Love that first one....love the mood, nice reflection and subtle background, great details in the whites....well done!!
Printable View
You might guess it's snowing today in central Ky....makes for a different twist on the images....
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....21349994-4.jpg
Here's one I have been trying to get for about 4 years.
I have seen this guy from a distance in the woods many times but have never seen him on one of my perches until today....the fabled Yellow Bellied Sapsucker.
This is a big milestone for me as it completes my image collection of all the Woodpeckers that typically inhabit Kentucky.
A very good start to 2016 :cool:
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....42483713-4.jpg
7D MKII
500mm f/4L IS USM I
ISO 1000
1/200
f/8
Nice capture and congrats Joel on completing your WP collection.....6? I got my YBS last winter....and I've only seen it once this winter....he's always on the suet this winter.
BTW....had a Pileated WP last week...pretty early for us.....I usually see them in our backwoods mid March to April. Unusual winter; very dry and above average temps so far.
Thanks Bill.
The Pileated's live here year round and the last 3 or 4 seasons they have been regular visitors and not too hard to image.
Yes ...the six Woodpecker species include Downy, Hairy, Red Headed, Red Bellied, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker and Pileated.
Although technically the Pileated and the Sapsucker are both a different genus than the other woodpeckers.
And then there is the Northern Flicker ... looks like a woodpecker and behaves like one too. Should it be included? ( I have that image as well)
Wow, Joel! That is a fantastic capture of a beautiful bird!!
Joel.....don't go getting too technical w/me....it will hurt my brain. :D
MA Audubon states we (the state) have 6; hairy, downy, red-bellied, YBS, pileated and flicker. I have the 6.
I'm waiting for a perched shot of the YBS, to improve my capture of him.
Tufted Titmouse
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....66230170-4.jpg
7D MKII
500mm
ISO 1000
f/8
1/250*
* 1 Einstein strobe unit on a lightstand with softbox placed about 10 feet from right and angled at about 45 degrees (triggered with pocket wizard)
This was set to a very low power to ensure a very short flash duration (around 1/12,000 sec) but these flashes do not sync above a shutter speed of 1/250 which makes it challenging to stop action.
Nice Sapsucker! I have been doing more birding than actually taking pictures lately; however, I found myself in Florida a week ago with some free time and visited one of my favorite watering holes.
Tricolored Heron
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1620/...2bcf0965_c.jpg
Another Tricolored Heron
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1602/...b1dee6e1_c.jpg
Laughing Gull (95% sure)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1481/...0a97436d_c.jpg
Anhinga
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1695/...b6ec5fb4_c.jpg
Eastern Bluebird
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....83786253-4.jpg
7D MKII
500mm ISO 1000
f/8
1/250
Mourning Dove
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....39846293-4.jpg
7D MKII
500mm
ISO 1250
f/5.6
1/500
Roseate Spoonbill
Merrit Island
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1529/...57c2620f_h.jpg5D3_8760 by Stuart Edwards, on Flickr
So Stuart I and went midday, the next day Stuart went in the early a.m. and clearly better ligtht, Kayaker(Brant) and went yesterday relatively early - which if you can get there early midweek I would it would be gang busters.
Here are just a couple of the easy ones. Still have several more but I thought these some of the better / more fun ones.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1467/...8ea79e4a_b.jpgTwo Spoons and Snowy by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1597/...c6f1929b_b.jpgReddish Having B-fast by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1613/...b8a0b38a_b.jpgTern Turning by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1473/...8d755b62_b.jpgTern Diving1 by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1571/...1ebc1c95_b.jpgTern Diving2 by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/...a203567b_b.jpgTern Diving3 by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1528/...d3b245c8_b.jpgTern Diving4 by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1702/...efae9734_b.jpgTern Diving5 by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
Beautiful images of the Florida birds....looks like a great place to visit!!
Hairy Woodpecker
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....27408465-5.jpg
7D MKII
500mm
ISO 200
f/4.0
1/125
1 Einstein strobe set to -8f
About a dozen frames pano.
So follow the link - I did -0- post processing on this so the highlights are hot, etc. My goal is to provide some insight into the fun birders can have at the Merritt Island Bird Refuge.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1718/...deba30fc_b.jpgQuick Bird Pano by mbarrett5076, on Flickr
Hidden
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1452/...0cc118ca_b.jpg
Hello! by Andrea Magnelli, su Flickr
We've had a a very heavy snow (15-18") ... quite out of the ordinary for Kentucky but it is bringing the birds to the feeders in large numbers, even some that are infrequent visitors. I suspect their preferred food sources are buried right now.
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....21826699-5.jpg
Northern Flicker ... a rare visit to my feeder even though they are not rare around here
1DX
500m
ISO 2000
1/800
f/4.0
It isnt as tempting to go out with the camera in the cold after spending 4 weeks in Florida, but I got wrapped up and went to a local bird sanctuary this morning .
The birds here at home spook a lot easier than the southern ones but i managed to get close to a few.
Female Cardinal
1DsIII
400mm
f7.1
1/500
iso 400
-1 Farenheit
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1454/...5fcf6061_h.jpg1DS37906-Edit by Stuart Edwards, on Flickr
Here is one of my Female Cardinal pics from today.....
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....94461758-4.jpg
still going through some of the shots from this past weekend
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1497/...888a06ec_h.jpg1DS38454 by Stuart Edwards, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1533/...b5861701_h.jpg1DS38249 by Stuart Edwards, on Flickr
From this past weekend...if the light is just right the 7DII can produce amazing resolution. It's impossible to tell on these images as posted but the RAW files at 100% were extremely sharp.
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....18409262-3.jpg
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....63145765-3.jpg
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....86611461-3.jpg
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....60424698-3.jpg
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....43063531-3.jpg
Loving the winter shots....
More from the Circle B Bar Reserve....
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1633/...ccaf1eaa_b.jpgSmall-5854 by kayaker72, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1671/...d34c1843_b.jpgSmall-5885 by kayaker72, on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1564/...53847a5f_b.jpgSmall-6164 by kayaker72, on Flickr
Full exif data available on Flickr.
Thanks for viewing...Brant
Love the shot of the heron, Brant! Perfect in every way!
Joel , how much editing do you do to your pictures if any ? I am having a hard time getting good light in the eyes like you seem to get most of the time.
Seeing your pictures from the 7D2 , i wish i still had mine to play with but i dont regret trading for the 1dsIII.
Wow! Looking at this thread has made me realize I need to get a lot better :) I really like your cardinal Stewart.
Most of the editing I do is to try to get the most detail in the plumage and make sure the head and eye are sharp. So I look at my RAW images at 100% and if they are not sharp I trash them. Then usually all that is needed is perhaps a slight levels adjustment or selective color adjustment and slight sharpening, usually not much. In some cases I do use the dodge tool to brighten the iris but I did not on this last set. I do always try to expose to the right as far as possible which tends to capture the eye brighter.
First I would like to say, you have been posting some exceptional shots. Better than what I can typically produce.
But always looking for improvement is always good. So my comments below are given in that light.
There was a point I wounder the same about Joel's birds... the eyes were just exceptional. Luckily, Joel is very generous in sharing his shooting parameters. So I went through a lot of his posts to get a handle on what's different. You will find his shutter speeds are typically quit high, and he is not afraid to bump his ISO up to get the higher shutter speeds (and exposing to the right helps reduce the noise problem). I never liked high ISO's to get the shutter speed up (unwarranted fear of noise) and did not follow his lead, but out of frustration I finally broke down and tried it... and produced some of the best shots of birds I have ever had and the noise was not that bad. What I learned was shutter speed is key to get the sharpness in the eye, but you still need to get the exposure to the right so it does not go black on you. If you need to bump the ISO up to do so, then so be it. Beyond that, the basics of a good tripod, mount, and a release (don't touch the camera) should help you get good sharpness. I went back to Flickr to see some of your shot settings of a few of your recent posts. You have been running shutter speeds of 1/400 to 1/800 (most of the ones I looked at were 1/400-1/500), and your ISO's were pretty low at 200-400.
I have to admit (and he doesn't even know it), I have learned a lot from Joel and his generous sharing of information. Going through this thread and studying different shots and parameters is one of the best educations you can get. You are past my abilities (I love the clean backgrounds), but I think if you could get your shots up to 1/1000-1/1200 second shutter speeds (1/800 minimum), then the eyes would step up to another level. And it is all about the eyes.
I am probably the last person that should be giving advice in this thread, so take it for what it is worth.:)
Pat
Spot on analysis and thanks for the kind words. Pat I am humbled anyone would take time to study what i've done.
I discovered early on that birds rarely stop moving, especially their eyes and head, so without a fast shutter speed it is rare to get a really critically sharp image. Think about how small the iris of a bird's eye is and you are trying to resolve some detail in it from 50 feet away while it's moving. So, to my way of thinking, the faster the better and I always am willing to push the ISO to get my exposure to the right without clipping the whites very much.
I have actually shot many times with auto ISO in Tv mode but I shoot manual probably at least 90% of the time. On dark subjects (especially against light BG) I will often push 2 stops or more above what the in camera meter (I use evaluative metering mostly) reads as zero. The eyes look good this way but often the other parts of the bird really appear "washed out" on the RAW image. This usually corrects easily with a levels adjustment.
Beides fast shutter speed I use a high end Gitzo tripod with a Wimberly II Gimbal. I put my left hand on top of the lens and push down slightly as I sort of push my right eye brow against the camera just above the viewfinder. This adds stabilization and improves fine detail resolution.
One more factor....I like flash set on manual at a low power (for very fast pulse duration) with a better beamer. This adds some sparkle to the eyes and helps contrast as well as sharpness too.
Thanks Joel and Pat ! it is supposed to be nice and sunny this weekend so i will get out and try paying more attention to the histogram and push it more to the right.
the info you guys share on this forum is great !
Second that THANKS!
Excellent advice you don't find very often. Through various workshops I have learned how to use my histogram to my advantage, but have not yet learned the small intricate relationships aperture, shutter speed, and ISO can make in varying scenarios. Sometimes I get it right, but quite often not so much. I definitely need to pay more attention to my shutter speeds.
By the way, I really enjoy the photos posted by you two. Always awesome.
Agreed...great advice. I've heard it before but my other habits have made it difficult to follow. I fall into the camp that tries to preserve low ISO at almost all costs (they charts tell me it must be so!!!). This is a very good reminder and I will have to put into practice more.
Little birds fidget. Always... I think 1/1000 is the minimum shutter speed in most scenarios with small birds.
Dave
Posting this because I thought this female Northern Cardinal had unusually bright red accents, much brighter looking than most.
http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....60038259-4.jpg
7D II
500mm
ISO 1000
1/800
f/6.3
RAW conversion with DPP4
Joel ,your bird pics have got me itching to get a 7dII again .