Post your best bird shots!

[Joel Eade]

Eastern Bluebird (female)

1DX
Manual mode, evaluative metering
1000mm
ISO 3200
f/8
1/1000
580 EXII + Better Beamer @ 1/64 power

[Kayaker72]

Eastern Bluebird (female)

1DX
Manual mode, evaluative metering
1000mm
ISO 3200
f/8
1/1000
580 EXII + Better Beamer @ 1/64 power

As usual, all your shots are excellent, but I really like this one.

[conropl]

As usual, all your shots are excellent, but I really like this one.

I agree. The gaze of the bird, and the detail is great. But I really love the background colors - the background colors match the bird so well (even the gradient).

Pat

[Joel Eade]

I agree. The gaze of the bird, and the detail is great. But I really love the background colors - the background colors match the bird so well (even the gradient).

Pat

Thanks guys!

[Joel Eade]

I am experimenting a little with higher F-stops than usual and with the 2X converter....I like the extra DOF and I don't appreciate any loss of detail due to diffraction.

The technique only works if the bird sits very still for a few seconds, otherwise the slow shutter speed won't be adequate.

This is an American Goldfinch morphing from winter to summer plumage

1DX
1000mm
ISO 3200
f/13
1/200
No flash

[Joel Eade]

I do not see Warblers often in my set up but this one has been hanging around for a couple weeks now (a yellow dumped warbler) He seems to like picking up small bits of suet that fall to the ground when the woodpeckers are feeding. The dead leaves in the woods and grass in the lawn make the BG gradient on this one. ( the perch is only about 18" tall )

1DX
700mm
ISO 3200
f/5.6
1/1000

[ahab1372]

I do not see Warblers often in my set up but this one has been hanging around for a couple weeks now (a yellow dumped warbler) He seems to like picking up small bits of suet that fall to the ground when the woodpeckers are feeding. The dead leaves in the woods and grass in the lawn make the BG gradient on this one. ( the perch is only about 18" tall )

1DX
700mm
ISO 3200
f/5.6
1/1000

Joel,
The background with the gradient came out really nice - the green adds a little punch of happiness to it.

The bird looks great too!


Arnt

[Joel Eade]

Joel,
The background with the gradient came out really nice - the green adds a little punch of happiness to it.

The bird looks great too!


Arnt

Thanks Arnt! I enjoyed yours as well, especially the 1st Egret image, the 2nd swallow and the Raven. Well done. I bet it's not easy to focus on a swallow in flight!

[ahab1372]

Thanks Arnt! I enjoyed yours as well, especially the 1st Egret image, the 2nd swallow and the Raven. Well done. I bet it's not easy to focus on a swallow in flight!

Thanks Joel,
keeping the swallows in the viewfinder is already difficult enough . I was lucky that they stayed somewhat high above the ground and were flying slowly (slow for a swallow that is) against the wind for extended periods. Once they go into a dive and hunt lower to the ground - no chance. The 5DIII did a fairly good job with the focus if the settings are right and as long as I kept the AF points on the bird. I did tweak case 6 a bit for that.
The images are heavily cropped to about 2MP. A longer lens ( I used the 70-300L) would help with the pixels on target, but I guess it would be even harder to keep the birds in the viewfinder.

[Joel Eade]

Hairy Woodpecker, from the backyard this evening

1DX
700mm
tripod
manual mode, spot metering with +1 stop of exposure compensation
ISO 3200
f/5.6
1/800