"Duck!"

[sheepie]

...or "Incoming!"


http://sheepie.smugmug.com/gallery/267498/1/20941645

Very hard to get a good pic in this situation - back lit by a bright sky. Used flash, Continuous Focus, Spot metering, and a lot of luck!

Taken with the 70-300G, SB800, and of course, the D70

Anyone that questions the usefulness of a good flash in this situation needs to try taking some of these pics! Near on impossible to get anything of use if you don't use flash
Took some others with higher ISO's but they look crap because of the grain. Using the flash I was able to get a fast shutter speed, but even that was marginal.

Any comments appreciated - any advice on flash setup for this situation even more appreciated

[PiroStitch]

I dunno what to say but I like it, a lot Looks a lot like a bird poster

[big pix]

good capture and use of flash.......... have you tried a bit more of a crop to bring up the birds, say the left hand side to reduced the over powering green leaves a bit........

cheers
bp

[sheepie]

...have you tried a bit more of a crop to bring up the birds, say the left hand side to reduced the over powering green leaves a bit...

No I hadn't cropped any tighter, but have tried this now:


I LIKE Thanks for the suggestion!

[big pix]

Fantastic.... the birds now stand out and you have a better pix.......which was always there....

cheers
bp

[SoCal Steve]

Any comments appreciated

Give Lessons. I think you nailed it, Sheepie.
It a great looking picture. Good before the crop. Even stronger with it.
Good call, Big Pix.

[big pix]

I have been sitting out on my deck trying to get a pix of a butcher bird who uses my pot plants for his feeding dish, but when I have the d70 with me there is a no show........ I guess he is just not a star, and I will have a hell of a time to get a pix anywhere near as good as the one above. Well done

cheers
bp

[Killakoala]

That's awesome mate.

With two different types of birds (and no duck in sight) i reckon this is brilliant.

Well done.

[Matt. K]

Sheepie
Don't crop! Your first image was correct! Is that image real or PS? If it's real then it's a masterpeice! You are an artist!

[sheepie]

Is that image real or PS?

It's real - along with the 60 others I took this afternoon! There's a couple worth publishing, but not all that many - I put up a few others on the smugmug site if anyone's interested

Thanks for the comments all

[BBJ]

Hey sheep lover, Mate that is bloody cool, i love it. Well done and yes would have been a hard shot to get but hey you did and turned out very well.
Cheers mate and well done.

[Matt. K]

Sheepie
You are getting too good! Go back to film!

[Killakoala]

I keep coming back to have another look at this piccie.

I reckon it is better than your 'famous' published lightning pic.

The photo has four distinct elements to it. Two types of birds and two types of foilage.

Your finger has snapped a gem.

[sheepie]

Surely it's not better than the lightning pic!

[sirhc55]

Wow - the first, uncropped version, does it for me - well done

[kipper]

Dude, that is fantastic. I normally can't stand shooting with pure white cloud coverage because it usually produces quite dull looking shots. Well it does when shooting landscapes. However this type of sky has done wonders to this image. It really makes the birds and foliage stand out a mile. I thought it was a painting for a moment.

[stubbsy]

Leon

awesome. The blown sky works a treat and the colours are superb. I want an SB800

For me both cropped and uncropped work, but I prefer the uncropped.

[KerryPierce]

Very cool shot, Sheepie.

[ozczecho]

Awesome, esp. the uncropped version.

[Glen]

Sheepie, I love it. You must be very proud to have captured that moment. For me, the uncropped version tells a bigger story. As Steve said the four different elements are very well combined. Another winner with the under rated 70-300





ps Maybe we should start a section - Brilliant shots with the under rated 70-300?