Show your Bird Portraits

AlanF said:
It was very misty but this robin was sufficiently close I could get him at 400mm f/4, iso 1250 and 1/100s. Diffuse light can work quite well for showing detail.

really beautiful shot, Alan - I love the colors, sharpness and highlight in the eye, one of the most expressive avian portraits I've seen.
 
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Today I drove almost 1.5 hours each way to try and photograph some eagles while it snowed. I did not have much luck, but I did find this Heron that allowed me to photograph it rather close. Both shots taken handheld laying in the snow.

1dx, Sigma 150-600C

ISO 1600, 1/400, f8

ISO 100, 1/20, f8
 

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Click said:
Ryananthony said:
Today I drove almost 1.5 hours each way to try and photograph some eagles while it snowed. I did not have much luck, but I did find this Heron that allowed me to photograph it rather close. Both shots taken handheld laying in the snow.

Very nice pictures. I especially like the first one.

+1 Looks like a hobo waiting for a train.

Jack
 
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Hi Ryan.
Very nice, I like the first, but I think the second is superb, I like the blurred snow, and both you and the heron must have been incredibly still for that length of exposure to be so sharp, were you using a support?

Cheers, Graham.

Ryananthony said:
Today I drove almost 1.5 hours each way to try and photograph some eagles while it snowed. I did not have much luck, but I did find this Heron that allowed me to photograph it rather close. Both shots taken handheld laying in the snow.

1dx, Sigma 150-600C

ISO 1600, 1/400, f8

ISO 100, 1/20, f8
 
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Hi Cog.
Fabulous shots, nice light, great detail and how do you get them to pose looking so darn good?
We used to buy Goats milk from a smallholder who had a Myna that had lived in the radio room of a ship, that bird could do shortwave tuning and radio chatter to perfection, it also knew several "choice" phrases not suitable for young ears and had perfect comedy timing to make the unsuspecting jump! Very intelligent birds!

Cheers, Graham.

Cog said:
Urban birds (mynas) appeared to be not very friendly:
 
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Valvebounce said:
Hi Cog.
Fabulous shots, nice light, great detail and how do you get them to pose looking so darn good?
We used to buy Goats milk from a smallholder who had a Myna that had lived in the radio room of a ship, that bird could do shortwave tuning and radio chatter to perfection, it also knew several "choice" phrases not suitable for young ears and had perfect comedy timing to make the unsuspecting jump! Very intelligent birds!

Cheers, Graham.

Cog said:
Urban birds (mynas) appeared to be not very friendly:

Graham, having lived virtually all my life with talking birds, I can well relate. My Greys have been more whistlers but still lots of phrases. One, very striking assertion "what's the matter with you?", was learned virtually instantly - wonder how/why?! ;)

Jack
 
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5DsR, 300 f/2.8 II + 1.4iii extender, 1/1000, f/4 ISO125 (auto)

We have a nice population of Great Blue Herons here year round, but they are very skittish, I struggle to get close. I spotted this one from a distance and was able to approach from a concealed location and was able to capture a handful of shots before it took off (in the wrong direction for an in-flight shot)
 

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Graham, thanks for the compliments, as well as Click and Jack. I was laying in the snow with my elbows giving as much support as they could. I was able to get many keepers at 1/100, and then slowly worked my way down. I shot a burst of about 10 shots in hope one at 1/20 would be sharp This has been my best approach for any very low shutter speed bird shots handheld. Sometimes my movements just match theirs and things turn out okay. I'm also very lucky to get close to them here. The images are uncropped at 600mm and the extra detail from being close helps I'm sure.
 
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Ryananthony said:
Today I drove almost 1.5 hours each way to try and photograph some eagles while it snowed. I did not have much luck, but I did find this Heron that allowed me to photograph it rather close. Both shots taken handheld laying in the snow.

1dx, Sigma 150-600C

ISO 1600, 1/400, f8

ISO 100, 1/20, f8

I love the second one. It's like a Japanese woodcut by one of the great masters Hokusai and Hiroshige who would depict rain as lines and were great at drawing birds in such poses.

A good copy of the Sigma 150-600C can give quality not far off the big whites.
 
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Working on an island on the GBR gives me plenty of opportunity to chase a few birds. This is one of the local White reef herons
Heron%2081_zpsrvl7lrix.jpg
 
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Click, Valvebounce
Thank you, guys! Mynas are really cool and very smart. Unfortunately, they are very cautious and fly away when they notice you're paying attention to them. This is the first time I've had a chance to watch them closely for several minutes.
 
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This morning I got one of the smallest and one of the largest British birds. The wren is very secretive and it's not often you can get a good shot. The heron on the other hand is a sitting duck. The light was great for this time of the year. Usual gear, 400mmx2 on 5DIV.
 

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