Show your Bird Portraits

[martinslade]

Hi Martin.
Nice shots, great expressions.
I often get the impression that they are thinking "I wonder if that big eye staring at me is friendly? Oh well better leave just in case it is foe!" Right before they disappear leaving me with a shot of an empty space where once was a bird.

Cheers, Graham.

I wonder what the're thinking..?

Very funny and how true..!

 

[GuyF]

I wonder what the're thinking..?

Two options - does it want to eat me or mate with me?

 

[Click]

I wonder what the're thinking..?

I don't know...But I really like those pictures.

 

[Don Haines]

I wonder what the're thinking..?

They are both nice, but the first one is REALLY nice.... great shots!

 

[ERHP]

Calliope Hummingbird taking off after a nectar stealing Rufous Hummingbird. First trip to the local mountains with the new toy.

Lovely shot, ERHP. Well done.

New toy appears to be doing the job.

Jack

Thanks Mikehit, Click and Jack! Definitely not complaining about the camera , just my lack of time to actually use it.

 

[Khufu]

I wonder what the're thinking..?

GOLDCREST!
The teeny-tiniest birds we get here in Britain... Where are you, Sir? Lovely shots, loving the Blue Tit too. They're amazing to watch, acrobatic little guys, they are!

 

[candyman]

Three birds enjoying the sunny weather
5D MKIII and 100-400 II

f7.1


Just came across this article: http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/4/20160113

 

[Click]

Beautiful series, candyman. Nicely done.

 

[candyman]

Beautiful series, candyman. Nicely done.

Thank you

 

[David Perrin]

Here is a little Chaffinch sequence

 

[Click]

Here is a little Chaffinch sequence

Very nice shots, David.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Three birds enjoying the sunny weather
5D MKIII and 100-400 II

f7.1


Just came across this article: http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/4/20160113

Good read, thanks.

Jack

 

[David Perrin]

Thanks Click much appreciated.

David

 

[dcm]

Ducks visit my backyard pond every year for several weeks. Have photographed them in the past with 550D and 6D. This year the 1DX2 arrived in time to use them as my first test subjects - quite pleased with it, particularly the AF system. Still a lot to learn about the camera, but initial results are quite promising. The ducks seemed to be okay with the loud/fast shutter, which was probably less annoying to them than my 4 year old granddaughter playing in the yard. Taken on my deck from distance of around 30 ft, +/- 10 ft, using 100-400L II, wide open. Early photos in the Flickr album at ISO 500 in sunlight, later photos ISO 5000 with cloud cover.

dvmtthws20160508141735
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

Rock climbing (well, we are in Colorado)
dvmtthws20160508142451-2
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

Bathing
dvmtthws20160508143211
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

Water off a duck's back
dvmtthws20160508143212-3
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

Drying off
dvmtthws20160508143217
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

Part dog
dvmtthws20160508143223
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

All clean for the portrait
dvmtthws20160508143313
by dvmtthws, on Flickr

 

[Mikehit]

Wait for me !!

 

[AlanF]

The Sigma 150-600mm C has had a really varied set of reviews and MTF measurements published, indicative of inconsistent quality control. I tried one last year from my local shop and it was about the same at 600mm f/6.3 as my 100-400mm II + 1.4xTC at 560mm. Yesterday, the local shop had a new one in and I borrowed it for some chart tests, and it bowled me over. OK, the OS (IS) is all over the place compared with Canon, but it was far sharper at 600mm and f/6.3 than my 100-400mm II at 560mm, and also sharper when both at 400mm. It was even sharper and with more consistent focus than my 300mm f/2.8 II + 2xTC at 600mm. It was clearly a high end outlier and I had to buy it (traded one of my 100-400 IIs with cash back). It then out performed my Canons in IQ shots of goldfinches on my feeder. This is one of those lenses you have to try out first t get a good one, and this one is tops. Here is one of my shots from yesterday. Tomorrow, it will be tested thoroughly. There is no sharpening applied to this shot, just RAW converted denoised with DxO (iso1250, 1/200s, f/6.3 and 5DS R).

 

[nats1mom]

Captured this at Dead Horse Ranch/Arizona

 

[meywd]

Green Peahen by Mahmoud Darwish, on Flickr

 

[wsmith96]

Green Peahen by Mahmoud Darwish, on Flickr

Nice colors!

 

[rfdesigner]

Whilst in the garden today I noticed a fledgling just sitting in the grass, chirping away. They do this when they jump from the nest, apparently it's safer to be sat in the undergrowth than in the nest as preditors may well have worked out where the nest is. However with 3 rather clumsy children galumphing up and down the garden it's life chances didn't look good, so I intervened. (Birds have poor sense of smell, so a slight proximity doesn't put parents off unlike say deer, but it's not wise to move a bird very far otherwise parents might not find it again)

Having been on a handling course for birds of prey I treated this exaclty the same, crawled in as low as I could, got it to hop onto my wrist then raised that arm so it was slightly above me when standing, it seemed quite happy, carrying on chirping.

I got my wife to grab the camera, told her what to do, how to focus etc and she started clicking away and slowly approaching. This is the last shot before it jumped onto her head, eventually it jumped into the trees next to us.

And species wise it's a Robin.

Taken with a 28mmf1.8 on a 6D... who needs telephoto! ;D