Doin the Baylands (cont)

Steve Cavigliano

Hello All,

As promised (or as threatened :lol) here are some additional pics to address some comments in the first thread.

I mentioned that the area was target rich and the main problem was picking which gorgeous bird to shoot. Nice problem, huh?....LOL

I count 7 Egrets in this tree (most of 5 bodies, one head and of course, one butt....lol)


Speaking of butts, no matter hard I try and with all these subjects in front of me, I still get butt shots :lol4



Or those "almost" shots. You know, those shots where you say to yourself, darn I wish I would have been a tenth of a second faster on the release? :rolleyes

Then you get a decent shot and all of the day's frustration is gone in a second :clap





That's what I love about this hobby/obsession. Your next pic always has a chance of being a masterpiece :

OK, and last but certainly not least, here is a pic of yesterday's shooting partner, Daniella with her DReb, 400mm F5.6 and Canon 1.4X TC.



LOL Not a very good pic, huh? :lol Now you see why I stick mainly to birds and sports:smile6


Thanks for taking the time to look,

Steve

jwear

really nice set you could have done better on that last one too much excitement ???? Jeff

Harryb

Hey Steve,

Some more nice shots. The eye on the night heron shot is amazing.
I'm beginning to think that bird butt shots is a way too under appreciated genre of wildlife shooting. Maybe we should have a bird butt fest after Egret Fest? I need something to do with my vast and ever growing collection of bird butt shots.

Shakey

Harryb wrote:

Hey Steve,

Some more nice shots. The eye on the night heron shot is amazing.
I'm beginning to think that bird butt shots is a way too under appreciated genre of wildlife shooting. Maybe we should have a bird butt fest after Egret Fest? I need something to do with my vast and ever growing collection of bird butt shots.

Harry we can call it The Glut of Butt!!


Oh yeah and Steve ,just more great shots. I sure do look forward to your posts.

Tim

gus

Mate so many of our birds are the same as your in the egret style. I am looking for birding spots in anticipation of getting some for you.

Yours are nice & sharp speshally that one in flight.

Steve Cavigliano

jwear wrote:

really nice set you could have done better on that last one too much excitement ???? Jeff

Jeff,
Well at least it wasn't a butt shot :lol It's close though....lol Well I normally shoot with guys so taking a pic of them is not big deal. But, I've taken enough shots of my Wife and girls to know that women can get really PO'd if you take a pic and they're not ready :uhoh So I did what I usually do with the women in my family, I shot Daniella when she wasn't looking

Thanks for looking Jeff,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

Harryb wrote:

Hey Steve,

Some more nice shots. The eye on the night heron shot is amazing.
I'm beginning to think that bird butt shots is a way too under appreciated genre of wildlife shooting. Maybe we should have a bird butt fest after Egret Fest? I need something to do with my vast and ever growing collection of bird butt shots.

Thanks Harry

Yeah, I agree. Bird/animal butt shots are way under appreciated. I mean what's so great about seeing a sharp eye in a pic? Gimme tailfeathers any day :lol I have a ton of them too We could probably create and fill a Bird Butt Forum.....lol The question is, would any one come to view them? :uhoh

Thanks again,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

Shakey wrote:

Harry we can call it The Glut of Butt!!


Oh yeah and Steve ,just more great shots. I sure do look forward to your posts.

Tim

@ GOB :lol

Thanks Tim

I appreciate you nice comments Looks like this forum is really picking up. I posted this 12 hours ago and it was already on page 2 Now if we could just get more of the lurkers to post, we'd be all set :

Thanks again for taking the time to comment,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

Humungus wrote:

Mate so many of our birds are the same as your in the egret style. I am looking for birding spots in anticipation of getting some for you.

Yours are nice & sharp speshally that one in flight.

Thanks Gus

If you don't see many Ozzie birds before you leave, I'm sure you'll see loads once you get here for the Yosemite get together If not, one of us will take you to a Preserve (most of them are within minutes of the 3 airports - SF, SJ, Oakland) before you fly back home :

Thanks again and I hope your 20D arrives early

Steve

DoctorIt

Speaking of butts, no matter hard I try and with all these subjects in front of me, I still get butt shots :lol4

you get your "ass-man" license plate yet?

great shots! I've never seen a tree covered in so many giant birds!! wow!

gus

Sorry steve but you see...im a bit of a closet birdman myself. Here is 2 our our 'winged rats' i got a while back. They are more common that flies around here but a lot noisier, They are realy really fast flyers & can go past you at head height at an easy 40 mph...you got to be carefull they dont go up your nose.

Very friendly though if youve got some seed.

Rainbow Lorikeets...

Steve Cavigliano

DoctorIt wrote:

you get your "ass-man" license plate yet?

great shots! I've never seen a tree covered in so many giant birds!! wow!

Doc,
Nope, no "ass-man" plates, but I do have a "Tight butts, drive me nuts" bumper sticker :lol4

Thanks for the kind words and yeah all those big birds trying to stake a claim to a nesting area is something to see. Man, and do they ever make alot of noise when they fight, Gwalk, gwalk, gwalkkk.....it sounds like they are gagging on marbles.....lol

Thanks for looking,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

Humungus wrote:

Sorry steve but you see...im a bit of a closet birdman myself. Here is 2 our our 'winged rats' i got a while back. They are more common that flies around here but a lot noisier, They are realy really fast flyers & can go past you at head height at an easy 40 mph...you got to be carefull they dont go up your nose.

Very friendly though if youve got some seed.

Rainbow Lorikeets...

Holy Cow Gus!!!

Those guys are FANTASTIC!!! Their colors are amazing :wow You don't have to be too clever to figure out why they have Rainbow in their name

They are bleedin' bee-you-tif-full If you've got these fellas in your yard, we're not going to be able to show you much on your visit. Well, unless we take you to a Pet Shop..... We've got nothing to compare

I can see what I would be using as test subjects if I were receiving my 20D on Monday You are getting a lens with it, aren't you? Even the kit lens(es) would do well with subjects this close.


Thanks for sharing these little beauties

Steve

ginger_55

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Hello All,

As promised (or as threatened :lol) here are some additional pics to address some comments in the first thread.

I mentioned that the area was target rich and the main problem was picking which gorgeous bird to shoot. Nice problem, huh?....

I count 7 Egrets in this tree (most of 5 bodies, one head and of course, one butt....lol)


Speaking of butts, no matter hard I try and with all these subjects in front of me, I still get butt shots :lol4



Or those "almost" shots. You know, those shots where you say to yourself, darn I wish I would have been a tenth of a second faster on the release?

Then you get a decent shot and all of the day's frustration is gone in a second





That's what I love about this hobby/obsession. Your next pic always has a chance of being a masterpiece :

OK, and last but certainly not least, here is a pic of yesterday's shooting partner, Daniella with her DReb, 400mm F5.6 and Canon 1.4X TC.



Not a very good pic, huh? :lol Now you see why I stick mainly to birds and sports


Thanks for taking the time to look,

Steve

Do you know what kind of monopod she is using?

I left the same question at her pbase site, but I need to know if I have the money for that and a backpack.

ginger (Did the monopod seem to help her? Was she swearing at it the whole time?)

gus

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Holy Cow Gus!!!

Those guys are FANTASTIC!!! Their colors are amazing :wow You don't have to be too clever to figure out why they have Rainbow in their name

They are bleedin' bee-you-tif-full If you've got these fellas in your yard, we're not going to be able to show you much on your visit. Well, unless we take you to a Pet Shop..... We've got nothing to compare

I can see what I would be using as test subjects if I were receiving my 20D on Monday You are getting a lens with it, aren't you? Even the kit lens(es) would do well with subjects this close.


Thanks for sharing these little beauties

Steve

Ta mate...they are too easy to get.

They are sort of 'untouchable' in PS as they are over-saturated to begin with. I did get the kit lens with the 20D & am of to one of our local islands over easter hopefully but it aint no telephoto.

If you feed them long enough they will sit on your hand but man are their claws sharp !

He did get on my hand but i missed the shot

Steve Cavigliano

ginger_55 wrote:

Do you know what kind of monopod she is using?

I left the same question at her pbase site, but I need to know if I have the money for that and a backpack.

ginger (Did the monopod seem to help her? Was she swearing at it the whole time?)

Ginger,
Sorry, I didn't look that closely at her monopod. Although once she turned quickly and whacked me with it by accident.... As I mentioned, she was using the 400 F5.6L and a Canon 1.4X converter. So her FOV was around 900mm's. That's really long for handholding, so she used the monopod alot. Nope, no swearing, but it looks like she's used it many times and is very comfortable with it.

I should probably be using a mono/tripod with the Bigma too. I do get lots of nice images handheld, but I also lose a good number because of minor, camera shake. Especially, in flight shots.

Steve

Shakey

Humungus wrote:

Sorry steve but you see...im a bit of a closet birdman myself. Here is 2 our our 'winged rats' i got a while back. They are more common that flies around here but a lot noisier, They are realy really fast flyers & can go past you at head height at an easy 40 mph...you got to be carefull they dont go up your nose.

Very friendly though if youve got some seed.

Rainbow Lorikeets...

Amazing colors on those birds Gus!I was lloking at my bowl of fruit loops and wow it's got nothing on your birds.

With the right background those would make a for a wicked shoot .

Thanks for posting these


Tim

Daniella

monopod

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

Ginger,
Sorry, I didn't look that closely at her monopod. Although once she turned quickly and whacked me with it by accident.... As I mentioned, she was using the 400 F5.6L and a Canon 1.4X converter. So her FOV was around 900mm's. That's really long for handholding, so she used the monopod alot. Nope, no swearing, but it looks like she's used it many times and is very comfortable with it.

I should probably be using a mono/tripod with the Bigma too. I do get lots of nice images handheld, but I also lose a good number because of minor, camera shake. Especially, in flight shots.

Steve

Hi Steve.. the monopod I use is the cheapo that Wolf Camera sell for 19$. not super stable but light and portable. the backpack is a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200, perfect for a woman with a 400mm F5.6, a Tamron 1.4x tc and the 300d. It fits too thight with the 400mm, TC and 20d though but with the 300d it's perfect adn with the XT it will be just right too.

The last photo is huuu wierd...does my but really look like that? I will never wear those pants again! ! good thing I did not wear my jeans full or holes..when I go birding I don't care about make-up, hair or being full of mud (which I usualy come home covered with )

I like your shot of the night heron, superb! You should use a monopod with your Bigma. If we meet again I can show you how I use it to help handholding for birds in flight. I think it help but maybe you will not like it. the monopod is vere useful for handholding with the 2x tc especialy..since that is 800mm with the 2x tc!

On that photo there was no TC attached to my lens. my TC is black. So on your photo my lens is alone. It is very close to the length of the Bigma when fully extended, just lighter.

Andy

Daniella wrote:

Hi Steve.. the monopod I use is the cheapo that Wolf Camera sell for 19$. not super stable but light and portable. the backpack is a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200, perfect for a woman with a 400mm F5.6, a Tamron 1.4x tc and the 300d. It fits too thight with the 400mm, TC and 20d though but with the 300d it's perfect adn with the XT it will be just right too.

The last photo is huuu wierd...does my but really look like that? I will never wear those pants again! ! good thing I did not wear my jeans full or holes..when I go birding I don't care about make-up, hair or being full of mud (which I usualy come home covered with )

I like your shot of the night heron, superb! You should use a monopod with your Bigma. If we meet again I can show you how I use it to help handholding for birds in flight. I think it help but maybe you will not like it. the monopod is vere useful for handholding with the 2x tc especialy..since that is 800mm with the 2x tc!

On that photo there was no TC attached to my lens. my TC is black. So on your photo my lens is alone. It is very close to the length of the Bigma when fully extended, just lighter.

daniella, welcome to dgrin. it's been fun to hear steve's encounter with you i hope you'll stick around here and contribute your fine photography, and knowledge.

ginger_55

Daniella, I would love to know how you use a monopod for a bird in flight.

I have enough trouble aiming UP, well not trouble, but I can't imagine what I would be doing with the monopod that is supposed to be stable on the ground
when my natural instinct is to point the camera to the sky.

The few times I used the tripod I ended up picking it all up for a few things. So if you get a chance, I would love to hear about the monopod and birds in flight.

This whole monopod thing is going to be new to me.

Thanks for the info, and welcome to dGrin.

ginger

Steve Cavigliano

Daniella wrote:

Hi Steve.. the monopod I use is the cheapo that Wolf Camera sell for 19$. not super stable but light and portable. the backpack is a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200, perfect for a woman with a 400mm F5.6, a Tamron 1.4x tc and the 300d. It fits too thight with the 400mm, TC and 20d though but with the 300d it's perfect adn with the XT it will be just right too.

The last photo is huuu wierd...does my but really look like that? I will never wear those pants again! ! good thing I did not wear my jeans full or holes..when I go birding I don't care about make-up, hair or being full of mud (which I usualy come home covered with )

I like your shot of the night heron, superb! You should use a monopod with your Bigma. If we meet again I can show you how I use it to help handholding for birds in flight. I think it help but maybe you will not like it. the monopod is vere useful for handholding with the 2x tc especialy..since that is 800mm with the 2x tc!

On that photo there was no TC attached to my lens. my TC is black. So on your photo my lens is alone. It is very close to the length of the Bigma when fully extended, just lighter.

Hiya Daniella and welcome to Dgrin

As Andy says, I hope you become a regular here. You have so much knowledge to share and if you read both of these "Baylands" threads, you will see how highly the folks here, including myself, regard your work

@ your reaction to your pic. I snapped off a candid and debated whether you'd mind me posting it. You don't look bad at all. I'm sure the Egrets/Herons didn't mind you not being made up or wearing your Sunday best....lol You looked like a serious photographer should. If you read Part 1, I describe you as a slight young woman

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=8136&page=1

The only big butt out there that day was mine

Thanks for posting the info on your tripod and bag. I'm sure some of our other female shooters appreciate it Also, thank you for the nice comment on the Night Heron. Those were some of the last shots I got that day, when the wind kicked up. Unfortunately, the Harrier shots didn't come out all that well I don't get much panning overhead practice and it showed on these pics. One is OK (not too soft) , but the others have blur due to lousy panning and/or shake. So your suggestion about using a monopod with the Bigma is a good one. I don't think I'll mind using a monopod. I've always meant to pick one up, but never got around to it. I agree that it should increase my hit rate :

My mistake about you having the 1.4X TC attached, in that pic. Now that you mention it, you have said that you have a cheapo Tamron. I have that one too, it's not bad at all for the price But, then again, I also remember you posting something about taping pins. Maybe you were just trying to help someone out, even though you didn't have the Canon TC.

Anyhow, it was very nice to see you here and thanks for clearing up all of this old man's misinformation.......lol

Steve

Daniella

ginger_55 wrote:

I have enough trouble aiming UP, well not trouble, but I can't imagine what I would be doing with the monopod that is supposed to be stable on the ground
when my natural instinct is to point the camera to the sky.

The few times I used the tripod I ended up picking it all up for a few things. So if you get a chance, I would love to hear about the monopod and birds in flight.

This whole monopod thing is going to be new to me.

Thanks for the info, and welcome to dGrin.

ginger

I do pick up the whole thing for tracking the birds in flight but it give me more stability still because it's easier to hold the heavy lens with the monopod than to have my left arm elevated in the air for a long period of time. I just use the monopod to "push" the lens up as an extension of my left arm and so I don't have to hold the lens high up in the air with my arm but rather hold the monopod at a comfortable hight. I also rest the monopod on the left side of my waist line so that give a bit more stability. the shake is really more prominant if you are tired and after a while holding a lens can make your arms tired. that really help me.

Steve, what hapened to the harrier pics? I had some good ones and I thought you had too? In any case I have seen the female harriers hover around the roockery trees and she seems to be doing it on regular basis..so you will have more chances at it

here is one, I think from that day:

http://www.pbase.com/zylen/image/40871403

ian408

Welcome to the forum Daniella!

The only thing you need to be aware of when pushing the 'pod up is
having enough room to swing around and not clip anything or anyone

I very frequently pickup the whole rig like that. But I also do not use a
ball head so the arc I swing is likely to be wide.

Cheers,
Ian

Andy

daniella, steve is famous for butt shots....

Daniella wrote:

The last photo is huuu wierd...does my but really look like that? I will never wear those pants again!

all i can say is you look great. at least he didn't do *this* to you

Daniella

ian408 wrote:

Welcome to the forum Daniella!

The only thing you need to be aware of when pushing the 'pod up is
having enough room to swing around and not clip anything or anyone

I very frequently pickup the whole rig like that. But I also do not use a
ball head so the arc I swing is likely to be wide.

Cheers,
Ian

yes oppsss that was ambarrassing :uhoh I usualy be very careful not to knock anyone with my gear I usualy don't have any one around either so not get used to birding with someone since my boyfriend is not really interested.

with the ball head you can actualy loosen up the grip a bit and that really give you like an extension of your arm to work the lens around really high up.

Andy, I just saw the pictures. ! I guess you return home as muddy as I do!

Andy

Daniella wrote:

Andy, I just saw the pictures. ! I guess you return home as muddy as I do!

occasionally

steve likes to make fun of me becuase he can't jump as high or far as me

Steve Cavigliano

Daniella wrote:

Steve, what hapened to the harrier pics? I had some good ones and I thought you had too? In any case I have seen the female harriers hover around the roockery trees and she seems to be doing it on regular basis..so you will have more chances at it

here is one, I think from that day:

http://www.pbase.com/zylen/image/40871403

Daniella,
One came out decently, if a stop too UE, but the rest were too soft. As I mention above, I don't get much experience panning over my head, and the rest of the shots show it. Plus, just between you and me, I have heard you mention more than once how you use OneShot, so I was trying it too, but my heavy finger didn't lift off the release enough to refocus I usually use AI Servo.

Anyhow, your shot came out extremely well Now all you have to do is get one just as nice of the Male.....lol


Steve