I'm not reall a bird person but...

SnapTheFrog

I'm learning to be a Nikon D80 person. There's a local wild life reserve that's mostly birds and weeds. I'm trying to learn my around my new D80 and having a challenging time of it.
I took these shots, all except the duck, at a long ways away so they're not very sharp.

Unlike others who say the D80 tends to overexpose, I'm finding the opposite. Then again I'm very VERY new to using a dslr so it could be me.

For what it's worth, enjoy everyone.










Sorry for the amature quality. With help from better photographers here I hope to get better.

traunerk

not a bad start at all...
You obviously have a place with good raw material. That's the first requirement.

For starters, birds in motion tend to move fast, so you need a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. So you might consider using aperture priority with your lens opened wide, and an ISO high enough to get pretty high shutter speeds - that cormorant could probably have been frozen at 1/250 to 1/400 of a second, but ducks and small birds in flight can really motor and require faster speeds. I'm sure you'll get plenty of other advice about handholding etc, but i expect to see you back here with more - and better - each time you have another "practice" session.:D

Regards...Keith



Sorry for the amature quality. With help from better photographers here I hope to get better.[/quote]

SnapTheFrog

traunerk wrote:

So you might consider using aperture priority with your lens opened wide, and an ISO high enough to get pretty high shutter speeds

[/quote]

Now that you mention it, it seems so obvious.
Thanks.

Holding the camera? I thought there was just the just the couple I've used. If there's more then I'm all ears.

Dick on Aruba

The D80 is a great camera that can handle any job. Practice is the key to success!
You did not so bad with these captures.
Lurking around on this forum will teach and motivate anyone who are interested in nature.

Welcome to Nature & Wildlife!

Thanks for sharing.

Dick.

SnapTheFrog

Dick on Aruba wrote:

The D80 is a great camera that can handle any job. Practice is the key to success!
You did not so bad with these captures.
Lurking around on this forum will teach and motivate anyone who are interested in nature.

Welcome to Nature & Wildlife!

Thanks for sharing.

Dick.

Thanks man. I like photographing just about anything. Finding something that 's worth-while and not done to death is as challenging as learning the camera.

dbaker1221

your off to a good start!

dallas

Looks like the Sepulveda Basin, in which case, you'll find some more intresting subjects. Good shots though.