Show your Bird Portraits

[ERHP]

Watching the sky for a return of the full adults. A humorous evening when this first year Yellow Crowned Night Heron walked over to the end of the shoreline and then within about five feet of me. Of course I'm sitting on the ground behind the tripod mounted rig so I slowly dragged myself and the rig backwards, back to MFD. This was its second approach after an adult had spooked it, then a second adult came and chased off the first one. Then it hopped up on a nearby post and preened for half an hour, giving me some more opportunities.

1DX MK II 600f/4L IS II 1/100 : f/9 : ISO 1000

 

[arthurbikemad]

Awesome!

 

[Jack Douglas]

Awesome!

+1 Nice to see the detail.

Jack

 

[Click]

+1

Beautiful shot, ERHP.

 

[Jack Douglas]

.... :-\

Jack

 

[Click]

...Pileated Woodpecker BBQ in 3...2...1...

 

[lion rock]

TRAPPED ;D ;D
-r

.... :-\

Jack

 

[Jack Douglas]

Near sunset and with high ISO so of course I'm not thrilled but the experience of being able to examine what is going on is thrilling. I'll be back for more and hopefully better. BIF is new to me and challenging. 800mm

Jack

 

[Click]

Very nice series, Jack. I especially like the last two pictures.

 

[lion rock]

Jack,
Nice set of flight! Like the action.
Can you brighten up, add contrast and maybe sharpen some? It may help. Prefer some adjustment over noise.
-r

Near sunset and with high ISO so of course I'm not thrilled but the experience of being able to examine what is going on is thrilling. I'll be back for more and hopefully better. BIF is new to me and challenging. 800mm

Jack

 

[Jack Douglas]

Jack,
Nice set of flight! Like the action.
Can you brighten up, add contrast and maybe sharpen some? It may help. Prefer some adjustment over noise.
-r

Near sunset and with high ISO so of course I'm not thrilled but the experience of being able to examine what is going on is thrilling. I'll be back for more and hopefully better. BIF is new to me and challenging. 800mm

Jack

Thanks guys. Riley, I don't consider them to be worthy of much work so I didn't do noise reduction etc. and normally wouldn't post them. My focus was on the birds landing gear and how he drags his toes hitting the water and then elevates them and does his water skiing. This has whetted my appetite.

My biggest thrill 5 years after being introduced to DSLRs remains the knowledge I gain of the creatures I photograph, far more than the pretty pictures, which I like of course.

Jack

 

[lion rock]

Jack,
The landing sequence is sure a nice set.
It also speaks well of the camera/lens, too.
Keep going at it.
-r

Thanks guys. Riley, I don't consider them to be worthy of much work so I didn't do noise reduction etc. and normally wouldn't post them. My focus was on the birds landing gear and how he drags his toes hitting the water and then elevates them and does his water skiing. This has whetted my appetite.

My biggest thrill 5 years after being introduced to DSLRs remains the knowledge I gain of the creatures I photograph, far more than the pretty pictures, which I like of course.

Jack

 

[rpt]

Lovely sequence Jack. So Pelicans have two brake systems deployed. The first one is a liquid friction brake and the second one is an air brake. Who knew!

 

[scottkinfw]

The vulture and the giraffe.
Taken in Mala Mala, 2016.
This giraffe was taken down by a pride or lions (we didn't witness it). We visited the site twice a day during golden hour and studied the natural progression of the cycle of life.
The lions took their fill first and then moved on. The hyenas waited for this to happen. After the lions left, the hyenas went to work while vultures kept their distance. The hyenas left and the vultures went to work. Interestingly, the vultures with their razor sharp beaks, opened new pockets of meat, and the hyenas came back to finish that off-taking advantage of vultures work.
Ultimately, the bones were picked clean, leaving little for bacteria and fungi. Other animals like procupines come along and take the bones into their dens and eat them- great source of calcium, phosphorus, and other key nutrients.
So, nothing goes to waste in the bush.

I invite honest critique of my pic.
Thanks.
Scott

 

[Jack Douglas]

Lovely sequence Jack. So Pelicans have two brake systems deployed. The first one is a liquid friction brake and the second one is an air brake. Who knew!

As you may know/recall, I was torn by the 5D4 vs 1DX2 decision. I still wish I had more MP but I love the 14 fps, even in so called stills there are subtle things that show up quite often, like a beak open/closed or tongue darting out etc. Shutter count - ugh - good it's rated 400k.

I guess the pelican senses his elevation by his toes starting to drag on the water. Second childhood for me!

Jack

 

[Jack Douglas]

Scott, very nice. Yes, life and death in Africa are really in your face. Life is so sanitized where we live.

Jack

 

[Click]

The vulture and the giraffe.
Taken in Mala Mala, 2016.
This giraffe was taken down by a pride or lions (we didn't witness it). We visited the site twice a day during golden hour and studied the natural progression of the cycle of life.
The lions took their fill first and then moved on. The hyenas waited for this to happen. After the lions left, the hyenas went to work while vultures kept their distance. The hyenas left and the vultures went to work. Interestingly, the vultures with their razor sharp beaks, opened new pockets of meat, and the hyenas came back to finish that off-taking advantage of vultures work.
Ultimately, the bones were picked clean, leaving little for bacteria and fungi. Other animals like procupines come along and take the bones into their dens and eat them- great source of calcium, phosphorus, and other key nutrients.
So, nothing goes to waste in the bush.

I invite honest critique of my pic.
Thanks.
Scott

I really your picture, Scott. That's a very nice one.

 

[azhelishot]

Eagle above a trail in the Grand Tetons

 

[Click]

Nice shot, azhelishot.

 

[azhelishot]

Nice shot, azhelishot.

Thank You, Click