DSLRUsers.com

by **mudder** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 4:48 pm

G'day all,

Got up early and went down to the Serendip wildlife sanctuary (in Lara, Melways edition 29 423D2) this morning, there two hours before the gates opened but previously worked out with the ranger about getting in early... :-)

Wow, for the bird nuts out there, all I can say is "get down there!"... There's several bird hides and heaps of different types of birds, some falcons, all sorts including wallabies, Kangaroos, emu's etc... Even had my first play with the SB-800 on some of them when close to try and fill-in some dark shadows etc. (never seen "red-eye" on a bird before, I'm yet to learn how to drive the thing properly), but wow that thing's a bewdy!!!

Anyway, had a blast, shot about 250 images. I've put a few up on an alternative site while pixspot is down :-(

, hope it's back up soon...

http://photobucket.com/albums/v491/falc ... Sanctuary/

See what you think (all using the 80-400VR), any advice, critique etc. is eagerly welcomed... :-)

Cheers,
Mudder

by **Raydar** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:10 pm

Well done mate

Love the Tawny Frogmouth, has he got a suss look on his face or what????? :evil:

Just one thing…how much sharpening are you using in cam or in PP, it looks to me as if haloing is starting to take over.
It could be the way the site resizes for display to.

Cheers
Ray

by **sirhc55** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:18 pm

Very nice shots mudder - makes the choice between the 70-200VR and and the lens you have used all that much harder

Chris

by **Greg B** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:26 pm

mudder, you are a dab hand at the wildlife photography, no doubt about it. Very very impressive.

If the Tawny Frogmouth is 4553, I agree with Ray, this one jumped out at me with the attitude on that bird's face.

I am not going to insult you by saying that you got these great shots because you have the 80-400VR, but there is no doubt that it is a great lens for this kind of thing, and you really know how to work it.

So do I gather you have bought the SB800? That didn't take long

cheers

by **Onyx** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:40 pm

Mudder, you + 80-400VR + animals = great combination!

Kangaroo & Kookaburra super cute!! Me likes.

by **mudder** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:51 pm

G'day,

Raydar wrote: ...how much sharpening are you using in cam or in PP, it looks to me as if haloing is starting to take over...

I noticed it myself but was in a bit of a rush, on the shots:
DSC_4392Myfamilytree.jpg especially as that was a crop, but also on
DSC_4462inflight.jpg

For the first time, I tried playing a bit with sharpening differently by luminance only at full size, then tried a very slight sharpen once down-sized on these ones but I think I stuffed 'em up... I think the rest were just basic sharpening after resize (hmmm, or was it before re-size? Damn the washing!) Thanks for picking it up and noticing, any help goes a long way when learning... :-)

sirhc55 wrote:makes the choice between the 70-200VR and and the lens you have used all that much harder
Chris

The thing that closed the deal for me was the reach and the $... I wouldn't have been able to go for the 70-200 + tele-conv, and I find I'm using the full 400mm quite regularly... The 70-200 would be a lot easier to get in-flight shots with the AF-S's snappy focus...

Spose it depends on how much reach you're after and how may $ you can throw at it...

Greg B wrote:... So do I gather you have bought the SB800? That didn't take long...

Greg, yep, I buckled and gave in once I had a play with yours at he mini-meet (shhh, if we talk quietly no-one will know it was really a booze-up) :lol:

Onyx wrote:Mudder, you + 80-400VR + animals = great combination!

Thanks Onyx... I'm a sucker for animals... ALthough there was a bloody cat wandering around in one of the bird areas, so I called the ranger who has been chasing it as it's killed a few birds recently, I believe it'll be trapped and "taken care of"...

Cheers and thanks all for the advice and feedback,
Mudder

by **Killakoala** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:57 pm

Excellent pics mate.

I really like the expressions on the kangaroo and the tawny frogmouth.

by **meicw** on Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:44 pm

Great shots, Mudder. Loved the Kangaroo and the Family Tree. Lot's of triangles there to please the traditionalists.

Regards
Meic

by **gooseberry** on Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:25 am

Mudder,

Great shots there - really like the composition for "My family tree" and great moment to catch the kookaburra's expression. Maybe I can suggest you reduce your sharpening amount just a tad as it's starting to produce some artifacts on a few of the shots - but that's just my preference.

by **PlatinumWeaver** on Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:29 am

Mudder, your wagtail is a wren, but other than that I love the shots..

Tisk tisk on the flash by the way..

by **mudder** on Mon Jan 10, 2005 6:42 pm

G'day,

gooseberry wrote:... Maybe I can suggest you reduce your sharpening amount just a tad as it's starting to produce some artifacts on a few of the shots...

Yep, you're right, I stuffed a few of 'em up when I was trying sharpening different ways...