In The Pond

raian

We have resident Canadian Geese that live here all year long. Here are two pics I shot this morning. I'm trying to not "center" my shots. Also, I need to learn more about white balance and how to fix/control it. Any pointers in that area appreciated. I have the Nikon D50.. not sure I can set WB on it (haven't gotten that far in the manual yet)

Also, to Harryb and all others who shoot birds, I give you KUDOS on a job well done. I've tried to get the mourning doves that frequent my feeder and they fly as soon as I start toward them. Guess I'll have to save $$$ for a long lense

bfjr

Kudos ah Gee just send money !!

Nice job on the Geese, a tad hot on my monitor

All I can say is save save for long glass and shoot shoot shoot

ebwest

Are you talking about white balance as it relates to color temp or controlling the blown out white colors in the shot?

Most of the time in daylight the auto white balance should work OK. As far as the whites being blown out, I had asked the same question in this string http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=23875 and, as you can see, Harryb gave me a good answer.

Hope this helps.

raian

Thanks for the info E.B. I read the post. Um... it was a bit technical for me... but I'll go back over it and see what I can make stick on my brain cells

Ric Grupe

Geese are not easy!

The first shot ain't bad.

The best shots I have of geese are early light. I wouldn't worry too much about white balance until you are sure of yourself in proper exposure. There is a lot to learn....so take it one step at a time.....cause and effect.

The water won't cause as much glare in lower light. Here's one from last year when all I did on purpose was shoot early in the morning.



The yellow light gives it a pleasing warmth. I think.

raian

Thanks for the tip, Ric. How early is early??? I'm not a morning person (as I work nights) but will attempt a early rise at least once to catch some more geese.

Ric Grupe

raian wrote:

Thanks for the tip, Ric. How early is early??? I'm not a morning person (as I work nights) but will attempt a early rise at least once to catch some more geese.

After eight is too late!

Harryb

Well composed shots with some nice detail in them. They are a tad overexposed though. I'm not going to bog you down with some tech talk. What you need to do is just get out there and shoot. Experience is the best teacher. Try different settings and see what works for ya.

Read the manual and if you can afford it get Thom Hogan's e-book on the D50. http://bythom.com/d50guide.htm

Everytime I get a Nikon camera I get Thom's e-book for it. They have been a tremendous help. What lenses are you using now?

raian

Harryb, thanks so much for the link to the ebook.. I definitely will be checking that out. I did print off Ken Rockwell's info on the D50 to learn the basic functions, etc...

I'm using the 18-55 lense that came with it. And that's all I'll be using for a while as I shot my wad on the camera and a new computer. I am hoping to be a "good girl" so Santa will bring me a longer lense. A friend suggested the 70-300.