The birds they mock me

[DibblyDobbler]

2slo said:

A Wren I think, and a nice shot of it too.

Ta

Rounded a corner a minute or two later to see a sparrow perched on a fence post about 15 feet away - perfect! Lifted my camera up to my eye - and yes you guessed it he scarpered. I plod off muttering 'Too Slow'

[clarkmagpie]

No affiliation to the artist but saw his work at the weekend and thought it was terrific, especially the kingfisher shot.
www.desong.co.uk/
Some other great bird photos on there as well.
Hope you enjoy having a look...

[2slo]

DibblyDobbler said:

...I plod off muttering 'Too Slow'

If you'd said it 3 times I would have appeared as if by magic and berated you for that

[DibblyDobbler]

2slo said:

DibblyDobbler said:

...I plod off muttering 'Too Slow'

If you'd said it 3 times I would have appeared as if by magic and berated you for that

I'll remember that for next time!

[DibblyDobbler]

A rather scruffy looking wagtail with his dinner



Wagtail by Dibbly Dobbler, on Flickr

[central]

2slo said:

A Wren I think, and a nice shot of it too.

[2slo]

The pecking order by 2slo7, on Flickr


Sunbathing by 2slo7, on Flickr

Edited by 2slo on Thursday 3rd July 16:26

[outnumbered]

2slo said:

The pecking order by 2slo7, on Flickr

Edited by 2slo on Thursday 3rd July 16:26

I love this one.

[2slo]

Thanks

[ExPat2B]

outnumbered said:

2slo said:

The pecking order by 2slo7, on Flickr

Edited by 2slo on Thursday 3rd July 16:26

I love this one.

I recently tried to take a shot very much like this. To say it was bstard hard to get a focal place that had both in focus at the same time would be an understatement. Well done !

[2slo]

ExPat2B said:

I recently tried to take a shot very much like this. To say it was bstard hard to get a focal place that had both in focus at the same time would be an understatement. Well done !

Thanks. Several options with these type of shots. I used a wide aperture of f/4 which gives a nice blurred BG but, as you say, means the DoF is small to get both subjects in focus. I got lucky here. Another alternative would be a narrower aperture but then a higher ISO would be needed to balance the exposure hence more noise. It is of course possible to use the latter and then blur the BG in pp but I never find that looks natural.

[2slo]

Chaffinch by 2slo7, on Flickr

[johnster1991]

Resting place by JohnStorr, on Flickr

[Morbid]

Some absolutely amazing shots in this thread. Sorry to bring the average down!

Cygnet

IMG_2361 edit by [e-mail], on Flickr

Coot chick with mum

IMG_3092 edit by [e-mail], on Flickr

Duck

IMG_3629 edit by [e-mail], on Flickr

This telephoto malarky is way harder than it looks! C&C welcome. BTW does a tripod help with getting really sharp images?

Edited by Morbid on Tuesday 8th July 21:57

[2slo]

I like your Coot shot, a tricky bird to get the exposure correct on and one which I would try to use spot metering on the brightest part (the beak) raise that say 1/3 of of a stop knowing that you'll still have detail in the highlights which you can lower in pp. Raise the shadow detail on the black feathers and you should get it about right, e.g.(click for larger):



A tripod definitely helps in certain circumstances and if you're using a long lens for any length of time you'll need one. Image stabilisation is helpful too allowing lower shutter speeds than you'd get away with without it. Good handholding technique counts for a lot though.


A quick shot I grabbed today as a GSW flew past me in the woods:

Great spotted Woodpecker by 2slo7, on Flickr

[Morbid]

Thanks Mr Slo!

Will grab the tripod next time and see if it helps matters. Thanks also for the exposure tip - will give that a try too. Having said that, your shot of the GSW...well...makes us mere mortals think about giving up and trying something else instead!!

[jon-]

[shortar53]

[Derek Smith]

Can I mention how impressed I am by the images on this thread. I'm sure there must be hundreds like me who merely come to gaze in awe.

Thanks guys. Keep them coming.

[ExPat2B]

Sparrow by natureiser, on Flickr

Robin_Half_Way_Coat by natureiser, on Flickr

First two birds caught with the new lens.