Goldfinch's

Cracker

Lately I've been enjoying having a growing number of goldfinches in my backyard, but keeping the seed sock full gets pricey.

This guy is the alpha male, at least he thinks so.





I find the females to be much less wary, and more fun to watch,






Elegant, graceful and delicate as well as tough, spirited and territorial,






I hope they stay around all winter!

Graham

raptorcaptor

Cool shots Graham! It helps when they come to you!

Cracker

Thanks Glenn, I'm lucky to get one sharp image out of 300. For the flight shots I set up a couple of reflectors, set my camera and 300 f/4 on a tripod with a sidekick, meter and pre-focus on my hand, where I expect the bird to be, and then I move back about 40 feet and use a wireless trigger. I'd rather be looking through the lens than guessing, but I'm happy to have these shots. And I'm having fun with it.

Graham

leaforte

Shots to be proud of.

Giphsub

Beautiful shots indeed. Well done

riddim_maker

Awesome captures there Graham
I've seen these little guys in action,
tough to get them to stay still for a second, but you did very well

Cracker

Thank you leaforte, Mike and Russ,

I am happy with these captures, but I really get a bigger thrill shooting the larger birds at the Sepulveda basin handholding my camera when compared to holding a wireless remote. With the cold winds blowing at the lake this time of year I'm sure I'll be setting up the reflectors and camera again in my backyard for the finch's. They really are gorgeous and facinating subjects to photograph.

Graham

dallas

Excellent Graham, and you have described my backyard to a tee; seed socks, Finches, reflectors, remote control, tripod, sidekick, and even the D200 w/300 f4. The only difference is that you have great shots of those fast moving little guys. I found it difficult to get a sharp image of them, but you have done very well.

Cracker

Hi Willaim, thank you very much. I'm curious, do you use flash while shooting finch's?

I managed to get the first flight photo above, of the male in flight, handholding my camera, but it didn't feel comfortably balanced in hand due to placing the flash off center using Wimberly brackets. I really got lucky with that first shot, assumed the finch's would be easy, but later gave up after well over 1,000 missed shots. I much prefer non-flash lighting on the Finch's but I think I need to learn how to best dial in the fill to somehow reduce the flash lighting while at the same time achieve the flash's ability to freeze motion. I am finally beginning to feel that I have learned enough to feel confident controlling my camera, but flash lighting is a subject that I have much to learn and practice.

Graham

Harryb

Outstanding shots Graham.

Cracker

Thank you Harry

Graham

dallas

Cracker wrote:

Hi Willaim, thank you very much. I'm curious, do you use flash while shooting finch's?

I managed to get the first flight photo above, of the male in flight, handholding my camera, but it didn't feel comfortably balanced in hand due to placing the flash off center using Wimberly brackets. I really got lucky with that first shot, assumed the finch's would be easy, but later gave up after well over 1,000 missed shots. I much prefer non-flash lighting on the Finch's but I think I need to learn how to best dial in the fill to somehow reduce the flash lighting while at the same time achieve the flash's ability to freeze motion. I am finally beginning to feel that I have learned enough to feel confident controlling my camera, but flash lighting is a subject that I have much to learn and practice.

Graham

I have tried using the flash, but find it scares the birds away, and doesn't give me that much advantage. With the home made reflectors, and the ability to get very close I get some good images with the 300. I get up very close with my camera on a tripod, sit in a chair, and relax. After awhile they return beause they like the seed more than enough to overcome their fear of me. Now I can shoot my 1000's of shots hoping to get one good image. Another trick that seems to work is putting a towel over the camera and lens, which will reduce the shutter sound, but also hide any small movements I make. Learning the flash is also something I must do, but at this point I'm not doing so well. You're probably as busy with the Hoilday's as myself, but let's find some time soon to work on the flash business.

BigAl

raptorcaptor wrote:

Cool shots Graham! It helps when they come to you!

I really like the first and the last

dbaker1221

fantastic shooting

Cracker

Thank you BigAl and Dave, I have a big smile today, thanks again.

William, thank you for your great and helpful tips, using a towel is a brilliant idea. Things are rather hectic here this time of year, and when I saw the warmly lit clouds this morning I wished I could have gone to the lake for some bird action. I'm very much looking forward to shooting with you again soon, very soon.

Cheers,
Graham