Show your Bird Portraits

[SirIssacNewton]

Canon EOS R5 Mark II
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Shot at 400mm with f/5.6, ISO 5000, 1/640
Manual
Distance: 13,6 meter

The Common Buzzard. I was sitting in a bird hide when suddenly this buzzard landed. Impressive. Did not come closer and flew away within a minute.
I have mixed feelings about using the R5 Mark II. Metering light is a challenge. Too often, high ISO values are locked in by metering in situations where, from experience, they should be between 800 and 1250. I use evaluative metering but have also tried partial metering. No difference. Shutter speeds slower than 1/320 resulted in blurred images. With the R6, I was able to remove the noise quite well. But with the R5, that comes at the expense of detail.

I am open to suggestions.

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That top picture is magnificent!! Buzzards get a bad rap, but they are very photogenic!

 

[candyman]

I frequently use negative values for 'Force details'...............

Thank you Pieter for the information.
Which one of DeepPRIME do you use? .......3, DX2s or XD3 x-Trans?

 

[AlanF]

I use PureRaw for 'difficult' images, i.e. where I'm not satisfied with the result from noise reduction in Lightroom, usually R5- R5 Mk II images with ISO 3200 in cloudy circumstances, where a birds head has a lot of shadow.
I frequently use negative values for 'Force details' because I do not like the oversharpend look of a bird (or other animal) that looks as if someone has combed it's feathers or hairs for the picture. The oversharpening also causes the subject to look as if it has been cut out of the picture and has been pasted on the background, caused by the 'sharp' edges of the subject in relation to the background.

I couldn't agree with you more about the oversharpening. Bird feathers are naturally soft but some images are too sharpened to look like they are covered in wire wool. My preference is for natural images, and that includes not turning up colour saturation.

 

[P-visie]

Thank you Pieter for the information.
Which one of DeepPRIME do you use? .......3, DX2s or XD3 x-Trans?

I use XD3, but I do not notice a lot of difference with XD2. X-Trans is for Fuji X-trans sensors (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_X-Trans_sensor).

 

[candyman]

X-Trans is for Fuji X-trans sensors

Thank you for the link with the explanation. Learned something today

 

[ISv]

Beautiful series, ISv. I really like the first one with the lovely couple....And the 3rd one also.

Thanks Click!

 

[josephandrews222]

How did you succeed to upload the link?! I tried that yesterday and it took forever without success! Links from two different sources... It's really very interesting article!

ISv: I too have had problems posting links. I'm not sure what happened here but the smithsonian link appears to have 'worked'.

As for the article (and ones like it, on the same topic)...you are right. Very good reads.

 

[SirIssacNewton]

Look who showed up for dinner! Woody, the Downy Woodpecker!! Only other time seeing him was for a fleeting moment last spring! This time was just as fleeting, and not the best pose, but still enjoyable!! Taken with my Canon R8 and RF 600mm f11

 

[Click]

Very nice shot. I prefer the second one. I like the bird illuminated by the sun in this dark background.

 

[josephandrews222]

Morning light; R5II and 200-800@800; simple Picasa crops of unaltered jpegs

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Carolina Wren



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European Starlings



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Chipping Sparrow



...morning light transforms almost any image into something better

 

[candyman]

Canon EOS R5 Mark II
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Shot at 400mm with f/5.6, ISO 5000 and 3200, 1/640

They are the 'usual suspects' and seen a lot where I live. But still fun to capture them.

 

[Click]

Beautiful shots, candyman.

 

[candyman]

Beautiful shots, candyman.

Thank you very much Click.

 

[SirIssacNewton]

Canon EOS R5 Mark II
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Shot at 400mm with f/5.6, ISO 5000 and 3200, 1/640

They are the 'usual suspects' and seen a lot where I live. But still fun to capture them.

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That second ones perch is outstanding!! Great pics!!!

 

[SirIssacNewton]

What could have been!!taken with my Canon R10 and RF 100-400

 

[Click]

White-feathered birds are not easy to photograph. You have to reduce exposure to preserve detail.

 

[AlanF]

White-feathered birds are not easy to photograph. You have to reduce exposure to preserve detail.

If you are shooting RAW, it is is indeed best to underexpose and sort out in post. Here, it's out of focus as well.

 

[Click]

I didn't mention the focus because it seemed pretty obvious.

 

[SirIssacNewton]

I have been taking pictures of birds since spring, and i had never seen the Red Bellied Woodpecker before! The Blue Jay has always stayed a good distance from me!! Today i met them both!! Taken with my Canon R8 and RF 600mm f11

 

[candyman]

I have been taking pictures of birds since spring, and i had never seen the Red Bellied Woodpecker before! The Blue Jay has always stayed a good distance from me!! Today i met them both!! Taken with my Canon R8 and RF 600mm f11

Exiting experience for sure. Great photos and wonderful light.