Birds of New Zealand

kurzvorzwoelf

Now for something completely different from what I usually shoot! My significant other and I were spending a couple of weeks in New Zealand over the winter time 2019/2020.

I knew I would regret going on that trip without a telephoto lens, so I looted my savings to buy the Olympus 40-150 2.8 Pro Lens along with the 1.4 tele converter to stick it on my EM-1 Mark2, and damn, that was a good decision. Even being a little bulky in M43 terms, it is so well balanced and a pleasure to carry around ready to shoot in my hand with a wrist strap - even on longer hikes. I think the combination of reach (420mm in FF terms) and picture quality in such a package (about 1.5kg in total with camera) was worth the big bucks I had to spend. I just wish I had bought it a little earlier to get used to shooting with a tele lens - I found it to be quite different and challenging at times. Getting the focus right is a whole different beast from my wide or normal view lenses, and I learned about the effect of haze in the atmosphere the hard way.

Anyway, despite a lot of shots that turned out not as I wanted them to be, I managed to get a few almost decent ones and I want to share my first steps into bird photography with you folks:

1 - New Zealand Tui, sitting on a branch

2 - New Zealand Tui, getting Dinner - Usually, these birds appear very dark, almost black. But the evening sun made its feathers shine in a beautiful blue.

3 - Little Shag, posing on a rock

4 - Pied Shag, on his nest

5 - Pied Shag, enjoying the late afternoon sun (didn't get the focus 100% right on this one unfortunately)

6 - Family of Variable Oystercatchers at the beach

7 - New Zealand Kaka, feeding. Taken at the Zealandia Bird Sanctuary in Wellington, this is why it's ringed

8 - New Zealand Kaka, photobombing the frame

9 - Silvereye, feeding on Dill

10 - Fantail chicks, waiting to get fed

11 - They didn't have to wait for long

12 - Feeding time

13 - Everyone gets some

We also did a trip to visit a colony of Australian Gannets, where I captured some in-flight pics. But those I will share in a different post!

Lab_Tested

2 and #9 are my favorites, but they're all nice. We were on the south island 12 years ago, in the before times when I didn't have a telephoto lens and was shooting film. I'd love to go back and revisit.

kurzvorzwoelf

Thanks for your feedback, @Lab_Tested - yeah, NZ is spectacular. Hope you'll get the chance for another visit! The north island has quite some beautiful spots as well.

sarasphotos

I liked many of them, but I'm with @Lab_Tested - 2 & 9 are my favorites as well for the combination of good timing and nice framing.

Stumblebum

Second one is great! I would do all I can to get rid of that distracting dark element in bottom left corner. I think tad cropping and cloning can take it out.