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Hi there,

I was planning to get up nice and early today to go out and shoot birds at the Moorooduc Quarry... But got invited out to a BBQ last night and the hangover didn't allow the 'early' part to happen....

I think it was too late in the morning for the birds to be out and about (could hear plenty but couldn't actually see many)...

But I got this Kookaburra. Had to clone out HEAPS of background branches.

D70 + 500 f4 (ISO400, F7.1, 1/1600)


Comments and Critique strongly encouraged. (I really need to get better at this and you guys are my only hope )

Paul

Looks good, I was amazed when you mentioned the cloning as I thought you just got a lucky 'clear' shot. How do you find the 500 ?

No luck clear shot that's for sure:



I seem to struggle heaps with getting pleasing backgrounds in my bird photography. Today I was walking around looking for good perches (Ignoring the birds altogether) and I still couldn't seem to find any 'clear' shots. The more I try the more jealous I get of Kipper

The 500 is fantastic. VERY heavy with BODY + LENS + TUBES + FLASH + FLASH BRACKET + TRIPOD.... I get a sore shoulder after about 20 mins. I think I'm going to have to create some sort of shoulder pad.

I think my long lens technique is getting better as I'm getting sharper shots now (Still not TACK sharp...but better than before)

Paul

 BTW, what's coming off the beak of the Kooka ? Is it a background stick ? Or is it a snake/lizard tail ?

I think it's a tail of some sort. I didn't see him catch anything before I took the shot though.

Paul

Hi Paul
considering the branches in the original, your PP work is great. I imagine it took a while to carefully clone out all those branches ??

It's a pity that the head is just out of focus, but looking at your EXIF, you really didn't have much room to move, without bumping the ISO up anymore. Did you try any shots with larger ISO and aperture settings, to gain more DOF ? I'm assuming the high shutter speed was required due to lagging light levels ?!?

I like the composition as well....very nice image

Thanks Dave,

The cloning probably took around 1/2 an hour. Most of that time was spent getting the blue into a nice continuous colour. The Wacom Graphics Tablet I got last week REALLY helps with things like that. I got the Graphire (not the better/double as expensive Intuos) and it's 100x better than using the mouse. Much more natural and accurate.


The high shutter speed was not due to lagging light.... it was very bright. If I had more time to set up I would have used a larger F stop. I also wanted to keep the shutter speed up a little because I wasn't all that steady (hung-over) and didn't want to introduce too much blur.

Hopefully the weather will stay good tonight and I will go back out later on this arvo when the light should be kinder.

Paul

NikonUser wrote:Thanks Dave,

The cloning probably took around 1/2 an hour. Most of that time was spent getting the blue into a nice continuous colour. The Wacom Graphics Tablet I got last week REALLY helps with things like that. I got the Graphire (not the better/double as expensive Intuos) and it's 100x better than using the mouse. Much more natural and accurate.


The high shutter speed was not due to lagging light.... it was very bright. If I had more time to set up I would have used a larger F stop. I also wanted to keep the shutter speed up a little because I wasn't all that steady (hung-over) and didn't want to introduce too much blur.

Hopefully the weather will stay good tonight and I will go back out later on this arvo when the light should be kinder.

Paul

sorry paul....I meant to say high shutter speed due to a lot of light, but the brain isn't functioning well today

I seem to struggle heaps with getting pleasing backgrounds in my bird photography. Today I was walking around looking for good perches (Ignoring the birds altogether) and I still couldn't seem to find any 'clear' shots.

ignoring the birds whilst looking for good perches wont help.
The idea is to learn about the birds first. their habits etc. when in an area where the birds you are after live, its best to notice where they go most often or if they have a favourite perch. (raptors in particular may have a regular perch where they might look over their domain) you may notice bird droppings on a favourite perch. h
aving found your birds you may then pick a good perch which would offer a good shot then sit and wait.

Sometimes (even though it may sound counter productive at first) I find that you learn more about them if you dont have the camera. (unless of course you have driven for hours to get there). If you have the camera, as soon as you see a new bird, you get all excited and try to get a shot and often fail because you spook the bird.
But
if you dont have a camera, you have no choice but to sit and watch and in the process learn some stuff that will let you get the shots at a later time.
Steve

Rather than the laughing kookaburra it looks shy
Nice job on removing the background btw. I've been removing things from some recent photos and the job can be freakin time consuming, and annoying as hell when things don't go quite right.