Show your Bird Portraits

[AlanF]

Alan, Luv that male Bleu especially!

And here is a "feeder" bird for you. White-necked Jocabin with the white hidden.

Jack

Never thought about it before as we don't have hummers and feeders over here. It seems that the "natural" shots have the beaks more up as blooms tend to hang down whereas feeders are the other way and so the hummer has a beak down pose. Is that so?

 

[AaronT]

Yes, Canada sure has it's fair share of those guys, especially in public areas! Nice to see you have lots of birds to shoot these days! I'm not faring so well.
This, with a 24mm lens as I skedaddled.View attachment 184202View attachment 184203

Jack

Aggressive little son of a gun! Mine just come at me while hissing with their heads low to the ground. If you walk towards them they back off.

 

[dpc]

Harlequin duck puddling along Pacific coast of Vancouver Island.

 

[dpc]

Mallard drake and duck waddling across a frozen pond

 

[Jack Douglas]

Aggressive little son of a gun! Mine just come at me while hissing with their heads low to the ground. If you walk towards them they back off.

Perhaps I'm just a chicken but when I feel the effects of the wings I get out of there. Now once the young arrive, I'm not sure I'll even get that close. Long ago my two youngest were attacked and it influenced them for life. Never the less, so far none of us have actually been bitten.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Never thought about it before as we don't have hummers and feeders over here. It seems that the "natural" shots have the beaks more up as blooms tend to hang down whereas feeders are the other way and so the hummer has a beak down pose. Is that so?

Alan, at home we don't have that many hummers so I don't have too much experience but now that you bring it up it appears to be sound logic. I observed probably hundreds, maybe close to a thousand, in CR and there certainly were lots of situations where the approach would have to be an upward one. I also have pondered the curvature of their beaks or lack thereof.

I was also surprised by the amount of resting going on compared to here in Alberta. I suspect that sometimes the heat contributes to exhaustion.

And finally, they were typically very approachable and the lack of close focus with the 400 DO was a pain. I have yet to see how my daughter did with the R and 70-200 X1.4 but I suspect she'll blow me away.

Here is an example of the 400 X2 being too much but it was a brief situation and overall I needed 800. Zooms certainly have their place.

Jack

 

[Jack Douglas]

Another lovely bird that I was fortunate to see one afternoon. However, afternoons are seldom the best time since clouds or mist tends to roll in and this was shot at ISO 10 000 like so many others. The palm type background seems rather appropriate.

Jack

 

[Click]

Very nice shots, Jack.

 

[AlanF]

Alan, at home we don't have that many hummers so I don't have too much experience but now that you bring it up it appears to be sound logic. I observed probably hundreds, maybe close to a thousand, in CR and there certainly were lots of situations where the approach would have to be an upward one. I also have pondered the curvature of their beaks or lack thereof.

I was also surprised by the amount of resting going on compared to here in Alberta. I suspect that sometimes the heat contributes to exhaustion.

And finally, they were typically very approachable and the lack of close focus with the 400 DO was a pain. I have yet to see how my daughter did with the R and 70-200 X1.4 but I suspect she'll blow me away.

Here is an example of the 400 X2 being too much but it was a brief situation and overall I needed 800. Zooms certainly have their place.

Jack

We have to compromise or take more than one lens and body. I love my 400mm prime as it is just so sharp and works so well with TCs. But, the 100-400mm on the 5DSR is just so flexible, and if I am restricted to one body and lens I go for it.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Why do you have to mention compromises!

After this trip I have concluded that my 400 X2 isn't as sharp as I'd prefer but I had so many low light situations or worse, back-lighting, that perhaps I'm being overly critical. My thought today - if a 500 came along with weight reduced to close to the 400 DO, I'd be really tempted. 400 is more useful to me bare than 300 was but I'd prefer 500 for BIF at F4 and I think 500 X1.4 would be situated better in FL and perform better than 400 X2 relative to these crazy "compromises". Dream on.

I could picture a 100-400 and the new higher MP R working pretty well together if they increase body size a little. I wanted to try the R more but my daughter's hands simply couldn't handle the 1DX2 if we traded cameras.

Jack

 

[ISv]

ISv, you've lost me about the cell phone. Are you saying you'd go but not with your good gear? I was worried about that but finally decided I'd have such regrets doing so. Getting it on the plane was a concern that didn't materialize so now I have a better idea on that front but where people are poor in big cities or hot spots would really concern me - I checked to see if my insurance covered me (camera not life).

Jack

ISv, you've lost me about the cell phone. Are you saying you'd go but not with your good gear?
! It was intended as a sarcasm Jack!?
NO!!! I'M NOT SWITCHING TO CELLPHONE (WHAT A HELL....)! UNTIL THEY CAN MAKE A CELLPHONE WITH F4 (AT LEAST) 600MM THAT FITS MY POCKET (ANY ONE WORKING HARD TO CHANGE THE PHYSICS LOWS?!!!) WITH IQ AT LEAST COMPARABLE... Well, my previous post was intended as a sarcasm (just to make it very clear!!!!!!!!).
Concerning flying with photo equipment I'm going to ask you some questions : planing trip to Europe in the second half of August...

 

[Click]

Another very nice shot, Jack.

 

[AlanF]

You are more efficient than me Jack. I am catching up with the photos I took in Tanzania. There are thousands to go through and identify. Here are some beeeaters.
Blue-cheeked beeeater, crimson-chested beeeater, and a little beeeater, the latter two by the missus.

 

[AlanF]

Whatever complaints you have about Canon, the DSLRs are so easy to use. My wife knows nothing about f-number, iso, shutter speed etc, so I have programmed her 5DSR with C1 for normal, C2 for backlit and C3 BIF. All she has to do is point and remember 1-3, and she often gets better pics than I do.

 

[Click]

Beautiful pictures, Alan. I especially like the second and third one.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Alan, not sure if the complaints comment is directed at me, but I have few and they are relatively minor. The compromises I deal with are the same as everyone has, so certainly not an excuse for poor photos. The challenges in Costa Rica (higher elevations) often related to afternoon cloud coming in so soon.

You get up about 5:30 AM to take advantage of the usually sunny morning and in about two hours there is a good chance the birds and people are not really loving the heat that is developing and the photo opportunities diminish somewhat.

Then until about 2 PM we'd continue walking and searching or just observing everything and hope for afternoon late light because the birds would be eating towards 4 PM but alas ISO 12500 doesn't make for the best photos. That's the part that would be disappointing - so many high ISO shots.

It feels like Alberta summer so by about 7 PM when it's been dark for over an hour it feels like 10:30 PM and time to climb into bed - weird.

I have to be smarter in my programming of my three "shutter" related buttons (thumb and finger), in particular so that I can instantly go from a reasonably higher shutter speed to a risky much lower one that gives me better ISO if the bird doesn't move, but 800mm doesn't really allow a too low shutter speed. It's my brain that is the impediment more than the camera since there can be a lot going on instantly.

Beautiful shots so get after them and post more.

My quickest culling is done with the card in the camera and the HDMI cable connected to the 4K TV. That gives a full size image that is very large to judge focus quality between similar shots and if needed a bit of magnify allows the most minute detail to be examined. You can't reverse a delete though so I make sure the whole nine yards is backed up!

Jack

 

[AlanF]

Alan, not sure if the complaints comment is directed at me, but I have few and they are relatively minor. The compromises I deal with are the same as everyone has, so certainly not an excuse for poor photos. The challenges in Costa Rica (higher elevations) often related to afternoon cloud coming in so soon.

You get up about 5:30 AM to take advantage of the usually sunny morning and in about two hours there is a good chance the birds and people are not really loving the heat that is developing and the photo opportunities diminish somewhat.

Then until about 2 PM we'd continue walking and searching or just observing everything and hope for afternoon late light because the birds would be eating towards 4 PM but alas ISO 12500 doesn't make for the best photos. That's the part that would be disappointing - so many high ISO shots.

It feels like Alberta summer so by about 7 PM when it's been dark for over an hour it feels like 10:30 PM and time to climb into bed - weird.

I have to be smarter in my programming of my three "shutter" related buttons (thumb and finger), in particular so that I can instantly go from a reasonably higher shutter speed to a risky much lower one that gives me better ISO if the bird doesn't move, but 800mm doesn't really allow a too low shutter speed. It's my brain that is the impediment more than the camera since there can be a lot going on instantly.

Beautiful shots so get after them and post more.

My quickest culling is done with the card in the camera and the HDMI cable connected to the 4K TV. That gives a full size image that is very large to judge focus quality between similar shots and if needed a bit of magnify allows the most minute detail to be examined. You can't reverse a delete though so I make sure the whole nine yards is backed up!

Jack

No complaints aimed at you! I should have written, “ whatever one’s complaints”, but who uses “one” nowadays. What I am aiming at is comparison with Sony, R series etc. The advantages to us birders of the centre spot focus plumbed in and the DSLR camera always at the ready and useful as a ‘scope makes life so easy. You can adapt to most of the common situations by simply switching from C1, C2, C3, M, A and Tv all preprogrammed in a fraction of a second and point and shoot.

 

[dpc]

You are more efficient than me Jack. I am catching up with the photos I took in Tanzania. There are thousands to go through and identify. Here are some beeeaters.
Blue-cheeked beeeater, crimson-chested beeeater, and a little beeeater, the latter two by the missus. View attachment 184306View attachment 184307View attachment 184308

Beautiful shots, Alan. Way to go!

 

[dpc]

Red-winged blackbird

 

[Click]

Nice series. dpc.