Bird Photography

[barren yoke]

Dave always has great bird photos

[fleet mica]

did you ask him if he'd seen Nemo?

[fleet mica]

you're far too kind! I do my best. Still lots to learn (I'm a newbie too, only been at it for 19 months now).

[proper arch]

I should’ve XD but at that time I didnt watch Nemo before, so couldn’t ask

[barren yoke]

Lovely! I've been messing around with it since 2020. Only just getting more serious this year

[fleet mica]

like any hobby, it takes time and practice

[barren yoke]

Yeah!

I posted on insta my most recent work

I don't remember if you followed me

[fleet mica]

yes I do follow you, but I'm terrible at keeping up with everyone's posts

[barren yoke]

Well you could go check it out lol

[spring vault]

time & practice & living in australia where the birds are so pretty 😩

[barren yoke]

Lol yeah I don't live in Australia

I just try my best

[fleet mica]

that's the best way to get better

[fleet mica]

we are so lucky!

[barren yoke]

Yup

[wispy mesa]

thank you! 😉 Such a beauty.

[fleet mica]

from yesterday

[barren yoke]

Woah

See I told you your photos were always awesome

This one is especially amazing

[scarlet tulip]

"what the hell are you looking at?"

[scarlet tulip]

"something over there"

[mint warren]

this shot was kinda creepy due to the timing of the nictating membrane

spoonbill time spoonbill time

[barren yoke]

Wohooo

[fleet mica]

I've been getting a fair few shots with the nictating membrane of late

[mint warren]

RBE Time

also stilts

[barren yoke]

Oh my goodness look at all the birdies

[mighty sand]

Bruh the goose in the first photo lmao 😂

[scarlet tulip]

Such odd light last Sunday

Good times

[mint warren]

these two came out nice

[broken spruce]

Lovely blue 💙

[fleet mica]

VERY nice!

[proper arch]

I love blue birds 💙

[barren yoke]

Woah

[broken mantle]

This saturday imma go on a boat trip to get some frigate birb pics.

Any tips for taking birb pics while on a boat?

[frozen belfry]

dont drop the camera

[frosty yacht]

do your best to stabilize yourself, and shoot at a high shutter speed

shooting on boats is really difficult if the water is not calm because the boat rocks around

[wheat hare]

I use a monopod with a gimbal head 90% of the time when on a boat

[mint warren]

Any of you lads ever set up a birdbath with a solar powered water pump?

[barren yoke]

Yes

I did

It was cool but I didn't maintain it

[hexed oyster]

Ducks

[mint warren]

requesting common loon pics

[barren yoke]

Ofc

I think that's my best one

[proper arch]

Birbs ❤️

[barren yoke]

Ooo

[fleet mica]

Watch out for this loon. VERY dangerous

[barren yoke]

Wow. A redheaded poisonous rapter!! /Jj

[fleet mica]

Lol

An average day in the office yesterday - may have gotten a few chestnut breasted mannikins. Haven’t had a chance to download to the computer and check yet

[broken mantle]

Schlooorp

Unedited. Currently still on the boat

[fleet mica]

I wanna go on a pelagic trip

[barren yoke]

I got a new vacuum

Completely unrelated lol sorry

It's already 30 outside and there's no birds

I need more bird seed and then I'll think about photography

[broken mantle]

Doing BIF on a boat us challenging

Getting seasick from all of the panning motion lol

[broken mantle]

In the rain

Now my boat is stuck too, gotta wait for the rain to stop

[ocean frigate]

wait that will be sick

crop left part out

[ocean frigate]

send the file here later

[broken mantle]

Now im stuck on a mangroove forest on a boat

[broken mantle]

Yeah will do.

Shot tons of that birb, but cant sort them now.

[ocean frigate]

looks like a lot of potential tho fa sho

[broken mantle]

Yeah

Got some more darker shots too, from when the rain becomes waay stronger.

[wheat hare]

Oh yeah forgot to mention the motion sickness pills.

[broken mantle]

Took them mid trip

Now im fine

[mint warren]

My two favorite american birds are common loons and Killdeers

[mint warren]

frigatebirds?

[broken mantle]

Yea

[mint warren]

cool, ever get them with the big red throat sacks?

[broken mantle]

Yea got some

[mint warren]

[ocean frigate]

damn did the other one miss focus

[barren yoke]

I agree killdeer are so very adorable

I love kingfishers and shorebirds..... But I think the little migrants (warblers+ flycatchers) and above shorebirds

[ocean frigate]

top right damn

[broken mantle]

Havent checked all of them, but some of them are out of focus.

[mint warren]

Killdeers are basically like plovers, which I already like

also their name is a great reminder

[broken mantle]

Got a brighter scene from a different angle.

[broken mantle]

Got everything on todays trip

Even the birb pissing

[mint warren]

I love shidding bird pics

[broken mantle]

[spring vault]

nice pics

[spring vault]

this one is my favourite

[hidden wyvern]

recently made a new bird friend

not the most rare bird i got a photo of

this was actually with a 100 2.8 opposed to my normal bird lens

[mint warren]

faaark thats crisp

[wheat hare]

lol #1041487027255914566 message

[merry cove]

For me it's always the egret pissing

[barren yoke]

I think I only have like an osprey shitting

But usually I don't always take a photo when its doing that lol

[static magnet]

Found a kestrel in my local park today, cool lil guy

[merry cove]

I just take photos and sometimes they pee lok

[static magnet]

I got the last one today, robin took a crap mid burst 💀

[wheat hare]

Poop is blurry 2/10

[broken mantle]

[broken mantle]

Just noticed i got the next part of the story

[broken mantle]

Left most birb is done with its fellow birds

[fleet mica]

loon, correct?

[fleet mica]

I bet it sucks 😛

[broken mantle]

I really wanted a loon pic

I heard that they sound awesome

[frozen belfry]

I’m kicking myself for not bringing my camera out to the mountains

I saw a spoonbill

Never seen one before

[fleet mica]

saw 2 spoonbills today, including 1 in in breeding plumage

😛

[hexed oyster]

Indeed

[broken mantle]

i got them boobies pics

[lusty kindle]

Looks pointy

[mint warren]

would be sick to get a Gannet mid dive

when they've gone full missile mode

[barren yoke]

Yup

It snowed

I need to buy more bird seed

[static magnet]

the rarest bird of all

pigeon

[barren yoke]

Neat!

[broken mantle]

first time combining a panning bif shot

PS file is 500mb and crashed twice

[merry cove]

why

[merry cove]

ouch

worth it tho

[broken mantle]

and i cheated and used AI... so wont be posting it on the photo galleries

[merry cove]

Ah, still a good result tho

[broken mantle]

yea that part is kinda good

the bottom right part is kinda f*ked lol

thats why i cropped it off.

lesson learned. gotta take more background shots next trip to avoid this.

[merry cove]

I got into the habit of taking some photos of the area i'm in whe doing wildlife

mostly because im bored waiting for something to appear but

its nice to even just have as a log

eye eye

this heron seriously struggled to eat this fish head

so much struggle

[broken mantle]

wow

[plucky yacht]

bushtit doing Pullups!!!!

[fleet mica]

it's good to see a pert tittie

well after yesterday's effort, sunburnt on both arms, legs and neck/shoulder and face. Bitten like hell on the legs by midges. Gonna be a fun few days ahead

[plucky yacht]

I Love❤️ Tits😊💗

[mint warren]

Aight time to try get that coveted shot of crested grebes with chicks riding on their back

They wouldn't leave the nest last time I went, and nest shots are no bueno

[nova steeple]

Ah

[wheat hare]

I wish the eagles near our apartment would perch lower. Fuckers are mocking me.

[barren yoke]

Duck

[midnight rampart]

quack

[midnight rampart]

they are

i like how they look like they have angry eyebrows

[mint warren]

Killdeer

[fleet mica]

Bored at home, so pulling the finger out and working on some lorikeet images from last Monday's effort at home LOL.

[fleet mica]

yes there is some patch fill to remove a distracting object on the L of the bird.

[fleet mica]

final lorie shot

will import/cull/rate my images from yesterday later tonight...had a MONSTER day yesterday (birding from 6.30am to 3.30pm)

3 different locations. Got 5 new lifers I think

[plucky yacht]

wow what the hell these are amazing

[static magnet]

Some of the ones I liked from my walk on Saturday

[fleet mica]

Rainbow Lorikeets, native to Australia. Very colourful. Utter pricks lol

[fleet mica]

good work!

[static magnet]

One of my favourites in Australia was the whip bird, really unique sounding call

[fleet mica]

yup

I have images of that bird too

white faced scrub wren @ ISO25600

[gilded yarrow]

the duckling looks hilarious

The beak is so huge

[mint warren]

Pink ear duckling

That weird shape is for filter feeding

[fleet mica]

LOL

[barren yoke]

That is my worst nightmare

[night pike]

bird photography

[barren yoke]

Oh nooo

[mint warren]

no touchy grebe

[barren yoke]

Grebe no touchy

[barren yoke]

Yawn 🥱

[mint warren]

I'm a convert now, Sunny with partial overcast is fantastic for birb photographing

[barren yoke]

Yesss

[fleet mica]

NOT funny. Yes, I know it’s a meme, but it’s still not funny

[static magnet]

Crested grab

[fleet mica]

female Rufous Whistler, Wynnum boardwalks

[hidden wyvern]

interesting what generative fill can help with (tail was cut off in frame)

could always do some tricks with content aware fill anyway but this is quick

[hidden wyvern]

posted final result in nature if anyones curious, changed this very tight image into 16:9

could see this being very useful, for example birds in flight who just happen to fly a bit out of frame

[lusty kindle]

kind of true though. A huge part of wildlife photographers dont mind disturbing birds or other animals way more than they ever should to get "the shot".

[mint warren]

Mandai bird park

?

[barren yoke]

I know it sucks. The most I do is move positions so the bird will turn around. But it's not like I'm chasing it. Or leaving the path.

Or like if I have a friend, I'll have them go to where the bird is going to, because the bird might then turn back around. Even then I hardly do that.

[fleet mica]

yes, I know, but it's wrong on so many levels and they need to be educated

[barren yoke]

Yea I don't get people who abuse animals

[fleet mica]

I'll move slightly off track, but I'm always careful to not destroy vegetation.

[barren yoke]

Like the ones who purposely hit snappers in the road

[barren yoke]

Well yeah I sit by the water sometimes. I usually only move the dead trees and stuff.

[mint warren]

Tends to be a bit of shaming going on in local communities when people do unethical shit.

Not sure how it is in other places, but the bird photography community in the Perth area self regulates p well

[fleet mica]

good

we shouldn't accept people harming wildlife

[frozen belfry]

The best place on earth

[vital halo]

Hi all, first day here, sooooo...here's a bird. Lilac-breasted roller, gotta love the colours.

[fleet mica]

cracking shots!

collared sparrowhawk

[vital halo]

@fleet mica Thanks Dave!

@fleet mica Nice, don't have those in Africa.

[fleet mica]

my first time seeing 1, so a lifer for me!

[vital halo]

Great! Where was this? seems like they are local to Aus?

[mint warren]

I'm doing singapore in march, mostly going to be around gardens by the bay

[fleet mica]

Brisbane

[static magnet]

nice find within a couple of minutes leaving my house

[mint warren]

Noice

[mint warren]

tfw I still havent gotten a good spotted pardelote shot

feels bad man

[fleet mica]

I haven't even seen 1 yet

[mint warren]

wait really?

Do you get them in QLD?

[mint warren]

oh you do

if you know what they sound like they're easy to spot, just VERY hard to get still for a moment in good light

[midnight rampart]

reminds me of nuthatches

i swear they're so hard to take pictures of

[vale lava]

ye

[mint warren]

Noice, I heard the palms at Gardens by the bay are good for owls

Is it true?

[vale lava]

true and false, depending on the day, i've seen about three on two trees on a thursday, but mondays through wednesday, i don't see as much, but there is a chance you can see them those days

are you thinking of dropping by mandai during your trip?

[mint warren]

I probably will visit mandai bird park yes

[vale lava]

nice

jurrasic park vibes

[mint warren]

Mainly just because I wanna look at a Victoria Crowned pigeon

[vale lava]

nice

[mint warren]

Because they just seem so unreal

[vale lava]

mhm

i got a photo

[mint warren]

I wouldnt mind looking for Fish owls either

but I wanna get those wild if I can

[vale lava]

i wish i could find wild rare birds here, but I don't have a telephoto lens, so it's really difficult to take with my camera

anyways, i'm using like a 10 year old camera body, the d5300 so pretty difficult

[barren yoke]

I'm also using a 10yo body I think

I believe it came out in 2014

[mint warren]

ah I got an R7 and a 150-600 sigma so fairly less difficult

[barren yoke]

Yup! It's 10 year birthday is in March

[barren yoke]

A telephoto would be useful. But I got great photos with my 300mm

These for example were taken with the 300mm

Still great photos

My sigma 600mm is great though. Amazing quality too

[vale lava]

nice

trying to use my z50 with the 16-250mm next time

[barren yoke]

It's mostly know how to use the gear, and timing

[vale lava]

havent set up yet

[vale lava]

mhm

[barren yoke]

That sounds decent for birds

[vale lava]

ye

might borrow a 18-400mm for planespotting next time

[barren yoke]

Waiting can help get the birds closer and then you just need the settings

[vale lava]

currently just tryna find a good pelican dry case for the 250

[vale lava]

mhm, i know some great places too and the right click time is important too

[fleet mica]

we do, I just have never seen one

[barren yoke]

Oof yeah I went kayaking with it and only used a water resistant bag and some rags to pad it

[vale lava]

heh

[barren yoke]

It was on a pond lol

[vale lava]

currently my bag is a manfrotto street sling

[barren yoke]

I mostly picked up trash

[vale lava]

nice

[barren yoke]

Oh cool

I use my backpack for the tripod and things

And binoculars

While I just wear the camera

[vale lava]

mhm i got a ulanzi tripod just recently

[fleet mica]

I'll see your water and raise you with a drenching. My R3 and 500f4 got quite wet on Tuesday...LCD screen stopping working for a few hours. Now is working OK, but I have spent all the time since Tuesday with the gear being de-humidified.

[barren yoke]

I just have a 100$ one off Amazon

[fleet mica]

my concern is that I have fucked 13.5k of gear

[barren yoke]

Oh noo

[mint warren]

Just look up the call on ebird and you'll know it well enough to find one if it's around

[vale lava]

damn

[barren yoke]

My set up is hardly 1k

[vale lava]

my setup is around 3k, cos i carry my insta360 and another lens too

[barren yoke]

No I hardly go kayaking. It was a very calm pond and I covered it with microfiber towels to protect it from sun and stuff. (The car kind-suoer absorbant)

[barren yoke]

Neat

[vale lava]

mostly im scared for my sd cards

haha

[barren yoke]

Oh lol

[fleet mica]

I'm hoping that I've done a good job de-humidifying and there's no real issue with water ingress

it's been the week from hell

[barren yoke]

I need new ones but my dad thinks they cost too much. I only use one like basic one

[barren yoke]

I'm sure. Praying that you don't have any more issues and that it's alright. 🙏

[vale lava]

damn, hope it doesnt have anymore issues

i would be going crazy if it was my setup

[fleet mica]

car problems (brakes), have lost 12 hours of income, and now have some sort of bug (feels like covid19)

[vale lava]

damn...

[fleet mica]

oh and $750 of bills

well, $850 if you include the car checkup (brakes)

when you only make $1500, and have $400 in petrol costs for the fortnight and then have to put money wards phone/shopping and general bills...there's fuck all left

[barren yoke]

Gn wish you the best Dave

[vale lava]

wish you the best man

hope it turns out better

[fleet mica]

well this has been the cuntiest cunt year I've ever had in my 54 years on this shithole of a planet. I am very much over it

[vale lava]

this?

[mint warren]

That looks like a blue wing kookaburra

[mint warren]

This one https://singaporebirds.com/species/buffy-fish-owl/

Also some stuff I got today

[vale lava]

nice

[vale lava]

@mint warren anyways, you can also try coming to sungei buloh wetlands

but i dont think much birds will be here in march, but theres a chance

[mint warren]

The bee eaters were in this year in march

[frozen belfry]

i loved them. they were so docile too. ill have to find my favourite bird tomorrow

i lovde the scarlet ibis though

and the bird shows were worth it

[frozen belfry]

i did my sg trip with a 2009 d300s with a broken focusing hpin and still got some great shots i think... youll be fine

[static magnet]

found my first crested duck, lil guy looks like he's got a wig on

[barren yoke]

Aww

[barren yoke]

Beautiful lighting !

[fleet mica]

Collared Kingfisher (aka Mangrove Kingfisher) at Wynnum Wetlands. One of my favourite Kingfisher shots.

[barren yoke]

Woah neat photo!

Next year when the kingfishers return, I'll have a ton.

[fleet mica]

was a mongrel to mask...Lightroom's AI masking is well...either good, or VERY dumb BAD

[barren yoke]

I just use the original

I only crop, denoise, sharpen and tweak a few things

[fleet mica]

I have a sacred kingfisher shot that's really nice too, but still rating my images in Lightroom (1200 odd images to go through lol)

[fleet mica]

I really do recommend learning masking etc - it can really help enhance images and give you finer control over balancing exposure etc.

[broken mantle]

What da birbs doing?

[fleet mica]

I've had a great week and a half for lifers - grey shrikethrush, male leaden flycatcher, comb crested jacana, black fronted dotterel, mangrove gerygone, collared sparrowhawk, white breasted wood swallow from memory (I've probably missed a few)

[barren yoke]

Does that make up for the bad ?

[fleet mica]

not quite lol. Fearing that a 8.5k camera and 5k lens have been water trashed is fucking scary AF

pretty hard to overcome that

perhaps if I make sweet love to a HOT victoria's secret model...that might overcome the crappy week.

just to add to the camera scare - lost 12 hours (Friday/Saturday) income, had to put the car in to get the brakes checked ($77 thanks...) and now have covid19

so now have to isolate for fucking 7 days

and no income for that 7 days, so more lost income

[broken mantle]

Wow, what happened? Hopefully everything is fine

[fleet mica]

Dave was f'ing stupid and went out with his gear in drizzle, that turned into heavier rain...

rear LCD screen stopped working...but then started again. I'm paranoid about fungus/mould and also water ingress into the internals

have spent all week de-humidifying the setup, wiping it down with zeiss optical cloths and putting the gear out in the sunlight so that any mould gets killed

[fleet mica]

doing tha thing. Libby close your eyes, your too young for that image!

[broken mantle]

Damn, then im very lucky

My last boating trip ended in a thunderstorm

[fleet mica]

will be getting a thinktank large rain cover...soon

[broken mantle]

Waves becomes too large for the boat, we have to stay next to a mangroove tree for almost an hour

Spent that time hugging my gear like a baby

[fleet mica]

ouich

[broken mantle]

The only person sensible enough to have some rain protection for gear is an old lady with her sony.

[broken mantle]

Luckily i got away with just a cold

[fleet mica]

I need a laugh after the week from hell

I'm glad 2023 is nearly over. It's been the worst fucking year I can remember in a long, long, long time

[broken mantle]

Pic from when it started raining

Pic from when it started getting serious

Tucked my gear after that

[broken mantle]

Yeah, was lucky this time, really need to get some rain protection.

[barren yoke]

Lmao

Yeah before when it rained I put it in my hoodie

[fleet mica]

same. I tried fitting a condom over the lens, but it won't fit :/

[barren yoke]

But I have a back pack and there's a rain cover in there

[fleet mica]

see Libby is smarter than both of us

[barren yoke]

I usually go to a park and there's multiple coverings (roofs)

[fleet mica]

man it's 1.30am here but can't stop coughing and it's too bloody hot still

[barren yoke]

Dam it's 9am and there's frost on the ground here

[fleet mica]

I'd take that in a heartbeat

[barren yoke]

I haven't even gotten out of bed lmao I'm just chilling

[fleet mica]

it's still 27c in my room at 1.30am...fml

[barren yoke]

I want spring and birds

Yeah the only issue with the rain cover for the backpack is that it doesn't cover the tripod

[fleet mica]

get a carbon fibre tripod. `Not an issue then, plus, super light and strong

[barren yoke]

So I would have to go to a covered area of the park, on the bench or table, pack up my gear and just hold the tripod

[barren yoke]

My tripod wasn't really expensive so idm

[fleet mica]

I got a good deal on my benro one, got it for like AUD $420...it's now like $650

[broken mantle]

Dayum

Still using a $55 knf tripod.

[fleet mica]

well, I got 1 of my sister's baby birds telling me to turn the kitchen light off and go to bed lol

it's getting very vocal

[barren yoke]

I'm using a 100$ one

Here I'll send a link

[broken mantle]

With a gimbal head double that price

[fleet mica]

lol!

I have the benro carbon fibre gimbal but haven't used it in the year that I've had it lol

[broken mantle]

Might switch the tripod to a sirui cf one

[fleet mica]

real men manhandle their 500f4 primes

[broken mantle]

Forgot the model number

Lately i go out without a tripod

[barren yoke]

https://www.amazon.com/Monopods-Binoculars-Spotting-Telescope-Professional/dp/B08QGP2NWQ?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=AXYGYNIGVXQU2

It might be aluminum it might not be idk

[broken mantle]

I only bring one when i know there’s a nest or something that requires long waiting

[fleet mica]

probably aluminium at that price. Looks like a knf clone

[barren yoke]

It has all the features so I don't invest in a 300$ tripod that only does 1-3 things

[barren yoke]

🤷‍♀️ wtv it works well and it's not super expensive

[broken mantle]

Mine is pretty shaky

[fleet mica]

I love my benro tripod - under a kg and easy to carry.

[broken mantle]

But yeah, gotta change up some of my gear, or just bring less

[fleet mica]

One should always shop to their own personal budget, not what others tell you to buy

[broken mantle]

Now my bag weights 9.5kg with tripod.

[barren yoke]

Yup

[broken mantle]

Yea

[barren yoke]

It says in the manual that if exposed to water to just dry

So I would probably just wipe it down and let it sit

I usually only carry my backpack because it holds batteries and the tripod. I also might put snacks, battery pack, phone, and binoculars

In the past I would bring my camera disassembled in the back and put it together at the place I'm going

[broken mantle]

What binoculars do you use?

[barren yoke]

Vortex!!

[broken mantle]

In the market for one

[barren yoke]

I bought them before getting into camera

About 200$

Here I'll find them quick online

[fleet mica]

nikon aculon a30

[broken mantle]

Its better than swinging around my camera + lens lol

[fleet mica]

small, light, cheap and very good build and optical quality

[barren yoke]

https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics-Diamondback-Prism-Binoculars/dp/B0192GJLMU/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?adgrpid=59868891561&hvadid=609115711894&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9019694&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=11758159585094693484&hvtargid=kwd-300004781028&hydadcr=19663_13450239&keywords=vortex+optics+binoculars&qid=1701618039&sr=8-5

[barren yoke]

Yup! I pull them out for counting birds and if I need to indentify or spot them

They are more expensive on Amazon, but I got them from a local store

[broken mantle]

Will try looking on a local shop

[barren yoke]

Also I got it to come with a backpack

When I used to just walk around with a camera and the little binocular bag

It could fit my phone and camera battery

[barren yoke]

I went to dicks sporting goods. Not sure if you have that

You can get it without the bag if you want. At the time it seemed nice to me

Also the 10x42 thing

[broken mantle]

I carry my batteries on one of these

[barren yoke]

You have to compare. I dont remember why I chose this one

[broken mantle]

And attached to my belt

[barren yoke]

Oh neat

My bag has a slot of batteries

I only carry 2 extras

[broken mantle]

Since continuous focus drains batteries

Same

Always have 2 extras

[barren yoke]

Sometimes I go one or more outings without changing the battery lol

[broken mantle]

Yeah, if its only for stills i can go 2 days with 1 battery

But birds in flight is a different beast lol

[barren yoke]

Yea

Some "professional" on here told me I was stupid and should get a better backpack with better support

[broken mantle]

Lol

[fleet mica]

anyway kind folks, night

[barren yoke]

But one, I hardly walk around with my gear in the bag

[barren yoke]

Gn!

[broken mantle]

And im here using some camera backpack not made for outdoors. Luckily its pretty cheap.

Gn

[barren yoke]

And 2! I got microfibre towels wrapped around them for extra support

[broken mantle]

Destroyed parts of it after a few birding trips

[barren yoke]

Take the camera apart, wrap it up and tuck it into my bag

[barren yoke]

Woopsies

I kinda want a hiking bag with the hip support thing. But for now this works

[broken mantle]

Will use it till i cant

[broken mantle]

Samee, will get one after i shred my current bag.

[barren yoke]

Yep

But I'm having fun without ruining my father's bank account

I can suffer a little longer lol

[broken mantle]

Yea

Use the gears we have till it gives up

[barren yoke]

Yep

Yay left over iced coffee

Yeah. Over the winter it gets really cold here and my best bet is to clean the windows and set up a tripod

I saw some pinesiskins yesterday

It wouldn't leave the feeder tho

Here let me try to send them

I have so many photos 😩 I don't want to go through them

[barren yoke]

those are the ones i took yesterday

[barren yoke]

Anhinga?

[waxen shard]

I have no clue

I took photo of bird

[barren yoke]

Yeah its a anhinga

[pure belfry]

odd looking bird

[barren yoke]

Yup

That's my frog Misty

She would eat a bird if she could

[midnight rampart]

went through and edited some bird pics from the past couple of weeks

[barren yoke]

Neat

[fleet mica]

it's a darter of some sort.

[fleet mica]

Dollarbird (crop) and Black-fronted Dotterel.

[fleet mica]

not a great image, required a lot of work, but this lil guy or gal was so super curious as to what I was doing.

[fleet mica]

Chestnut-breasted Munia

[fleet mica]

female King Parrot

[spring vault]

queen parrot

[barren yoke]

Pretty photos Dave!

[solar bay]

one of the first bird photo i took with my t7 this was roughly 1.5 years ago

[fleet mica]

thanks!

[mint warren]

Eastern King parrots are so cool

[fleet mica]

Sacred Kingfisher, Archerfield Wetlands.

[barren yoke]

Why cant I have pretty birds 😭

[fleet mica]

you can!

I will post some over to you

admittedly, they'll be stamps lol

[barren yoke]

Lol

[fleet mica]

I'm a very feeky chucker

:p

Lightroom is being fucking annoying again

doing masking, and it won't fucking change the size of the brush

[fleet mica]

known bug, been an issue since 2017

still not fixed

[barren yoke]

Oh I get to use Lightroom for my photography class now

[fleet mica]

that cat is a basket case

[barren yoke]

Laundry basket

[fleet mica]

happy to help answer questions (if I know the answers)

[barren yoke]

They are probably gonna teach us

Bc they only used Photoshop last tri

I'll let you know tho

Theirs probably not gonna be birds to photography

[fleet mica]

I typically do base edits in lightroom, then final edits in photoshop

[barren yoke]

They said fruit and action shots

[fleet mica]

expand your creative mind and photograph other things

[barren yoke]

I only do birds

[fleet mica]

so do I

[barren yoke]

And a bit of other things

[fleet mica]

are we talking about the same type of birds lol 😛

Dave is a bad bad boy

[barren yoke]

Lol no I mean like sunsets/landscapes

Maybe flowers or insects if I'm bored

Squirrels

[fleet mica]

I'm teasing you

[barren yoke]

I know

Let me try to find the photo tho

[fleet mica]

I have a degree in shit stirring

graduated with honours

top of my class

[barren yoke]

Mmmm

I think that's cool

Anyway so the cameras we are gonna use in class are a couple years newer than mine I believe

[fleet mica]

that's interesting

nice lighting

branches are a bit too busy

[barren yoke]

Says the bird photographer

[fleet mica]

and background horizzon isn't level. Always have that level when doing landscape images

I do dabble a bit in other genres, more technical reading than practical experience in the field

[barren yoke]

Well I thinks it's because it was a curved tree line along the lake

[fleet mica]

I do actually plan to do more landscape, especially with ND filters, studio portraiture too

[barren yoke]

Mmm

Yeah. I could fix the leveling in editing

I didn't really notice

[fleet mica]

just suggestions

it's your image

[barren yoke]

Dude the bus just hit like a curb or something lmao

[fleet mica]

ouch

[barren yoke]

Yeah it usually hits something there. Probably a curb this time tho

I was not expecting that

This yucky snow rain stuff is gonna make me late

[fleet mica]

it's stinking hot here

[barren yoke]

It's cold

Lol

[fleet mica]

learnt a few cool tricks in photoshop over the past few days

[barren yoke]

Ooo

[fleet mica]

holding down the alt key and dragging a mask from 1 layer to another layer will copy the mask to the new layer

[barren yoke]

28°F

[fleet mica]

\ key turns the masking highlights on/off so you can see where you have masked

that's really handy for fine tuning masking

[barren yoke]

Yeah I think she has that shortcut on the wall for us to see

[fleet mica]

select a brush, set colours to B/W and use X to swap between them to fine tune masking, adding and removing mask as required

[barren yoke]

Mmmm

[fleet mica]

I find the AI selection is mostly pretty poor

and the quick selection tool not much better

[barren yoke]

I'll probably learn masking when we layer a bunch of photos to make something artsy

Every morning on the bus I photograph the sunrise

It's dark outside :( no sunrise today

[fleet mica]

and if you want to warm an image up a bit, create a merged layer alt ctl shift E, then filter ==> camera raw filter. then adjust the temperature slider

[barren yoke]

Oh I use the temp on dark table!

I can change the tint too

[fleet mica]

I know some people swear by it all, but dark table is just a fork of raw therapee cos it had went undeveloped for several years

raw therapee was OK, but not in the same league as lightroom imho

or C1 pro (which i also hold a valid licence for)

[barren yoke]

Shhhh I like it

It's free and has a bunch of things

[fleet mica]

it's not industry standard. Best to stick to industry standard programs. Will stand you better in the long run

[barren yoke]

I don't do a bunch of really big editing

I just adjust sharpness and crop

Maybe temp

[fleet mica]

that's about all I do, but I use a lot of masking for fine tuning my adjustments

much better than global adjustments

a lot of careful editing

[barren yoke]

Woah

[broken mantle]

borb

old pic, but the wallpaper in some of my mobile devices.

[barren yoke]

Cool

[mint warren]

Went out to find fairy wrens and saw none at my usual go too

feels bad man

Found this but shit light

[solar bay]

this is an old photo but i just love these black and white warblers

[plucky yacht]

what is that distortion in the background caused by?

[mint warren]

might of been some small branches or leaves infront of the subject

[barren yoke]

Oh yes black and white warblers are awesome

[spare yarrow]

Severe Macaw close-up

[mint warren]

competition idea

birds pooping

[spring vault]

kingfishers are the best

[fleet mica]

they're hard to get close to

[frozen belfry]

yeah, this one was in a tree about 20 m away, cropped it in quite a. bit

theres a property i work at that has a kingfisher near the gate everyday, might ask of i can bring my camera

[barren yoke]

I wish I had a better camera 😭

[frozen belfry]

naw

me too

[barren yoke]

We have flying squirrels and they are torturinge me

[frozen belfry]

ooooo

[barren yoke]

It's almost 10 years old

The camera

[frozen belfry]

mine is 2009....

[barren yoke]

See, the quick little bugger stays on the feeder. Which moves too fast for night photos

And when I spook him. He hides with his eyes peeking out and then in the blink of an eye

He sprints down and swoops to the feeder again

Making it basically impossible

And his buddy disappeared

[frozen belfry]

they get hella noisy though

[frozen belfry]

naw bummer

[barren yoke]

Ill send what I got but it's not the good

This is with my phone

If you can even see the orb of fluffy speed

I'm thinking I want to set up a spot light

[fleet mica]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TezoZ1jsH6Yc

[barren yoke]

I kinda wanna research future camera I want but then if be getting my hopes up lol

[fleet mica]

I'm none too impressed with the lens sharpness on the songbird images...they look soft to my eyes

[barren yoke]

What

[fleet mica]

will wait for more people to get the lens and post results, but atm, I suspect that it's softish at 800mm

[barren yoke]

Oh

I would say just get a high quality shorter mm with a tele

He's taunting me

[fleet mica]

I already shoot at 700mm (500mm and 1.4x TC). Looking at the RF200-800 zoom as a potential walk around lens

[barren yoke]

I also want a new SD card

[fleet mica]

other options are get a used R5, sell my current mark 1 500f4 prime and use my savings + proceeds of sale of lens to get a mark 2 500f4 prime

[barren yoke]

But they are like 80$

[fleet mica]

or just say fuck it, keep things as is, and get the studio lighting kit and TS-E 24mm lens that I want

[barren yoke]

so sad

i can't do night photography

[fleet mica]

I guess you'll have to call it a night

[barren yoke]

just squint and they look good

maybe i could starve him and only put food where i can get a solid shot

i want a prodigital sd card

Okay peeps

I'm entering a photo contest. Do you know what I should enter orrr

[fleet mica]

before you enter, read the rules

[barren yoke]

What

I don't wanna readddd

It's not photos

It's the scholastic art contest

The school is paying for entrys so my photography teacher is telling me to ente

[barren yoke]

Looked sharp to me

[ember harness]

do it then

[barren yoke]

I will

I need to pick some

THE FLYING SQUIRREL OS SO CUTE

The little maniac is flying and running around

I've given up on photos

He's too cute

Aw I think he was just having a little breakdown trying to get to the feeder

He did it

Now I guess no more zoomies

Must be a new guy

[hidden wyvern]

odd that the white border is grey on discord embed, first the phone ui lol

[spring vault]

transparent border lol

[spare yarrow]

yeah i dont like how discord rounds the edges

i dont really like th white borders, i think theyre too bright

so i just made it transparent

[broken mantle]

I came unprepared. The mosquitoes really made me feel uncomfortable.

[broken mantle]

And the red eyes here

[solar bay]

not a good photo but this is a cool duck with a blue beak

[broken mantle]

nothing to see here, just a bamboo with its tip painted blue

[frozen belfry]

awwww

[hidden wyvern]

mimic birb

[scarlet tulip]

z6 works quite well

[icy sparrow]

tried to photograph some birds with my 50mm
went better than i was expecting lol

[barren yoke]

Damn

How

[solar bay]

don't delete this there is nothing wrong with the chicken

[barren yoke]

Why would anyone delete it

[solar bay]

last time i posted- headless chicken 😂 -and they freaked out and deleted it

[barren yoke]

I literally have no control here lmao

I can't do anything other than delete the forum

Which I would never do it's my prized possession

I would have to drag a mod over here lmao

Which I'm too lazy to ask for. Dw! Post anything bird

If it's a dead bird, just use a spoiler

[icy sparrow]

by standing very still for 15 minutes in the freezing cold lmao

i was standing there until they got too curious and hungry

[barren yoke]

Lol

[waxen shard]

Mod mentioned

[barren yoke]

Oh sorry

I didn't know lol

[waxen shard]

Oh nah I did it for the jokes lol

[scarlet tulip]

sit somewhere they don't see you

[barren yoke]

Oh okay lol I was worried

[barren yoke]

Yeah I sit in my house to watch the birds

[gilded arch]

Maybe if you zoomed in a bit on the bird?

[solar bay]

yeah chickadees aren't scared of anything as long as there is food nearby

[frozen belfry]

he walks around quite well with the bad leg

[solar bay]

god i can't imagine what happened to him

[frozen belfry]

probably a car

he's slowly warming upu to me

[fleet mica]

a bunch from Sandy Camp wetlands 2 weeks ago

actually, the last image is from Archerfield wetland 2 days before...the rest from Sandy Camp

several new lifers for me here (wood swallow, jacarna and mistletoebird)

several more images to process from 2 weeks ago...went out with the camera today, finally, after near 2 weeks of de-humidfying the setup etc. It seems OK. Only time will tell if there was any water ingress and damage to the internal circuitry. Hopefully not. Have checked the lens for mould and it seems OK, even though no water got onto the front element (it was more humidity/moisture in the air that I was worried about). Lens is weather sealed, as is the TC and the EF to RF adaptor and camera mount, so hopefully no water ingress through any of those points. EVF looks fine too, and no fogging up either.

anyway, been a long day, off to bed

[barren yoke]

You could get it checked by a camera shop

Anyway. Have you seen those safari photographers? They just hosed off their muddy camera. I think it'll be okay. Wish you the best tho 💙

[bright oxide]

I have finally sorted through 6000 photos

im never doing that again lol

electronic shutter 10fps is a killer

got it down to just 830 pictures lol

[barren yoke]

I need to go sort for a contest 😭

I'm doing other things first

Okay well I might delete some along the way

[wheat hare]

Are you just being overly cautious because you don’t shoot in humid/wet environments or what?

[barren yoke]

I think they were extra scared because the screen turned off

[wheat hare]

Oh well that would do it. Also weird since I think they are on an R3?

[barren yoke]

What about it?

[wheat hare]

The higher tier bodies have insanely good weather resistance

[barren yoke]

oh sick

so i shouldn't step outside of my house

[wheat hare]

Especially since it’s their ‘non-flagship’ flagship at the moment

[barren yoke]

because my camera is like 10 y/o

[wheat hare]

What body?

[barren yoke]

Canon eos rebel t5

[wheat hare]

I don’t think that even has weather sealing at all

So yeah be careful lol

[barren yoke]

lmao

okay

[barren yoke]

ooo

wait -

oh right you already posted those lmao

[icy sparrow]

i forgot i've already posted those yeah lmfaoo

i was cleaning them up in photoshop and forgot lol

[barren yoke]

lol

[icy sparrow]

[fleet mica]

yes, I am on a R3. And no, weather resistance doesn't mean it can take water/rain etc. FYI, the R3 has a water ingress point at the multi=function hotshoe and Canon recommends using the AD-E1 to seal that location. Canon doesn't guarantee that the upper tier bodies can take water, and has NO IP rating. it's use at your own risk

[fleet mica]

mate, wait till your camera does 30 fps...

[bright oxide]

no thanks man

im never being shutter happy again

im only gonna use like 8fps from now on lol

or 5

[wheat hare]

Oh I know they can't be considered water proof and they aren't going to IP rate them. Sucks about the ingress point. Can't say i've ever had a problem with pro cameras and (non salt) water. But I've also not abused any Canon bodies like I have Nikon either.

[fleet mica]

Canon makes ZERO guarantees about water ingress. Their official state is to not go out in the rain.

[wheat hare]

of course they don't I don't think any of them really do

and if they do there is that beautiful asterisk that goes to the footnote and says not water proof etc etc etc

[fleet mica]

OM systems OM-1 has an IP rating.

[wheat hare]

alright so they are the outliers

[frozen belfry]

awww cute

[fleet mica]

another 4 of them and we have enough for a pie!

[fleet mica]

no, they're the only company that really cares about their customers.

[wheat hare]

lol

[scarlet tulip]

i don't think i've had dove

wonder what it's like

[bright oxide]

ill contribute one towards the pie!

[fleet mica]

KFD - Kentucky Fried Dove!

[barren yoke]

Yum

[waxen shard]

They are so pudgy and cute

[ember harness]

Just swap to om1 then

[fleet mica]

yeah sure, do you wanna give me the $$$$$$$ that I'm losing as a result of swapping?

I thought not

perhaps the big manufacturers can pull the finger out of their collective fucking asses and give their gear an IP rating and actually stand behind their products?

If I was starting out today I certainly wouldn't touch Sony, Nikon and especially Canon

at least not for birding photography

[ember harness]

Yeah just go Olympus then

[fleet mica]

I'd probably grab a used Canon 5D II (or Sony A73) with a cheaper 3rd party wide angle lens for landscapes and 85mm for portraiture. At this point, I'd be probably leaning towards the Sony for non birding since it's a much more recent camera

[ember harness]

You can resell all the gear when you next upgrade

[fleet mica]

and lose $$$$$$$

[ember harness]

And enjoy the dynamic range of m43

[fleet mica]

as I said in that other shit photography channel that won't be named, when out and about, I've seen more users with OM-1 than Nikon, Sony and Canon combined

No Nikons. 1 Sony. 6 Canon. 8 OM-1 users. So, yeah...actual users in the field, not marketnig BS from YouTubers who are paid to talk shit

[ember harness]

Full of shit lmao

[fleet mica]

for sure, the dynamic range isn't as good, it's probably a stop worse, and noise is probably 1.5 stops worse. But if you're shooting in good light and nail your exposure, you'll have minimal issues imho.

[fleet mica]

fuck off. I actually spend time in the field. What do you do? Twiddle your thumbs?

[pure belfry]

I've seen one serious MFT user in the wild, but that guy also had a serios Nikon and Sony kit because he clearly has too much money. Seen everything in abundance though, even a few fuji's out doing birds.

Last guy I saw had an A1+600/4

[ember harness]

Also shoot better photos than you

I've seen 1 MFT user

And like 3 dozen of the others

And 2 fuji

[pure belfry]

This was the last dude I stopped to chat with while out and about: https://www.instagram.com/michaelhellenphotography/

[ember harness]

3 brands is crazy

[pure belfry]

Yup...

By Serious MFT I mean he had the 150-400/4.5

[ember harness]

Spendy in all 3

[pure belfry]

To his detriment - because it was too long for what we had both gone to shoot

[ember harness]

Yeah 300mm base is kinda crazy for a zoom

Seems almost inconvenient coz at that point it's only what, 2.5x zoom and a stop and a half darker than prime

[pure belfry]

Yeah, 200mm was the perfect FL that day and he wasn't getting it

Its actually crazy how small that 150-400 is though

[scarlet tulip]

That 300-800 Sigma would like a word, it’s just as crazy

World’s weirdest focal range

120-300 can be made to make sense, so can 200-400 and 200-600

300-800 is oddball

[ember harness]

The sigmonster

Can't shoot that lens without a tripod anyways lmao

[scarlet tulip]

I’d consider it if i had a spare M2 Browning tripod around

The machine gun may weigh less than a 300-800 and a sports body

[wind hedge]

I was not expecting to see a machine gun when I opened the bird chat

[scarlet tulip]

That support gear might be the best way to deal with a huge lens lol

What’s the giant Canon thing, a 1200?

[night pike]

yep

[wheat hare]

This is from driving home the other day. All these bald eagle fucks.

[barren yoke]

Lol

[frozen belfry]

oooo

[solar bay]

chickens count as bird here right?

[barren yoke]

Yep

[solar bay]

yay

[hidden wyvern]

tsunami

[barren yoke]

ooo

[hidden wyvern]

bit of a large crop

[barren yoke]

still cool tho

[wheat hare]

https://tenor.com/view/lovesick-this-big-big-like-this-gif-19466516

[hidden wyvern]

this one wouldve done good but focus failed

ugly day anyway

af was struggling, ithink because of rain droplets? was using eye af

[gilded yarrow]

Yooo thats sick

[bright oxide]

the water falling off is such a nice shot

[fleet mica]

did a rough process yesterday at work (my client is into photography so I showed him my workflow) . Eastern Osprey

[mint warren]

I've never seen a mistletoe bird

despite being in their range

[fleet mica]

my first time myself...was pretty happy - 9 new species on that day!

[fleet mica]

used some AI generative fill to expand to the top and Right to give the bird some more room (and then cropped into the image on the original resolution ratio).

[lusty kindle]

Could as well remove the branch I think

[spring vault]

I havent gone out looking for birds in a bit but I saw a birdie at a greenhouse I visited

[fleet mica]

I guess

[fleet mica]

nothing great, from last Monday & Tuesday

[bright oxide]

thats a weird looking branch, looks almost fake but I assume its real right?

do you guys change your settings based on capturing BIF vs birds on branches?

[gilded yarrow]

bif need faster shutter speed

Depending on cam maybe change af zone so its easier to keep in focus

[bright oxide]

yeah those are the two I was thinking of as well

[lusty kindle]

Usually, for me, 1/500s for still birds, and 1/2000s at least for bif

[bright oxide]

1/500 is brave

with those sporadic movements

[barren yoke]

Nah

I always have to go down because of the lighting

[bright oxide]

i feel that

[barren yoke]

I use things to stabilize and sometimes have a tripod

[bright oxide]

all my images come out to well over 6400 iso

[barren yoke]

Dam

[bright oxide]

in the forest

[barren yoke]

Well my camera is VERY bad at noise

[bright oxide]

mine too 😭

[barren yoke]

So I try to keep it at 800

What model do you have

[bright oxide]

I got bullied yesterday by 3 people for apparently not having sharp images

[barren yoke]

Because I have one almost 10 years old

[barren yoke]

I can get sharp images lol I just need brighter light

[bright oxide]

mine is a fuji xt30 which came out in 2017 i think

[barren yoke]

See

Look how sharp this is

It's my favorite photo

[bright oxide]

its sharp for sure

i can’t tell if it’s focused on the eye tho

that bullying session ruined my eyes

[barren yoke]

Shh

I can't tell either but it's a good photo..

[bright oxide]

good enough lol

if you zoom in 200% sure it’s obv not sharp

but that’s literally ALL photos

i’d put that in my photobook

[barren yoke]

I just submitted it to a contest

[bright oxide]

good luck, hope you win

[barren yoke]

Probably won't win but yeah my photography teacher told me to

[bright oxide]

everything is a lesson so i’m sure there’s no loss for you

[barren yoke]

Yep well It surprised me when I saw it

And this one

[bright oxide]

goofy ahh

[barren yoke]

I wanted to submit this. She chose all the photos I didn't love

Yesssss

I'm so multitasking everything rn

[bright oxide]

well if she has more experience and is a teacher, i’m sure she seems something in them you don’t

[barren yoke]

And this book is pissing me off

[bright oxide]

readings?

from school?

[barren yoke]

Yeah well ig it was suppose to be creative photos

No I like books

[bright oxide]

so why’s it pissing you off

[barren yoke]

I'm reading some fiction that I was recently really obsessed with but now

[barren yoke]

The characters are making horrible choices

And it's ruining the whole book for me 😭

[bright oxide]

that’s how they keep you reeled in

[barren yoke]

I just looked up something about it because I wanted reassurance that it was going to get better but it's not

[barren yoke]

NO ITS BAD

Bad book c'mon

They are making such stupid choices

[bright oxide]

i always like happy endings for movies or books or whatever

i can’t handle constant downhills

[barren yoke]

But it's not my happy ending they chose the wrong person

Eee

And there's still a couple books in the series

And id never leave a series unfinished

[bright oxide]

guess you gotta suck it up lolol

[barren yoke]

That promise I made has ruined everything

Cuz I procrastinate finishing

[barren yoke]

What types of books do you like?

[bright oxide]

idk school made me hate books

[barren yoke]

Aw

I like dystopian and sci Fi

[bright oxide]

i enjoyed reading up until like 10th grade lol

now i’m almost done with college

[barren yoke]

Oh

[bright oxide]

got one more year left

[barren yoke]

So I'm gonna hate it in a year or 2?

[bright oxide]

well depends

i just hated analyzing every small fuckin detail

and then having tests on them

[barren yoke]

Oh

Yeah same

But I like it mostly ig

[bright oxide]

although, most of my teachers were nice

[barren yoke]

I always have a book on my it just changes based on how much I like the book

[bright oxide]

so it made it bearable

[barren yoke]

Like I have 2 books rn

One took me a day to finish

The other I've been reading for like... 2 weeks or more

[bright oxide]

wow so you really like reading

[barren yoke]

Sure

Just depends on the book

But this one makes me cringe

And I want to erase it from my mind

And rewrite the story

[bright oxide]

throw it out the window and forget about it

[barren yoke]

It on my phone 😭

[bright oxide]

someone will take a free book

well shit

throw your phone then

[barren yoke]

So I could press delete but

Ya know that promise I made...

[bright oxide]

gotta stick with the promise

[barren yoke]

I gotta finish the.. last couple books