Show your Bird Portraits

[ERHP]

Tawny Frogmouth with baby. A week ago, I found the body of one chick, on the ground, beneath this nest. Fortunately, they had a second one to show off
5D3 with 300mm f4 + 1.4x TC

And with a little one. Pretty cool. Reminds me of the Nighthawk and Whip-Poor-Will's. Could always hear them at night but never saw one in person.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Thanks to all for the recent very interesting shots!

Jack

 

[Northstar]

Tawny Frogmouth with baby. A week ago, I found the body of one chick, on the ground, beneath this nest. Fortunately, they had a second one to show off
5D3 with 300mm f4 + 1.4x TC

Nice shot! At first glance I didn't even notice the baby in the shot.

I wish I could blend in that well with my couch when the wife comes looking for me to do some chores...chuckle.

 

[Mr Bean]

Tawny Frogmouth with baby. A week ago, I found the body of one chick, on the ground, beneath this nest. Fortunately, they had a second one to show off
5D3 with 300mm f4 + 1.4x TC

Nice shot! At first glance I didn't even notice the baby in the shot.

I wish I could blend in that well with my couch when the wife comes looking for me to do some chores...chuckle.

Thanks ERHP and Northstar.
@Northstar....LOL

 

[Synkka]

Good shot Mr Bean. They sure are ugly looking baby birds, bush turkey babies give them a run for their money though.

 

[Don Haines]

I am sitting in a hunting blind and taking pictures of chickadees.... While I wait, I am browsing through this forum.....WOW are there ever a lot of fantastic pictures here! This is so inspirational! Thank you everyone for sharing with us your handiwork!

 

[Don Haines]

I am sitting in a hunting blind and taking pictures of chickadees.... While I wait, I am browsing through this forum.....WOW are there ever a lot of fantastic pictures here! This is so inspirational! Thank you everyone for sharing with us your handiwork!

And the credit for this picture should go to Jrista.... I got it from following his advice. THANKS!

 

[Jack Douglas]

Don, were you eating sunflower seeds in the blind while you were waiting too? Very nice.
Gotta love those little birds.

Jack

 

[ERHP]

Nice one Don!

Yesterday was almost completely overcast but I still decided to see what was out.

Hermit Thrush 1/80 : f/7.1 : ISO 400

 

[Jack Douglas]

ERHP, lovely little thrush - serene!

Jack

 

[Click]

Very nice shot ERHP. Well done.

 

[TheJock]

Hi folks, my images from Friday were not that good, no idea what’s the matter but they were all slightly out of focus, like a heat haze, I couldn’t really see the LCD as the sun was very bright and I forgot sunglasses so I never noticed until I got home, the lake (big pond) was incredible right enough! Right in the middle of a housing development but shut off as the powers that be like to do in Dubai, there were Ospreys, Eagles, Marsh Harriers as well as a plethora of wading birds, like Herons, Egrets etc. I’m quite disappointed that my images were all bad, I’ll need to figure out what the problem is…..or if it’s simply user error!!
Would a dirty sensor cause images to be out of focus?? Also what’s the best metering setting to be on when tracing flying birds? My settings were evaluative metering, Landscape WB, Al Servo/continuous and full manual.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Jack Douglas]

I'm not qualified to evaluate, but sure seems to me there were heat waves. What lens and settings and other factors such as distance, hand held .... without this I don't think much help is possible.

I'd sure love to be there shooting!! You're a lucky guy.

Jack

 

[Vern]

Fall chickadee. 5DMKIII, 600 II + 1.4 III, 1/640, f8, ISO 2500, Better Beamer -2 & 1/3 fill flash

 

[Jack Douglas]

Very nice shot Vern. Do you have any personal thoughts on what you gained and what you might have lost in using the fill flash in this case? Was it backlit? The chickadee is very nicely exposed and looks impressive. I've never used a flash for wildlife.

Jack

 

[Click]

Fall chickadee. 5DMKIII, 600 II + 1.4 III, 1/640, f8, ISO 2500, Better Beamer -2 & 1/3 fill flash

Lovely shot Vern.

 

[Mr Bean]

Fall chickadee. 5DMKIII, 600 II + 1.4 III, 1/640, f8, ISO 2500, Better Beamer -2 & 1/3 fill flash

Very nice Vern. Well balanced with the fill flash.
I've started to use fill flash for some of my bird pic's. Works well if I underexpose the flash by 1/3 to half a stop. When done well, you can't tell that flash has been used.

 

[Vern]

I always use a little fill flash for birds in trees b/c they are often backlit - though in this case that was minimal. I use the ETTL setting and high shutter speed synch on the canon 600 and set a fill of from -1 & 1/3 to -2 & 1/3 stops on the camera body. A better beamer tele adapter is helpful to extend the range and it covers most supertele angles of view. Even when not backlit, the flash adds a catchlight to the eye and increases color and detail in plumage.

The downside of the fill is that it will sometimes cast a shadow that detracts from the photo and if there are any foreground branches or leaves, they can stand out too much. Thanks for the positive feedback and questions - happy birding!

 

[steven kessel]

I wish I could say I photographed this Gray Hawk in the wild. However, I took it yesterday at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum's superb Raptor Free Flight program. It's a must see for any serious wildlife photographer, the birds are allowed to fly free without restraints and only the promise of food lures them back.

5Diii, 70-200 f.4 L @ 200 mm, ISO 100, 1/1600 @ f8.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Steven,

Captive or not a beautiful shot of a beautiful bird! I guess it's nice to know if it's wild in terms of relating to its habitat and behaviour but that's not always too critical, is it. I was musing over such things when I found the hummers were at the touch-me-nots by the pond as opposed to the ones I see by our home flowers. Does it really matter? Of course a flower is more appealing than a feeder, but what about the quality of the subject. Any comment, anyone, for a relative newcomer to consider.

Jack