My attempts at bird photography!

Inspired by Eric Diller, I have been getting in some target practice, it certainly is a difficult subject (not my usual thing) but I really must get a lens more suited for the job!



Black headed Gulles - incredibly fast, very difficult to catch them in flight, definitely excellent target practice though.... Can't decide whether to clone out the blurred bird - what do think?


Today - very cold and misty morning


Another from this morning - strong low sunshine coming through heavy mist, I know the bird's not sharp, but I still like it, I think.... (for now....)


Group of swans coming in to land on the ice.

I'm going to try again over the next few days....

Well done Janet! I especially like the swan image, landing on ice. It must have been funny to watch live!

John Angulat said:

Well done Janet! I especially like the swan image, landing on ice. It must have been funny to watch live!

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Thanks John, it was very funny, they all came skidding in - squawking and flapping, how they didn't end up in a crumpled mass I'll never know...

Janet

very cool!
most I love #2 and the last- gorgeous renderings!!!
you do wild life very well! I havent attempted it yet except for my insane siamese cat!
keep doing this it really suits you*

Charlotte-

Hi Janet!
Cooooooooooool! I like'em very much, very well done and beatifull subtle colours (note I haven't written 'colors' ;-)
It would be nice to have the specialists c&c such as Don or Eric…

But please keep that OOF gull, it makes the pictures!

Congrats

If you had not told us it was your first attempt I never would have believed it. I am having a hard time still These are wonderful no matter what experience level. I really like that first one especially with its clarity and oof bird combined. You see how people's preferences differ? It's fun to see what different people like about the same photos. Do you have a large swan population there? I don't think we have them here, at least not naturally, but I really wish we did. They are magnificent creatures.
James

Janet, these are so lovely..the swans coming in to land is wow!

BTW, is it cold in the island nowadays..I might be stopping over shortly?

Best.

An excellent entry into the world of bird photography! Fun, isn't it!

My thoughts on the individual images:

1. Excellent sharpness and wing position. Love the white bird (although the highlights seem a tad hot) against the clear blue sky. I'd suggest cloning out the oof bird, to at least see what you think.

2. I like the composition here, with the gulls perched on the cross-bars balancing the trees and shoreline in the upper corner. I might crop a bit off the bottom. A nice depiction of a peaceful, foggy scene.

3. I like the composition here as well, and the contrast between the colorless bird and the nice brown vegetation works well. The droplets of due on the fence wires is nice. Too bad the gull is oof.

4. I really like the way the swans are captured in different phases of landing. It's difficult to get this kind of sequence without also including the other birds that disrupt the flow, and can require considerable waiting. But this comes real close to that goal!

You seem to have a good feel - keep at it!

I've been shooting birds for the past year for the challenge and the fact that it's made me learn how to use the camera. But mine are not in this league! Very nice.

Nice job Janet! Inflight birds are the hardest photos to capture. i find it quite challenging myself. All I can say is keep on shooting and be sure to keep a high shutter speed to freeze the wings.

TFS

charlotte thompson said:

most I love #2 and the last- gorgeous renderings!!!
you do wild life very well! I havent attempted it yet except for my insane siamese cat!
keep doing this it really suits you

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Hi Charlotte thanks for commenting, I think it's good to try something new, and these fast moving birds certainly are a challenge, I think I'm hooked so I'll definitely be trying again.... Thanks for the encouragement

Nicolas Claris said:

Cooooooooooool! I like'em very much, very well done and beatifull subtle colours (note I haven't written 'colors' ;-) But please keep that OOF gull, it makes the pictures!

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Hi Nic

Thank you, so glad you like the colours, everything is so drab and grey here at the moment, it's nice to have a sunny day! I think I'm going to keep my OOF gull, thanks for the encouragement, very much appreciated...

James Newman said:

If you had not told us it was your first attempt I never would have believed it

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It's actually my third attempt, but very early days, but thank you for the compliment I really appreciate it, and the encouragement...

James Newman said:

Do you have a large swan population there? I don't think we have them here, at least not naturally, but I really wish we did. They are magnificent creatures.
James

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Swans are relatively common here, but unusual to see so many fly in at once, I've never seen that before, I was just lucky and yes they are beautiful, I'm looking forward to the Spring when the young will be around.

fahim mohammed said:

Janet, these are so lovely..the swans coming in to land is wow!

BTW, is it cold in the island nowadays..I might be stopping over shortly?

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Hi Fahim

Thank you for your compliment, very much appreciated, we've had a long cold spell this last few weeks, it's supposed to be warming up tomorrow, but coming wet and windy apparently, so I might be out trying to catch the wind again in the next few days!

Don Cohen said:

An excellent entry into the world of bird photography! Fun, isn't it!

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Absolutely!!!!

Don Cohen said:

1. Excellent sharpness and wing position. Love the white bird (although the highlights seem a tad hot) against the clear blue sky. I'd suggest cloning out the oof bird, to at least see what you think.

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I'm going to try, but I think I like him/her there, we'll see...

Don Cohen said:

2. I like the composition here, with the gulls perched on the cross-bars balancing the trees and shoreline in the upper corner. I might crop a bit off the bottom. A nice depiction of a peaceful, foggy scene

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I agree, and thank you...

Don Cohen said:

3. I like the composition here as well, and the contrast between the colorless bird and the nice brown vegetation works well. The droplets of due on the fence wires is nice. Too bad the gull is oof.

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Thank you again - and I agree again, it's very difficult with these fast birds isn't it....

Don Cohen said:

4. I really like the way the swans are captured in different phases of landing. It's difficult to get this kind of sequence without also including the other birds that disrupt the flow, and can require considerable waiting. But this comes real close to that goal!

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Thank you very much, your advice is very helpful to me....

Don Cohen said:

You seem to have a good feel - keep at it!

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I have so many things going on at the moment, but I promise to keep at it, thank you for your time and encouragement, very much appreciated...

Rachel Foster said:

I've been shooting birds for the past year for the challenge and the fact that it's made me learn how to use the camera. But mine are not in this league!

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Hi Rachel

It really is a challenge isn't it, keep on shooting is the thing, I hardly ever have a day without the camera in my hand, I'm sure you're the same. Thank you for the encouragement....

Eric Diller said:

Nice job Janet! Inflight birds are the hardest photos to capture. i find it quite challenging myself. All I can say is keep on shooting and be sure to keep a high shutter speed to freeze the wings

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Hi Eric

You're the one who got me back down by the lake, photographing birds, so thank you for the inspiration and the compliment! it's such a challenge isn't it....

What shutter speed do you prefer to shoot at when trying to get birds in flight?

You're off to a great start. I started photographing birds several years ago to learn more about birds, and I've really enjoyed it.

As far as shutter speeds, I'd recommend shooting within a stop of wide open and get the fastest shutter speed you can, rather than thinking in terms of what speed to shoot at. I usually set the exposure manually using in-camera spot metering and leave it there until lighting conditions change, which gives more consistent results than trying to meter every shot, but many people use aperture priority auto exposure and adjust the exposure compensation for the subject. Art Morris explains how to do this in his book, _The Art of Bird Photography_, and I think he has an exposure guide on his website.

Usually the first thing I do when I'm out photographing birds is to orient myself so the light is in my favor, because unless you've got a particularly rare sighting where you're lucky to get any shot, you won't have a good photograph without good light, and the birds will still be there another day--with migrants often on the same day in the same place next year.

Once in a while you can get a nice backlit shot, like your last swan photo, but usually birds look best front lit, or if you want to get fancy, you can combine flash with backlighting or side lighting. I think the reason that shot works is because they're landing, and the translucency of the wings makes the photo. A little fill flash would make it even stronger. If they were all sitting on the water, it would look flat.

David A. Goldfarb said:

As far as shutter speeds, I'd recommend shooting within a stop of wide open and get the fastest shutter speed you can, rather than thinking in terms of what speed to shoot at.......

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Hi David

Thank you for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it....

I have been shooting with the lens wide open and stopped down as you indicated, I was just wondering what the experience of others is when it comes to birds that are moving very quickly what the slowest shutter speed is that you've found you can get still get a sharp shot with?

David A. Goldfarb said:

Once in a while you can get a nice backlit shot, like your last swan photo, but usually birds look best front lit

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Absolutley, but I had no option but to shoot from this side of the lake without having to don waders LOL, I will as you suggest try another time of day, possibly late afternoon next time!!

David A. Goldfarb said:

if you want to get fancy, you can combine flash with backlighting or side lighting. A little fill flash would make it even stronger. If they were all sitting on the water, it would look flat.

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I have wondered about using flash but was concerned about frightening the birds....

I'll go armed with more sunflower hearts for them next time and hope the day isn't so cold, then I might be able to hang around a bit longer, my fingers and feet were just about numb so had to go!!

Janet,

There's nothing wrong with supplementing natural light with flash. Use an extender like Better Beamer for ~ $38 as from here.

Asher

I prefer not to use flash, because it's easy to overdo and get a "flashed" look, but sometimes it helps as fill or when there are no alternatives. If you photograph birds in trees, another problem is that branches in the foreground will be brighter than the bird you're trying to photograph with flash, and will be more distracting than they otherwise would have been. Frightening the birds doesn't seem to be an issue.

There's actually more controversy about feeding or baiting wild birds to attract them, because it can interfere with their natural foraging patterns and can attract them to humans in general, which is usually not a good thing. I don't feed birds myself, but I'll shoot at an established bird feeder that I know to be regularly maintained.

Thats a very nice series Jan. I love the swans landing.

Asher Kelman said:

There's nothing wrong with supplementing natural light with flash. Use an extender like Better Beamer for ~ $38 as from here

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Thanks for the suggestion Asher, I've not heard of these, I may get one....

David A. Goldfarb said:

I prefer not to use flash.......Frightening the birds doesn't seem to be an issue

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My preference would be not to use flash as well, but I may experiment, I must say I would still be concerned about frightening them, I'll take advice from the local RSPB man before I do though.

David A. Goldfarb said:

There's actually more controversy about feeding or baiting wild birds to attract them, because it can interfere with their natural foraging patterns and can attract them to humans in general, which is usually not a good thing. I don't feed birds myself, but I'll shoot at an established bird feeder that I know to be regularly maintained

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These birds are on an RSPB reserve, the public are encouraged to feed them especially in the winter, providing they feed the recommended food and don't feed bread which apparently can cause problems with their gut. Thanks for the advice David, I'll post more when I get some....

Ron Morse said:

Thats a very nice series Jan. I love the swans landing.

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Thank you Ron, it was really nice to watch them, and hear them!

Beautiful pictures! The second and the last stand out the most.
The birds with their heads tucked-in seems like a nice temperature-indicator. Very pleasant composition too.
The swans landing is a superb action shot - really brings out the thrill!

regi

Reginald Johnson said:

Beautiful pictures! The second and the last stand out the most.
The birds with their heads tucked-in seems like a nice temperature-indicator. Very pleasant composition too. The swans landing is a superb action shot - really brings out the thrill!

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Thank you Regi, glad you enjoyed them, it's grey and damp here today, no bird photography again I'm afraid, but hopefully soon....

Janet..I have tried once or twice to capture some flying gulls and so far not successfull..I do like number 3 and 4 the best of these..thanks for sharing them

John Pecan said:

Janet..I have tried once or twice to capture some flying gulls and so far not successfull..I do like number 3 and 4 the best of these..thanks for sharing them

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Hi John

Thank you, yes the gulls are difficult, they're so fast! Here are a couple more recent attempts, tomorrow or Monday are perhaps going to be icy here, so I'll probably go to the lake, and try and get the swans again.....




In retrospect I've oversharpened this one, I'll have to back and re-work it.

you did a really good job Janet