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I was lucky enough to have some friends visit our apartment today.. very friendly fellows

http://kris.dingo.net.au/birds/

I found the images didnt come out very sharp, given I was RIGHT next to them are there distance limitations to the kit lens? Would the 50mm 1.8D be a better choice?

That's not birddog Kris!
Nice pics! great colour!

very nice! ...

a little bit more light and voila!

maybe it's time to invest in a nice 18mm f/2.8D for Christmas

Yes more light... it was very overcast, the birds came back and I took some more shots.. ill post them soon.

Whats the best way to include more light? Use flash fill? or get a SB 800?

Very friendly fellas.

chris... if you adjust the f stop and the shutter speed... you can get a lot more light in.... just need to watch the camera stability as the the shutter speed will be lower...

or you could increase the iso....

there are a hundred and one ways to increase light.... if you can ... investment is a good flush gun is a good start...

cheers and looking forward to seeing more shots

G'day Kris,
Isn't it great when visitors like this drop in? Nice catch... The Rosella's in the various parks down here love black sun-flower seeds... Maybe that'll help keep 'em around... Especially judging by your "backyard" in the pic...

Cheers,
Mudder

Thanks guys, i used Fstop 18, but ill lower it next time. I'll also look at a SB800

This shop came out a BIT better..

We are getting a bird feeder now as its the 3rd time these fella's have visited and they love being photographed! I'll get some sunflower seeds for the feeder

perfect!!

i love the contrast between nature and the concrete jungle...

well done mate.

Love it!!!!!

You don’t see that very often

Is this the first time they have visited your place???

Cheers
Ray

Beautiful photos Kris! I was at my best friend's wedding last night which was held at the Harbour View Hotel, looks like you live close to it? Cheers,


Geoff.

i hope you don't mind me playing with your shot... if so let me know and i'll edit this post.... couldn't help myself with the vivid colours of the parrot... only a very rough and quick edit, can spend more time on it if you are interested...

You gota love Photoshop ha

Cheers
Ray

Kris,

The problem with simply "letting more light in" to the image is that, by doing something with your f-stop or shutter, you're adjusting the EV for the whole image. Thus, while getting more light onto the birds (Where's McGwynne?), you'll be starting to blow out the background more, and I really don't believe that that's what you're wanting to achieve.

The deal is that you really need to balance the total light available for the whole image - the bright sunlit sections, with the deep shadows in the birds that are very close.

And fortunately, backlit, in terms of the rest of the subject matter being photographed. That makes the decision easy - flash fill.

Pop your built-in flash and shoot. My guess is that you'd need to dial back the flash by around 1 stop to achieve an ideal balance, or if you can use your SB800 off-camera and diffused, so much the better.

But that's how I'd be doing it.


Nice work nonetheless. Love those shy bushland creatures.

They look like friends or relatives of the birds my friends in Lane Cove used to have on their windows.

xerubus, that looks wonderful. Can you tell me how to do it?? I've got the original ill play around with

Gary, thankyou. Yes this is similar to the statue we shot at birddogs house you helped me with.. I will look at a SB800 maybe next year. I did take a shot with the flash but it overexposed the bird quite dramatically.

Thanks for the tips, glad you like the photograph

Geoff wrote:Beautiful photos Kris! I was at my best friend's wedding last night which was held at the Harbour View Hotel, looks like you live close to it? Cheers,


Geoff.

Geoff, i live right in North Sydney I'm not sure where that Hotel is but..

Kris wrote:xerubus, that looks wonderful. Can you tell me how to do it?? I've got the original ill play around with

Gary, thankyou. Yes this is similar to the statue we shot at birddogs house you helped me with.. I will look at a SB800 maybe next year. I did take a shot with the flash but it overexposed the bird quite dramatically.

Thanks for the tips, glad you like the photograph

Kris,

Yes, the overexposure would occur because of the closeness of the subject matter, and yes, the statue situation at Birddog's is very similar in many respects.. That's where the FEC comes into play; I suggested dialling down one stop; you have up to three stops to play with.

Also, shooting manual might be useful too: note the suggested readings (presuming A mode), switch to M, dial in the noted readings, pop the flash and dial it back, and then make your exposure.

Check histograms and adjust Aperture/flash as needed, using the aperture to adjust the main background image's exposure, and FEC for the foreground.

Kris wrote:

Geoff wrote:Beautiful photos Kris! I was at my best friend's wedding last night which was held at the Harbour View Hotel, looks like you live close to it? Cheers,


Geoff.

Geoff, i live right in North Sydney I'm not sure where that Hotel is but..

The Rocks, IIRC.

gstark wrote:

Kris wrote:xerubus, that looks wonderful. Can you tell me how to do it?? I've got the original ill play around with

Gary, thankyou. Yes this is similar to the statue we shot at birddogs house you helped me with.. I will look at a SB800 maybe next year. I did take a shot with the flash but it overexposed the bird quite dramatically.

Thanks for the tips, glad you like the photograph

Kris,

Yes, the overexposure would occur because of the closeness of the subject matter, and yes, the statue situation at Birddog's is very similar in many respects.. That's where the FEC comes into play; I suggested dialling down one stop; you have up to three stops to play with.

Also, shooting manual might be useful too: note the suggested readings (presuming A mode), switch to M, dial in the noted readings, pop the flash and dial it back, and then make your exposure.

Check histograms and adjust Aperture/flash as needed, using the aperture to adjust the main background image's exposure, and FEC for the foreground.

Now to tell the birds to just wait whilst I do that

I'll keep them in mind (written down!) for next time

this is the way i do hand colouring....

http://www.gimpguru.org/Tutorials/Selec ... orization/