Show your Bird Portraits
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I experimented with 3D AF of D500 this evening: low light and my intended "model" were the Parakeets (green bird surrounded by green leafs) but they didn't come. The only bird around was this Common Myna. No tripod - "handhold" with +/- support for my right hand.
ISO 3200, f6.3 with -2/3EV (from ~7 meters) resulting for a speed 1/25s in the first two photos and 1/30 with the last (the light was diminishing fast). No local adjustment in DxO PL6! In DxO PL6: Exposure additional -0.25EV. Sharpens (Global) at 0.55. Detail 51. Contrast 1. Vibrancy 7. Saturation 0.
I was surprised by the results: yes, could be better but it's my first try! What I realized from this 1st try is that if you put the AF square on the colors that you want (like the orange around the eyes, and the beak) the 3D AF is pretty much reliable! I discarded few photos where the bird made fast movement (blurred - not enough speed!) and several which where "it's the same"!
Oh! and before someone ask me (again
) what is the tree: Rainbow Eucalyptus! Very specific bark!
ISO 3200, f6.3 with -2/3EV (from ~7 meters) resulting for a speed 1/25s in the first two photos and 1/30 with the last (the light was diminishing fast). No local adjustment in DxO PL6! In DxO PL6: Exposure additional -0.25EV. Sharpens (Global) at 0.55. Detail 51. Contrast 1. Vibrancy 7. Saturation 0.
I was surprised by the results: yes, could be better but it's my first try! What I realized from this 1st try is that if you put the AF square on the colors that you want (like the orange around the eyes, and the beak) the 3D AF is pretty much reliable! I discarded few photos where the bird made fast movement (blurred - not enough speed!) and several which where "it's the same"!
Oh! and before someone ask me (again
) what is the tree: Rainbow Eucalyptus! Very specific bark!
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Great photos! I really enjoy how the beak curves down into a grumpy faceI experimented with 3D AF of D500 this evening: low light and my intended "model" were the Parakeets (green bird surrounded by green leafs) but they didn't come. The only bird around was this Common Myna. No tripod - "handhold" with +/- support for my right hand.
ISO 3200, f6.3 with -2/3EV (from ~7 meters) resulting for a speed 1/25s in the first two photos and 1/30 with the last (the light was diminishing fast). No local adjustment in DxO PL6! In DxO PL6: Exposure additional -0.25EV. Sharpens (Global) at 0.55. Detail 51. Contrast 1. Vibrancy 7. Saturation 0.
I was surprised by the results: yes, could be better but it's my first try! What I realized from this 1st try is that if you put the AF square on the colors that you want (like the orange around the eyes, and the beak) the 3D AF is pretty much reliable! I discarded few photos where the bird made fast movement (blurred - not enough speed!) and several which where "it's the same"!
Oh! and before someone ask me (again
View attachment 214853View attachment 214854View attachment 214855
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Jeremy
Jeremy
Thank you! I prefer some kind of a background, but you take what you get. I 100% agree the GGOW needs to have a background as well.Jeremy, as I said
but the photos are great.
The ones with the white BG seem to be better, but I love the "113", the second last, the most.
Such great gray owls need a "forest" BG
Jeremy
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If you have never been to the Sax-Zim Bog in northern Minnesota, it is a must go in the winter for those 2 owl species alone. It is a black spruce bog and covers almost 20 square miles. You basically drive around from sunrise to sunset and hope to find owls, with other birds mixed in between. Each day I would drive 70-140 miles, pretty much up and down the same roads, slowly looking for birds. It gets old after a while, especially when you go stretches without seeing anything. Once you spot an owl though, those feelings reset! There are boardwalk spots to walk through the bogs and you CAN hike anywhere you want in the bog. I don't typically hike, as you can't cover much ground that way.
The Northern Hawk Owl has been very consistent lately and was seen daily at the same place, sometimes flying to within 20' of people, landing on sticks or posts before going down and catching a vole through the snow. It is incredible to watch! The Great Gray Owls can be found anywhere in the bog. That being said, they can be very difficult to find. I was able to find 1 and photograph 2 others in the 7 days I was there. Seeing just one makes it worth it. There are feeders spread sporadically throughout the bog as well, helping with some of the other birds, like Boreal Chickadee, Canada Jay, Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Grosbeaks, Common/Hoary Redpolls, Pine Siskins and the other common ones. Pine Martens and Ermines come as well. There are several species of grouse as well as hawks too. It has become quite popular in the last few years and there is always 20+ people driving around at any given time now. The Telegram app is used to report sightings and help get the word out faster. This year for me, weather was probably close to record highs. One day it was 47 degrees F and sunny. In '18 when I was there, it was -36 degrees F, just the temp! In '20 when I was there, one day got down to -30 degrees F! I was very happy to have the 60-70 degree swing in temps from what I'm used to. Hope that is the info you were looking for.
Jeremy
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