 |
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Aug 4, 2009 19:08
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 it was taken a while ago, but it's my only bird shot!
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Aug 4, 2009 20:02
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I've been shooting birds for just over a year now. After trying all sorts of lenses, I found myself sticking with my 300mm f/4L, sometimes with a 1.4x teleconverter but usually not. I've found my shots are a lot better when I simply can get close to the bird, not that it's so easy do do. Regarding cropping, with a more recent full frame camera (such as the 5D Mk2) you can crop down just as much as a crop body with no loss in quality. The newer sensors have larger pixels and give much brighter and less noisy results. At least that is my experience moving up from a 40D.  I've been trying to get a good shot of a Blue Grosbeak all summer (still trying) 
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Aug 5, 2009 09:11
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thanks for this, i adore birds and bird photography, but don't have the money for decent kit, so i make do. the best i've got is this chaffinch, pretty much  taken with a cheap 135mm that washes everything out. i'm so pooooor  suiteXVI: i love your little wader chappie there 
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Aug 5, 2009 22:48
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Iananan posted:thanks for this, i adore birds and bird photography, but don't have the money for decent kit, so i make do. I've got to know: what 135 is that? It has a very very funky look.  
Clayton Bigsby fucked around with this message at 02:13 on Aug 6, 2009 |
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Aug 6, 2009 02:10
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I got really lucky. This big tame fella just came out of nowhere!   
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Aug 6, 2009 17:34
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If you want big zoom without big cost, and are willing to spend a little time fixing colour in post, you can get the Pro-Optic 500/6.3 reflector for around $160. It's very short and easy to wield, but the colour does tend to be a little soft. Edit: Also, it's manual focus, so probably more suited to birds that aren't flying. But still, 500mm (800mm on a crop sensor!) for $160 delivered was a great addition to my arsenal. http://www.adorama.com/PRO50063EOS.html SquallStrife fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Aug 7, 2009 |
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Aug 7, 2009 05:18
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I have a few bird pictures too, I suppose. I used my 70-300mm f4-5.6 lens for these   these were with a point and shoot from a while back  
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Aug 7, 2009 06:08
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Clayton Bigsby posted:I've got to know: what 135 is that? It has a very very funky look. it's a very old prinzflex 135, through a screwfit canon EOS adapter (overall it cost me £35)  but that photo also has a considerable amount of post.
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Aug 7, 2009 12:46
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Was out shooting landscapes when this guy dropped by.
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Aug 8, 2009 08:47
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Dread Head posted:Was out shooting landscapes when this guy dropped by. Nice shot, but a minor thing bothers me... you notice the angle of the head? It's not quite parallel, but angled away from the observer just a tiny bit. That tends to make you lose connection with the bird, and makes it seem "off" a bit though most can't quite put their finger on why. It works better if the bird's 100% parallel, facing you at an angle, or the entire body/head is facing sharply away.
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Aug 8, 2009 13:17
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Where do you guys live where you can get all these great shots of pelicans/egrets/herons? The ones here in MA all seem to fly away at the slightest movement. This is as close as I got to a heron with a 500mm lens:
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Aug 9, 2009 01:24
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Ingraman posted:Where do you guys live where you can get all these great shots of pelicans/egrets/herons? The ones here in MA all seem to fly away at the slightest movement. This is as close as I got to a heron with a 500mm lens: Nice shot even if he flew away from you. With those larger birds it seems to a very localized phenomenon as to how they act around people. The Great Blue Herons around my house are very flighty, and I can never get close, but if I drive 40 miles south to a wildlife area, I can often get within 10 feet of one. The only time I see a Green Heron around here is when I catch it's backside fleeing the scene, but if I visit my parents in Pensacola, FL, they will fish from the docks mere feet from people. Pelicans are the same way, they are like pigeons as far as dealing with people down there. 
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Aug 9, 2009 01:32
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Ingraman posted:Where do you guys live where you can get all these great shots of pelicans/egrets/herons? The ones here in MA all seem to fly away at the slightest movement. This is as close as I got to a heron with a 500mm lens: I have a short lens so I have had to learn how to get close to them. Take your time be patient and just try to get as close as you can.
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Aug 9, 2009 03:54
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I had an idea for a setup, and it seems to have worked. First, I watched the birds for a while to see where they land often. They seem to like the same few branches. I did this all summer, but this tree is in my yard so it wasn't much work. Next, pick one of the spots they land and see if you can get a good angle of it. I just walked around the tree and picked a spot that didn't have cars in the background or something. Spending more time on this would give better results. Last, setup a tripod with a remote shutter. I used a 75' cable from monoprice ($4). Sit somewhere you can see your target spot, but you don't bother the birds. Relax and take some pictures.     I wish I didn't have the peanut butter in the shot, but hey, bluejays like the stuff.
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Aug 9, 2009 17:42
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Clayton Bigsby posted:I've got to know: what 135 is that? It has a very very funky look. They're some really nice shots of your wrongly coloured North American pelicans, they should be black and white, not mottled.
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Aug 10, 2009 01:45
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Frinkahedron posted:This thread rules. I get about 13 different kinds of birds in my tiny city yard because of all the bushes and poo poo we've planted. If I ever get something other than a 50mm lens I'll try my hand at some pics.
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Aug 10, 2009 12:20
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TomR posted:I wish I didn't have the peanut butter in the shot, but hey, bluejays like the stuff. I don't shoot birds but if you had picked your spot first and then only coated the back-side of that branch that might have worked, no?
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Aug 10, 2009 16:42
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Yeah, that would have worked. I was really just fooling around on a Sunday morning. I did have some other things go wrong. Some wires in my release came apart, so I wasn't getting any of the shots I though I was for about 45min. The camera was too far away to hear over the birds in the tree. Anyway, I'm happy with the results and I'll try to find more places to do this.
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Aug 11, 2009 00:26
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Giving my new lens a try.
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Aug 11, 2009 06:15
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spray and pray worked out for me exactly one time when i first started shooting: this is probably the only good shot of a bird i'll ever take
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Aug 11, 2009 06:37
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Dread Head posted:Giving my new lens a try. This is a fabulous behavioral shot.
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Aug 11, 2009 16:41
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tiercel posted:This is a fabulous behavioral shot. Yeah he/she put on quite a show for me.
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Aug 11, 2009 17:09
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I'm awful at birds shots, but it is fun. Touching on what was already said, if you can't get long, show them doing something or the environment. All I had was a 70-200 lens. The rule I seem to have figured out: If you are miserable you're going to get some good shots. Birds don't usually like to sit in your backyard in the middle of the afternoon and do interesting things (though it happens). Mississippi River. Minneapolis, Minnesota. January 24th, 2008.  
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Aug 13, 2009 16:23
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Interrupting Moss posted:This is incredible, nice shot dude.
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Aug 13, 2009 16:43
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Interrupting Moss posted:Nicely done, looking for birds can be incredibly frustrating, yesterday I spent nearly 2 hours at a local bird sanctuary all I managed to find where a few Mallard ducks
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Aug 13, 2009 17:14
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I've shot a few birds, not recently though, i'd love to find out some bird locations etc. I noticed I shot a lot more birds when I was in England, which is strange because Australia has some amazing birds. These are all shot with Crop body + Sigma 70-300      I've been told that I shouldn't have cut off the tail on this one, but the tail is actually quite long and i dunno, the frame just felt better like this. I'll search my lightroom later for a frame with the tail in and post that. 
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Aug 13, 2009 17:58
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fenner posted: What does the parrot-thing look like with the tail?
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Aug 13, 2009 18:00
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After a visit to the local wildlife sanctuary, I must concur that 250mm is not quite enough for birds more than a few metres away. All the best photos I got were of birds and other animals in enclosures.  Taken with an EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 on an EOS 1000D.
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Aug 14, 2009 13:42
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Can't seem to get close enough to birds with my 55-250 but ducks don't seem to mind... Don't know where this guy is from because all I ever see are mallards around here  and his family...  Is it normal for strange white ducks to have yellow ducklings? Piggycow fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Aug 14, 2009 |
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Aug 14, 2009 23:37
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I went to the zoo, which is totally cheating Click here for the full 1382x922 image.  Click here for the full 1382x922 image.  Click here for the full 1382x922 image.  Click here for the full 1382x922 image.  Click here for the full 1382x922 image.  Click here for the full 1382x922 image. it's way overblown, but I love the kid's expression in the background  Click here for the full 898x921 image. and my personal favorite, disdainstork and his teddy bear  Click here for the full 1382x922 image.
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Aug 15, 2009 02:16
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Love these. Can't wait to get better equipment for this stuff. Best I've gotten so far:  Sat on the lawn chair on my porch and just zoomed all the way in and waited for this guy to show up. 
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Aug 17, 2009 20:27
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One from the weekend, not sure what it is.
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Aug 19, 2009 01:01
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The June 2009 issue of Wildlife in North Carolina has an article by Jared Lloyd on shooting flying birds. Most of it's already been covered or is probably obvious to the folks in this forum, but I thought I'd excerpt a few bits.Jared Lloyd posted:When given a choice, birds face the wind... Like with the sun, it is a good idea to keep the wind at your back when photographing birds. This way, the birds will be facing you as they take off or land...
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Aug 19, 2009 16:38
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Got a couple of good shots (I think...criticism is welcome and appreciated) of some birds at my feeder in my backyard. Female Cardinal   Finch...I think 
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