Show your Bird Portraits

[Jack Douglas]

ISv - I like suggestions for good books but when I looked for this one - ouch! $218 paperback

https://www.amazon.ca/Shorebirds-North-America-Europe-Asia/dp/0691142815

Jack

 

[AlanF]

Hi Jack,
I'm not Canon user and it was my first post here but I used to visit Canon rumors 3-4 times a week in the last few years (mostly for the birds/nature but also to learn something in this and the other sections) . All this time I was enjoining your pictures, hopefully soon I can post some pictures too (I don't think I'm allowed right now).

I'm enthusiast in both photography and birding (well, I'm scientist - molecular biology but it's rather different from ornithology despite of similarity of some methods). For me the pictures I'm taking are something like the "scalps" the hunters are taking for memory but without killing anything: you hike/walk you see something interesting (for me it's normally nature ) and you you take it home... as a picture. Our memories have some limit, you can't take in your head everything you see and the photography is helping in this regard. But it's also: challenging/sport by itself

Molecular biologist +1
Taking photos for identification originally +1, now it's mainly for the photo. It's a downward path.

 

[Jack Douglas]

We can all use our photos to help encourage others to value wildlife by sharing them freely and adding our 2 cents worth as well. It's so sad what we're losing every year, extinctions, heartbreaking.

Unless I'm forbidden, I'll attach one or two to correspondence such as doctors secretaries and so forth with the response back to me typically being, "you've made my day". Then they're on my list for every once in a while but only the really good ones.

Jack (the pest)

 

[ISv]

Hi Alan,
I afraid you took it from the wrong end: right now taking really good pictures is more challenging to me than the bird identification (well, some times it is opposite ! No down-way path here. Before my "second life" in birding I was taking pictures of fungi (yes, somewhere in the past I had a mycology background, changing to molecular biology to learn the methods because of their implication in the modern taxonomy... stuck there and to the new country . I highly appreciate the contribution of enthusiast in some aspects of biology. Just for example: the best picture of one newly described species of fungus (Geastrum) was published on the Internet before the real description of the species. I created account in Facebook (I do NOT like creating new accounts - too much passwords :-\) just to tell the author of the picture that he has so far the best picture of that species (yeah, just wrongly identified) on the entire net... Enthusiasts are contributing with a lot of data in some areas of biology and highly respect this. So high that I'm trying to contribute too - as I can!

 

[AlanF]

It's a descent into your lenses not being long enough, sharp enough, wide enough, focusing fast enough, light enough and cheap enough. And your camera ditto. Then someone telling you it's your field craft that's not up to it and you should zoom with your feet across the lake.

 

[ISv]

Jack, I didn't pay that much for my copy. After your post I check and found stamp on the first page "Officially withdrawn". Now I recall that I got the book as used (England) and it arrived pretty much as new (now it looks much more used :)! If I recall right I didn't pay more than half of that price and I'm sure it was very good investment! Another one I have is the "The Shorebird Guide" (first author Michael O'Brien) but it doesn't include the birds out of America and is not 100% useful for Hawaii (otherwise it is good book!). Sometimes I'm looking also into "Rare Birds of North America" and it has some of the birds that are coming to Hawaii.
Yeah, the books like these are expensive but it's hard to substitute them - a lot of knowledge (and pictures) included, and kind of restricted number of customers...

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi ISv.
I'm not sure why you think you are 'not allowed' to post pictures, I would think that as an aspiring Canon user who has valuable input there shouldn't be a problem, I'm fairly sure that there are pictures on here from Sony bodies (by a regular contributor) possibly with Canon lenses via an adaptor?
Very few people have the ability to see the minuscule (in all its beauty / gory detail) let alone capture it on 'film' as it were, if this is what you have access to then I'm sure there is a place for it!

@ admin, if I have misspoken here I apologise and please correct the post.

Cheers, Graham.

Hi Jack,
I'm not Canon user and it was my first post here but I used to visit Canon rumors 3-4 times a week in the last few years (mostly for the birds/nature but also to learn something in this and the other sections) . All this time I was enjoining your pictures, hopefully soon I can post some pictures too (I don't think I'm allowed right now).

I'm enthusiast in both photography and birding (well, I'm scientist - molecular biology but it's rather different from ornithology despite of similarity of some methods). For me the pictures I'm taking are something like the "scalps" the hunters are taking for memory but without killing anything: you hike/walk you see something interesting (for me it's normally nature ) and you you take it home... as a picture. Our memories have some limit, you can't take in your head everything you see and the photography is helping in this regard. But it's also: challenging/sport by itself

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Alan.
Plus one on all of that, glass gets expensive fast!
I thought good field craft included learning to walk on water, if you can't ??? you should practice more. : ;D ;D ;D

Cheers, Graham.

It's a descent into your lenses not being long enough, sharp enough, wide enough, focusing fast enough, light enough and cheap enough. And your camera ditto. Then someone telling you it's your field craft that's not up to it and you should zoom with your feet across the lake.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Hi Alan.
Plus one on all of that, glass gets expensive fast!
I thought good field craft included learning to walk on water, if you can't ??? you should practice more. : ;D ;D ;D

Cheers, Graham.

It's a descent into your lenses not being long enough, sharp enough, wide enough, focusing fast enough, light enough and cheap enough. And your camera ditto. Then someone telling you it's your field craft that's not up to it and you should zoom with your feet across the lake.

Graham, one up on Alan this time. However, I'm sure Alan is trying to acquire that ability! The technology is almost there.

Jack

 

[ISv]

I think so because when I created my account I got a message that I would be informed when I can post pictures.
I still haven't receive such a message. And I don't know actually how to try to post some pictures, it may work eventually? I would appreciate any help in this regard!
And BTW, I'm Nikon user ! Before someone starts to beet me let me say that I don't care what equipment you use to get your pictures. I visit the Nikon rumors site do read some Nikon-related news, and come to this site to see some pictures and to read what people with similar interest (bird photography) are saying...

 

[AlanF]

Hi Alan.
Plus one on all of that, glass gets expensive fast!
I thought good field craft included learning to walk on water, if you can't ??? you should practice more. : ;D ;D ;D

Cheers, Graham.

It's a descent into your lenses not being long enough, sharp enough, wide enough, focusing fast enough, light enough and cheap enough. And your camera ditto. Then someone telling you it's your field craft that's not up to it and you should zoom with your feet across the lake.

Graham, one up on Alan this time. However, I'm sure Alan is trying to acquire that ability! The technology is almost there.

Jack

It's a descent. The aim is to be one down, not one up.

 

[IslanderMV]

I have been trying to get exercise, so I take my telephoto in a backpack while bicycling. I ran into a young Red-tail hawk fixated on brush next to the road. It was hunting snakes.

Managed to get shots of the hunt. The sequence features a pathetic BIF photo, retained to give the sequence some flow.

 

[Click]

Nice series, Jeff. I especially like the first shot.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Jeff.
Very cool series of shots, I don't think the BIF is lame, are there better BIF shots, yes, does this one complete the story, absolutely yes.

Cheers, Graham.

I have been trying to get exercise, so I take my telephoto in a backpack while bicycling. I ran into a young Red-tail hawk fixated on brush next to the road. It was hunting snakes.

Managed to get shots of the hunt. The sequence features a pathetic BIF photo, retained to give the sequence some flow.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi ISv.
I would imagine that the required number of posts before posting photos is quite low, a few more back and forth or nice shot posts will soon get you there.
I add my photos by copying the BB link from Flickr and paste it in, you can also click the attachments and other options heading below the lower left corner of the posting box then direct the path to your photo of choice.
Nikon eh, well I'm not bothered either, no bad cameras made recently, just some are better than others and that is a purely subjective decision like marmite, love it or hate it! Maybe that should be Coca-Cola vs Pepsi!

Cheers, Graham.

I think so because when I created my account I got a message that I would be informed when I can post pictures.
I still haven't receive such a message. And I don't know actually how to try to post some pictures, it may work eventually? I would appreciate any help in this regard!
And BTW, I'm Nikon user ! Before someone starts to beet me let me say that I don't care what equipment you use to get your pictures. I visit the Nikon rumors site do read some Nikon-related news, and come to this site to see some pictures and to read what people with similar interest (bird photography) are saying...

 

[Nat_WA]

I have been trying to get exercise, so I take my telephoto in a backpack while bicycling. I ran into a young Red-tail hawk fixated on brush next to the road. It was hunting snakes.

Managed to get shots of the hunt. The sequence features a pathetic BIF photo, retained to give the sequence some flow.

Hi Jeff,
Very nice series indeed!
+1 on Click's preference - I really like the focused, stern look these birds have when they zoom in on a (possible) prey - and you captured that very well
+ 1 on Graham's (valvebounce) comment, it completes the story so completely forgivable that composition / sharpness are not top notch

Wiebe

 

[Nat_WA]

@ ISv,

I really hope you'll be able to post some pictures soon! Would be nice getting even more species in this thread
We already have several Canadian contributors, a couple of European ones; Hawaii would be a nice addition

(And it is very useful to have someone in the thread willing to take the time / effort to help out in identification!)

Wiebe.

 

[Nat_WA]

White wagtail sitting on a vantage point

 

[Jack Douglas]

Another "landing" shot that I don't think I posted back in August ... oh I wish ite were August again. There were only a few days where these guys took over the pond. It's a pretty heavy crop so I had to fiddle with the noise reduction.

Jack

 

[Click]

Very nice shot, Jack. 8)