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ok.. note to self.. dont attempt bird photos.. looking west after the sun has gone down in low light conditions... without a charged up Sb800... tried it with a nearly flat sb800.. these are the results.. 70-200 at 400mm

Comments welcome!!

Tim

isnt photographing birds fun!!

Thats why I decided to give it a blast.
Is like nothing else I had ever done.

no other subject can just up and fly away!!
and they are small.

Patience almost always pays off with photographing birds.
knowing the habits, behaviour of your intended quarry helps also.

The Best light is when the sun is lower in the sky, morning or late arvo with morning probably better.

you have done well getting withing 70-200 range on the wagtail.
The ones around here are hard pressed to get within 400mm range and never sit still for very long, if at all.

usually better if you have light coming from behind you as well

fill flash helps heaps, but you are better to under flash rather than over.

Steve

Hey Steve, yeah, these lil critters are pretty flighty too.. but luckily I didnt have 1 wagtail to deal with.. but 3 of them... It'd been raining for 3hrs before they showed up and I ventured outside... the 70-200 didnt cut the cheese.. thats why I had it at 400mm.. with the 2x tele.. tried to use fill flash.. but difficult with the rain clouds and sun being set.. and fading light...

thanks for the comments and info

Tim

Tim,

All I can say is keep trying techniques, throw in heaps of patiences and ask loads of bloomin' questions!

As Steve said, it ain't easy but its worth the challenge.

Cheers

Michael

ps - any luck with chasing up hides yet?

G'day Michael, thanks for the comments..

As for the hides... no luck yet, still looking around at whats on the market.. but I'll let you know what I go for when I do..

Tim

in most instances hides arent that important. expecially if people are around, someone will surely call the cops!!
there are a few links around with people offering hides if you are really interested.

a bit of reach certainly helps. 400mm with a finch means you need to be around 8 feet away for full frame.
bigger birds you can be further away for full frame

sitting still for the required time will often let the birds relax enough to go about their business.
I still have a camo net and various camo clothing left over from govt employment. havent tried the net for birding but the smock is often used because it has big pockets and offers just a little extra warmth when it is cooler.

just sitting still in long grass works wonders. sitting up against a tree works well.

I spent over an hour in grass waiting for a bird to go where I had seen him perch a few times. I waited a similar time to get a shot of some bell birds drinking.

as for light, the lower angle light is best but some reach on a flash helps heaps too. Mr better beamer adds range to your flash, as well as faster follow up shots. well worth having one if you want to improve your bird shots.

practice the techniques and see for yourself what works and what doesnt.

If you dont have one, get one (or more as appropriate) field guides to birds.

makes it more interesting if you see something, you can actually identify it.

Steve

Luckily Ive got a few places where i can setup a hide without people calling the police (river behind me, tree farm and such)

I can sit still for hours waiting for birds to get into position.. but ive got alot of spooky birds that will see one leaf move and take off.. so im thinking a hide might help..

and the bird books.. well.. i think ive got 5 or 6 bird guides... I worked in a petshop for 5yrs... mainly working with finches and parrots.. (and in Aquariums dealing with american and african cichlids) .. so most birds I can identify.. just the odd ones that get me, but i track them down quickly (Which is why I like to try and Photograph them)

Mr Beamer.. well.. Radar is collecting names for folks who want one.. and ive put my name down for one, lookin forward to using one

Cheers for the info Steve

Tim

Tim - IMO birds have two states, in motion and sitting/shitting. Your first photo is fantastic as you know its a bird, and the motion is so beautifully captured - almost surreal.

There is a third state for birds - stuffed and ready for carving

Hi Tim,

I gotta say I really like the first one, the blur has created a really nice effect and the position of the bird is great.

But.....can you do it again if you want to?

cheers,
Danny.

I will try and do it again sometime.. and thanks for the comments

Here's a couple i took this morning...





Comments welcome as always

Tim

You know my thoughts on this subject tim.

Go to a zoo or just kill them and put them on a stick, much easier.

And you can eat them afterwards.

Superglue rules OK

Dug wrote:You know my thoughts on this subject tim.

Go to a zoo or just kill them and put them on a stick, much easier.

And you can eat them afterwards.

Superglue rules OK

HAHAHAHAHA *falls off chair*