Post your best bird shots!

[Jordan]

Wickerprints: Where are you from? I thought those were only in Hawaii....

[wickerprints]

Wickerprints: Where are you from? I thought those were only in Hawaii....
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I *wish* I lived in Hawaii.


You mean this bird? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-crowned_Night_Heron


Seems like its range is pretty diverse.... Bear in mind I know almost nothing about birds. Never even had an interest in them until I got hooked on hummingbird photography. Come to think of it, maybe I would enjoy Costa Rica more than Hawaii. Below, a mix of the old and the new. First three are Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna), last one is a broad-billed hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris):


5D Mark II + 100/2.8L macro IS @ f/5 @ 1/200s @ ISO 400


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5D Mark II + 100/2.8L macro IS @ f/7.1 @ 1/40s @ ISO 320


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40% crop of above photo:


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5D Mark II + 300/4L IS @ f/4 @ 1/40s @ ISO 320


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[Bill W]

Wickerprints;


If you like HBs, check out PBS' http://video.pbs.org/video/1380512531/


Great HB photography w/many destinations up and down the Americas.


Great photos w/the 100....

[wickerprints]

Wickerprints;


If you like HBs, check out PBS' [url="http://video.pbs.org/video/1380512531/]http://video.pbs.org/video/1380512531/[/url]


Great HB photography w/many destinations up and down the Americas.


Great photos w/the 100....
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WOW. Just... WOW. Thank you so much for the link! It appears that the video is quite recent, too. I can't imagine anybody watching this video without being left with a sense of pure wonderment and respect for hummingbirds. Wish I could visit some of the habitats of the species shown in the film; all we have here are Anna's hummingbirds, and a few other species at the zoo.


They really are just marvelous and beautiful creatures, and an absolute joy to watch. I saw the diving display of the male Anna's hummingbird on a recent trip out, and it's really funny to watch. He'll zip right up into the sky, hover for a beat, and then divebomb toward the ground at incredible speed. I have a few Anna's visiting me in my backyard (where I took the above photos), and to date I have not observed this behavior in the male, presumably because (1) there are no females present, or (2) the environment isn't suitable.


Also, thanks for the compliments on my photos...my motivation for getting the 300/4L IS was in fact to better photograph these birds. But I soon discovered that, with the appropriate setup, the 100/2.8L macro IS was a better choice. Hummingbirds are so intent on finding and guarding good nectar sources that they can quite easily overcome their skittishness around people. As such, setting up a feeder right outside my backyard door made it easy to photograph them, and the macro enabled me to fill the frame. I would sit very still and let the hummer come up to the feeder, and it was easy to get a rough estimate of where it would hover between sips. That let me catch them in flight. The main difficulty was getting enough light (resolved by using flash and an umbrella to bounce), and finding good exposure settings. I still haven't quite gotten the perfect exposure.


For the zoo shots, I use the 300/4L IS because I can't get close enough to the feeders or set up a tripod. It works all right, but to date I have not yet been able to catch them in flight--they simply don't visit the feeder frequently enough. I could wait for hours and only have a couple of chances at a shot, and even then, other patrons entering the aviary can scare the hummers away.

[doggiedoc]

Beautiful images!! I am jealous.

[doggiedoc]

Ok so I am going to be brave and post my "best" bird shot. I hope you all find it favorable.


Taken with my 40D + EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS @ 370mm 1/8000s, f/5.6, iso 400.











I'd like the duck please... by doggiedoc@tcah.com, on Flickr
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[Tadas N.]

Hi, I have some new shots from my set-up in forest so I thought I could share them here. I have a problem with light (my camera settings usually are f/5.6, 1/20-50 and ISO 500, and you know how fast these little birds are). I tried to use on-camera flash, but I was getting better photos without it (and there were more birds in feeder). So now I usecontinuousshooting and am happy if I get a sharp photo. In one day I take 600-1000 photos (and spend 8-11 hours), only some images are good. Do you have any tips?


Two shots ofNuthatch:


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Any comments, critics and questions are welcome.


Canon 50D + Canon 100-400mm



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[Richard Lane]

Hi, I have some new shots from my set-up in forest so I thought I could share them here. I have a problem with light (my camera settings usually are f/5.6, 1/20-50 and ISO 500, and you know how fast these little birds are). I tried to use on-camera flash, but I was getting better photos without it (and there were more birds in feeder). So now I usecontinuousshooting and am happy if I get a sharp photo. In one day I take 600-1000 photos (and spend 8-11 hours), only some images are good. Do you have any tips?


Two shots ofNuthatch:








Any comments, critics and questions are welcome.


Canon 50D + Canon 100-400mm


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Depending on the time of day, weather or shade; it sounds like you may have to bump up the ISO, because 1/20sec or 1/50sec in is not fast enough for moving birds at 400mm, it's even slow for static birds.


Please add anyadditional information that you could think of. What is the EXIF data for these shots, as compared to EXIF data for bad shots and pleasepost a bad shot. These look pretty good to me.


Some considerations for shooting in low light in the forest would be to; use a tripod, bump up the ISO to 800-1600, buy a wider aperture/ faster lens like f/2.8 or lastly, consider a FF Body or 1.3x crop body.


Rich

[Fast Glass]

(my camera settings usually are f/5.6, 1/20-50 and ISO 500, and you know how fast these little birds are).

Thats anything but a fast shutter speed! Fast action starts at LEAST 1/320th of a second and faster. Also, stay away from those in between ISO's, ISO 500 is worst than 800. The ISO that are 1/3 stopslower from say 800 or 1600 are still OK because they are just pulling the exposure,butthe ISO's that are 1/3 stop fasterthan 400 or 800arebad becuase they are pushing the exposure badly.Daniel Browning will give the technicall details.


John.

[JJphoto]

Tadas, nice shots as usual, like them very much.

In one day I take 600-1000 photos (and spend 8-11 hours)

Wow, I wish I can do that, I can only shoot 2 hours/week, kids have been ruining my life[]

only some images are good. Do you have any tips?

get 1DIV and 600mm 4.0 II[:P]


anyway, I like your work, keep them coming!