Ooycz #5 Feathered friends
Alans Grin
Registered Users Posts: 346 Major grins
Spring has started to happen here in the French Alps, so two days ago I thought I'd try again to photograph a bird I've had little success with - a Dipper. They are very shy and hard to photograph.
Alas after several hours sitting by the river - no luck!
However I took some photos of a Pied Wagtail which although not great quality I find fun. so I thought I'd share them.
I thought I'd combine them into a single image.
As said, the quality is not great and I had to work the post development quite hard in Lightroom to get the lighting right - but just a bit of fun!
Harsh full on sunshine with black and white birds is never easy exposure wise.
Alan.
Camera Canon EOS 7D
ISO 250
Focal Length 500mm (800mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/4
Exposure Time 0.0004s (1/2500)
Alas after several hours sitting by the river - no luck!
However I took some photos of a Pied Wagtail which although not great quality I find fun. so I thought I'd share them.
I thought I'd combine them into a single image.
As said, the quality is not great and I had to work the post development quite hard in Lightroom to get the lighting right - but just a bit of fun!
Harsh full on sunshine with black and white birds is never easy exposure wise.
Alan.
Camera Canon EOS 7D
ISO 250
Focal Length 500mm (800mm in 35mm)
Aperture f/4
Exposure Time 0.0004s (1/2500)
0
Comments
Thanks Joyce,
Yup these little ones are quick and never seem to stand still!
Alan.
Nice captures. Hope you get some good photos of a Dipper soon!
My SmugMug Galleries
If I put one through to the next phase I think it will be the triple composition ... I did get some quality static shots of this bird, but as said - its just a bit of fun.
Alan.
PS - I'm driving back to the UK tomorrow for a while and so I'm not sure I'll get Dipper opportunities for a while.
I'm wondering a bit about the setup, as I suspect this wasn't h.held
Of the the shots, I prefer the first, probably for 'traditional' reasons ... ie more frame in front of subject than behind, wings visible, tail down (could almost be a navy a/c with hook) ... general composition overall.
Am afraid that the combo shot doesn't do much for me - unsure why specifically, but probably due to the nature of overlap between rhs pic and middle one ... especially the way the rhs bird's tail blends in with middle's ... and the bit of foot obscuring, too.
Complete separation between images seems to work best on the combos I've seen in the past.
Whilst you've done well re exposure / lighting with such a subject (I usually give up and go home
pp
Flickr
Many thanks for your very kind words Paul. You are correct, it was not quite hand held... I started off sat down with a tripod and Wimberley but that proved impractical, I was after Dippers and they are really fast, shy and very difficult to hide from and they tend to fly straight through if they see you or a change in the environment (a bit like UK Kingfishers)... even on a Wimberley it was too slow so I switched to a monopod sitting down which I find gives faster angle of coverage in these situations. These shots were taken on a monopod.
For interest the location was just up stream from this shooting position and under a tree for a bit of cover (but alas, not enough for Dippers!). Coverage is a little sparse, as you can see "Spring" is only just springing!
Yes I agree, as a straight BIF shot I would prefer this and as you say it does illustrate the use of all the feathers and the tail to do a stall stop. However, overall I feel each of these shots are not perfect quality so I'm just trying to have fun here by combining into a "story" which I think adds value if not quality. For me, sometimes the story in an image out ways the quality or compositional perfection. I did actually manage to get some static quality shots of this bird so I'm still happy and stress again, I'm just having fun.
I partially agree, because you are right ... it is the end result that counts not the difficulty, but even at the 8 frames/sec on a 7D you get what you get with the speed of these birds. I still find it interesting and fun to illustrate the landing technique, but in essence you are absolutely right ... proper separation of the stages could have created a proper quality shot ... that and a bit more sharpness and not blowing out the whites as I did on this strong sunlight day. - Grateful for that though ... it is cold sitting next to a glacial melt river! Nevertheless, I'm not trying to win any awards here ... just having a little fun.
Perhaps, but in truth the exposure is blown ... I worked hard to recover it as best I could and maybe did not do a bad job. However, I'm not sure I agree with the bg (background) comment. I think it is sufficiently thrown out of DOF to not distract, it adds some emphasis to the sharpness of the bird (albeit somewhat less than ideal) but also still generally adds to the environmental context. My personal take, but I respect your view.
Anyway ... as said ... just having a bit of fun with this and I think in some way it still illustrates or tells a story.
Alan.
PS - Much respect, and I really appreciate the feedback and also I really like your shots ... you should put something through. The Mallard flying cross frame for example.
PPS - (Not aimed at you Paul - generic) I'm not trying to win anything, I'm trying to share something ... or perhaps, maybe, at least my passion for something!
.
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“PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE ‘JAZZ’ FOR THE EYES…”
http://jwear.smugmug.com/
Even if I coughed up 250 quid for a day here, I'd probably get nowt other than stiff joints / sore bum ...
http://www.naturephotographyhides.co.uk/pages/guided-workshops/diving-kingfisher-workshop.php
Backgrounds - I fully accept I have a particular blind spot on the subject - it wasn't so much the dof aspect as the 'spottiness' ; dark / light high contrast edges which, even tho' oof create an eye 'pull' ... if those transitions / boundaries weren't there, it's probable I wouldn't have commented on the bg in the first place.
I obviously accept / realise you had to deal with the light you had - so not easy.
Re the ooycz - I misjudged the timescale - the latter stages overlap with stuff I need to do IRL and at some stage I'll be away from a comp for a while ... whilst in a dire emergency I could be writing this on my phone, yakking about groups of coloured pixels doesn't fit that need
If the overall 'mission statement' for the ooycz is to get ppl commenting on pics - and maybe giving tips etc - then hopefully there's been something in my contribution that fits that remit.
pp
Edit
Re 'fun' ... meant to add that yes, i also indulge, when other stuff's not happening or if something takes my eye / feel the need to just take a shot to show mrs pp. Occasionally they even end up half decent (to me) - like the heron pano shot on my site - I just had a vision of the male being kicked out to get nesting material, and it being overwhelmed by the choice available at the local branch (sorry) of 'nest materials R us' ... light was nice, so just went for it.
Flickr
Alan, one of the things I found helpful in your posts is the camera settings you used for these shots. I tend to shy away from the wider apertures - for fear of not getting my subject in clear focus - unless I am photographing flowers or something, and your shots helped me revisit aperture when photographing birds.... We are heading to Kenya this summer and will have a couple of days in Masai Mara so I've been giving all of this some careful thought as I've no idea whether I will have another opportunity to try to capture shots of a lilac breasted roller, etc. Thank you.
The shots themselves were also great, of course!
My SmugMug Galleries
Last time I was there (and Tanzania) I took quite a few shots with the sole purpose of producing a Slideshow of Tips (of which I have many) for photographers who have not been to Africa before - I must get round to doing that.
I love the Lilac Breasted (and Eurasian) Rollers ...
<TABLE id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1370 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=4 border=0> <TBODY id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1369> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1387> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1386 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Camera</TD> <TD class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">Canon EOS 7D</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1384> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1385 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">ISO</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1383 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">100</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1382> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1390 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Focal Length</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1381 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">500mm (800mm in 35mm)</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1380> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1391 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Aperture</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1379 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">f/4</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1378> <TD class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Exposure Time</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384281394_1377 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">0.0005s (1/2000)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1370 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=4 border=0> <TBODY id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1369> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1381> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1380 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Camera</TD> <TD class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">Canon EOS 7D</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1379> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1378 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">ISO</TD> <TD class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">100</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1377> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1376 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Focal Length</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1384 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">500mm (800mm in 35mm)</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1375> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1374 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Aperture</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1385 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">f/4</TD></TR> <TR id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1368> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1373 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-label">Exposure Time</TD> <TD id=yui_3_8_0_1_1398384442815_1367 class="sm-text-mini sm-imageinfo-value sm-emphasized">0.001s (1/1000)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Most of the time I simply shoot at f4 to give the maximum shutter speed - although theoretically for my Lens (500mm) / Camera I only need 1/750th to take out camera shake on static subjects, you are often sharing a safari vehicle with other very excited people jumping up and down! But at 500mm and minimal DOF, as you say, you do need to nail the focusing.
For deliberate Birds in Flight shots, I'll chose a suitable fast shutter speed and also have Auto ISO switched on usually capped to ISO 400 on my 7D because I don't like the noise (compared to my 5D II) - but depends on the ambient conditions. The flying Roller in the above shot simply popped up unannounced from the grass with no warning hence a slower shutter than I would normally choose. I would have traded some ISO for a bit more shutter speed - but fortunately my panning was not too bad.
The above is just my take, and I'm certainly no expert!
Have fun
Alan.