Show your Bird Portraits

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josephandrews222

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I tracked down the Spotted Flycatcher again but this time had the R5 at 1000mm with the 2xTC on the 100-500mm. I don't usually post more than one image of a bird but this time I'll show a study of it in different poses. Hand-holdable 1000mm is a breakthrough.View attachment 198149View attachment 198150View attachment 198151View attachment 198152
...your last comment (1000mm handholdable) is significant to this particular canon rumors reader.

Real nice pix. Even better (i.e. more informative) commentary.
 
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Jul 29, 2012
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Very nice series.
d055.gif
Well done, Alan.
 
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ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
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Apr 30, 2017
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Last week I didn't have a time to post some photos of "leftovers" migratory birds here. Some of them stay over the summer because they are not ready for breading, others are just injured birds: like this female Pacific Golden Plover. I think it has it's left leg injured, hard to see where exactly (and I tried hard!).

DSC_7473_DxO.jpgDSC_7484_DxO.jpgDSC_7456_DxO.jpg
 
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You guys (and perhaps gals) are so amazingly talented. After a couple of weeks I now know how hard it is to actually get great looking shots of birds, even stationary so to speak.
You keep inspiring me.

Some sort of seagull I think, approx. 300ft away. I moved slightly closer and it flew away :D

f/4 @600mm (and very cropped)

20210606_1518182505-1.jpg
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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You guys (and perhaps gals) are so amazingly talented. After a couple of weeks I now know how hard it is to actually get great looking shots of birds, even stationary so to speak.
You keep inspiring me.

Some sort of seagull I think, approx. 300ft away. I moved slightly closer and it flew away :D

f/4 @600mm (and very cropped)

View attachment 198157
It’s an Arctic Tern, a lovely bird. It has a forked tail, seen when flying, and just the top of its head is black - the Black-faced Gull has the whole the face black and is much stockier. Nice composition.
 
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It’s an Arctic Tern, a lovely bird. It has a forked tail, seen when flying, and just the top of its head is black - the Black-faced Gull has the whole the face black and is much stockier. Nice composition.

Oh, thank You Alan.
There were a lot more of them in the air, but even further away. This was the closest i got. I wonder if there is som kind of tent or so that one can "hide" in, with the camera, tripod and perhaps a little chair. That would be a lot more discrete than me running around the shore with a tank-of-a-lens and not that smooth :)
I could sit for hours if there were such an option. Perhaps with some coffee and a sandwich, I could easily spend a whole day out there in the fields/shores.
 
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AlanF

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Oh, thank You Alan.
There were a lot more of them in the air, but even further away. This was the closest i got. I wonder if there is som kind of tent or so that one can "hide" in, with the camera, tripod and perhaps a little chair. That would be a lot more discrete than me running around the shore with a tank-of-a-lens and not that smooth :)
I could sit for hours if there were such an option. Perhaps with some coffee and a sandwich, I could easily spend a whole day out there in the fields/shores.
You can buy a small camouflage tent to sit in that is not expensive, but I have only ever seen one used once. Usual is to wait in a proper hide, sit in a car or stroll around with a lightweight lens, though there are many stronger than me birders who can carry the 600mm III. For birds in flight you need open skies. I think I once recommended you keep the 100-500mm as well, and if you sold it, a used 100-400mm II is a cheap great alternative for casual strolling around. You have got real talent for this genre and are taking some great shots so welcome to one of the most enjoyable pastimes.
 
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You can buy a small camouflage tent to sit in that is not expensive, but I have only ever seen one used once. Usual is to wait in a proper hide, sit in a car or stroll around with a lightweight lens, though there are many stronger than me birders who can carry the 600mm III. For birds in flight you need open skies. I think I once recommended you keep the 100-500mm as well, and if you sold it, a used 100-400mm II is a cheap great alternative for casual strolling around. You have got real talent for this genre and are taking some great shots so welcome to one of the most enjoyable pastimes.

Now I'm so spoiled with the f/4 so I'm practising with it :) But I get Your thoughts and agree. I'll check out the mini-tents that are available in stores around here.
And, thank You. Just another amature practising (a lot) perhaps it's getting better. Would be fun to check out my images from today after a year or two just to see if there's any progress :)
 
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Jul 29, 2012
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Last week I didn't have a time to post some photos of "leftovers" migratory birds here. Some of them stay over the summer because they are not ready for breading, others are just injured birds: like this female Pacific Golden Plover. I think it has it's left leg injured, hard to see where exactly (and I tried hard!).

Very nice series. Well done, ISv.
 
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AlanF

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Aug 16, 2012
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I wasn't intending to take any photos today but we were serenaded by a Song Thrush while I was barbecuing this evening, from the same tree that a Blackbird had done similarly in a photo I posted last week. Fortunately, I had the R5 and RF 100-500mm + 2x TC at hand. The bird was 33m away for the best angle of view. These are much sharper shots than I was getting with the 400mm DO II + 2xTC. I couldn't resist snapping up an RF 800mm f/11 used bargain and when it arrives I'll compare the lenses carefully (the loan copy I had a couple of months ago wasn't particularly good).

309A1288-DxO_songthrush_singing-lssm.jpg309A4313-DxO_songthrush-lssm.jpg
 
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AlanF

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For amusement, some Blue Tits were flitting around in an apple tree a little later, in deep shade. Here is a shot at iso 8000 pushed through 1.33 ev, equivalent to an overall iso of 20,000. The only noise reduction is DxO DeepPRIME at 60 on the luminescence slider. The high iso performance of the R5 is quite acceptable - the image is a 100% crop. There is probably an ant in its beak.


309A4361-DxO_Bluetit_iso8000+1.3_60L.jpg
 
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Jack Douglas

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Apr 10, 2013
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I wasn't intending to take any photos today but we were serenaded by a Song Thrush while I was barbecuing this evening, from the same tree that a Blackbird had done similarly in a photo I posted last week. Fortunately, I had the R5 and RF 100-500mm + 2x TC at hand. The bird was 33m away for the best angle of view. These are much sharper shots than I was getting with the 400mm DO II + 2xTC. I couldn't resist snapping up an RF 800mm f/11 used bargain and when it arrives I'll compare the lenses carefully (the loan copy I had a couple of months ago wasn't particularly good).

View attachment 198163View attachment 198164
My question would be, does aperture play into this assessment? Since having the R5 and shooting 400 X2 I can't say so far that I'm exceedingly impressed but I don't have enough shots to really assess this.

Jack
 
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AlanF

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My question would be, does aperture play into this assessment? Since having the R5 and shooting 400 X2 I can't say so far that I'm exceedingly impressed but I don't have enough shots to really assess this.

Jack
The 1000mm is at f/14. The 400mm DO II at 800mm sharpens up a bit at f/11, and f/11 seems at first sight to be still brighter than f/14. However, an 800mm f/11 lets in only the same amount of light as a 1000mm f/14 - entrance diameter of both is ~72 mm, and if you up the iso with the f/14 by 2/3rds of a stop you will get the same signal to noise in a cropped image from both lenses as the 1000mm's image is larger.
 
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Raptors

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Jun 26, 2013
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Oh, thank You Alan.
There were a lot more of them in the air, but even further away. This was the closest i got. I wonder if there is som kind of tent or so that one can "hide" in, with the camera, tripod and perhaps a little chair. That would be a lot more discrete than me running around the shore with a tank-of-a-lens and not that smooth :)
I could sit for hours if there were such an option. Perhaps with some coffee and a sandwich, I could easily spend a whole day out there in the fields/shores.
Hi Dockland, I just finished watching a video by Jan Wegener Epic Outback Road Trip With The R5 - Bird Photography Adventure, where they use a bird hide suit. Not sure if this is what you’re looking for. Here is the link for the LensCoat LensHide. https://amzn.to/3bAkoAo
 
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HenryL

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Apr 1, 2020
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I can tell it's June...I had a full contingent of mosquitoes and other bugs following me around on my walk. Only managed one loop before I had to run for my car and avoid being eaten alive!

Here's a couple of birds I've not seen out there until this weekend...

Tufted Titmouse
R5_102_6691_DxO.jpg

This brown thrasher was mostly hiding, but I stuck around just long enough for it to come out and pose in the openR5_102_6761_DxO.jpg
R5_102_6775_DxO.jpg

And the ubiquitous Great Blue Heron overseeing his domain...or just eyeballing me as I intruded. I noticed the missing toe only during processing in DxO.
R5_102_6734_DxO.jpg
 
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