Bird Photography

[scarlet tulip]

i may have one from the same burst with the head in the light, but iirc his wing isn't dipped as nicely

glad you enjoy!

[green meadow]

I really like terns. It is so hypnotic to follow their flying and fishing. They are also brave birds not afraid of bigger birds and if human goes too near they surely reminds about it. 😅 Sometimes flying terns are bit difficult to photograph specially if they come really near. They make so sharp turns and those long wings makes it hard not to clip them and if you get whole bird inside the frame it is difficult to decide how to compose it. You nailed it. Great job. 👌

[scarlet tulip]

i got lucky with one coming near shore, these little ones like fishing the shallows

[green meadow]

Lately it has been quite slow. I've been bit busy and feels like all birds are hiding even more than usually. I have concentrated to those that are easy to find. 😅

[scarlet tulip]

glad you like the image, the composition, nothing worked in color so i tried monochrome and the rest came from there

[green meadow]

B&W bird so it works really well.

[scarlet tulip]

the bill is red, iirc, in better light i'd want to highlight that but it was all very backlit

[green meadow]

True true the bill is nice detail that pops out, but monochrome also works great.

On the Monday there were young ones on the pier near by me. I thought that I will get so many photos of parents delivering food to them but. Food delivering was bit on the slow side and after a while they just left to some other place.

[scarlet tulip]

i've never seen a young one before, that's cute

they're like short versions of the adults

[green meadow]

I think that I've seen them once or twice before. They are cute indeed.

Cool looking bird and great photo. I feel like that I never get opportunities to photograph perched predators.

[gilded gale]

Yeah, a lot of the time they are out of sight in the forests near my house 😦 but I was lucky enough to get this one.

[green meadow]

Predators are always just something else. Cool if that one is something you consider as common bird. 👌 😄 Probably could be bit sharper, but great photo never the less.

[frozen belfry]

yeah lol. Had it set up from last night ans just ran outside lol. Its fine, theres hundredddssss of these kites up here in the NT and still see a few back home in NSW

[wispy mesa]

Common birds are beautiful, too

[frozen belfry]

yeah definitely. Just not bummed about the pic because tehre will be many more chances

[daring imp]

Yea it really do feels like they are hiding more

[green meadow]

What are these? Some shoveler or what?

[mint warren]

Which one?

[green meadow]

Well all of them 😅

[mint warren]

First two are Australasian Shovelers

The ones with the Pink ears are as their name suggests, Pink Ear Ducks

Easily one of my favorites, they have a lot of character

[green meadow]

Those are definitely something special.

We have nothing like that here.

[mint warren]

they're great

Their babies are cute af too

[green meadow]

Argh...what a cutie and that bill or beak. 🤩

[mint warren]

Bill with a membrane specialized for filtering

[daring imp]

Hunting for owls now wish me luck! Im in ruka atm @green meadow

[daring imp]

When a bird flew away it lost some feathers so i picked them up. Never seen that before

[hidden wyvern]

its like hair, kinda just falls out, gets replaced

[daring imp]

True. But i have never seen them fall off before

[barren yoke]

it depends on the season

sometimes they loose them in like fights and stuff

[wheat hare]

Just remember some places have very strict feather owning laws

[barren yoke]

yup

[wheat hare]

I know you're not in the US but for example https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/feathers-and-the-law.php https://www.featherfolio.com/blog/guide-to-legal-and-illegal-feathers-in-the-usa-1

[daring imp]

I googled. There is no law like that here @wheat hare

[wheat hare]

cool, thanks for doing research and not just being a turd 🙂

too many of those types around unfortunately

[daring imp]

Ofcourse! Thats a pretty weird law to have tho

Feathers are nice to collect. I have a few

[barren yoke]

I hate that law sm

I've found so many cool owl feathers in the woods

[daring imp]

I know eggs are illegal to collect

[barren yoke]

I only want the feathers lol, I don't care about anything else

[wheat hare]

yeah I know and honestly if you find it on the ground 🤷 I'm not going to rat you out but some people will do dangerous (to them or the animal) things to acquire them so that's why it exists.

[daring imp]

True. I could never kill an animal. Only mosquitoes 😆

[barren yoke]

yeah even then i really dont want to hurt bugs

i did get a bird feather id book tho 👀

[daring imp]

We have too many mosquitoes here its insane

[barren yoke]

yeahhh id rather they just disappear lol

[wheat hare]

Live raptors will be at this event and some can spot prey from a mile away! For the safety of our feathered and furry friends, dogs are not allowed. lol love it

I want to see a raptor carry away a small dog so badly

[barren yoke]

yesss

like a annoying little chihuaha

[daring imp]

Or a rabbit/fox or sum

My dad saw an eagle carry a rabbit once. So fookin jealous

[daring imp]

Useless dog to have. If i get a dog i would get something that can defend atleast.

[barren sigil]

What happend ?

[wheat hare]

snapshot because the wife likes pelicans.

I'm doing some culling and some of the shit birds do is goofy.

[wheat hare]

more randos that I'll never edit

[gilded gale]

lots of baldies today 😄

[wheat hare]

These are a few months old since I've moved away from where they would chill around the house

[gilded gale]

I really like how the background came out on this one even though it's just a headshot

[hidden wyvern]

far from a perfect photo but i love seeing little birds

they even just sound like a tiny robin, chirp is "smaller" sounding

[wheat hare]

alright that's enough randoms from me

[daring imp]

Been a while since i photogrsphed eagles

[hidden wyvern]

got a few keepers today id say, need to get out there more, lately its been a heatwave but hte birds got used to it

guess i have to as well

[pure belfry]

Todays shots

[frozen belfry]

the first

wow

theyre all beautiful actually

[scarlet tulip]

last one of the kingfisher is my favorite of the group

[green meadow]

I hope you see those. I think that there is also a good chance to see some golden eagles.

[hidden wyvern]

this one i like, goose almost posed for it lol

[daring imp]

Yea. Havent seen them in a while tho

[daring imp]

My feather collection

Added a lucky feather to my cam too

[wispy mesa]

I forgot i took this! finally something halfway decent in terms of lighting

everything else seems to be heat hazed or too dark or too far away

[daring imp]

I have the too far away issue aswell. Its annoying when its hard to spot birds close in my country. So many trees

[wispy mesa]

we have a nice river here, and the trees are growing quite a bit below the walkable part, so it's perfect. but as the other side is a natural preservation area (or however it is called) a lot of the birds are on the other side of the river and that is already quite far

[wise trench]

i redited this photo i took awhile ago, really happy with how it turned out

[wispy mesa]

oh this blue is beautiful! the raptor reminds me of saturday, we were driving on the highway and a bird of prey was coming out of the bushes directly besides the street. of course i couldn't photograph it!

[frozen belfry]

i hate when i see birds while driving 😭

there were literally thousands of them

hard to see on phone pic but literal thousands

[wispy mesa]

like they are teasing us

[plucky condor]

Praying magpie

[proven token]

Hey! You use the A6700 right? Would you absolutely recommend that camera for all round photography and some beginner videography?

[hidden wyvern]

this guy suprised me the other day, pretty close to me

like how that one came out

[spring vault]

Yeah it's good at both photo and video. Depending on your needs there might be better choices for you though. I would ask in #💸・shopping-help

[gilded gale]

I've been trying to get a good picture of the belted kingfishers in my area! I really like what you captured here!

[frozen belfry]

good luck! Theyre fast buggers, saw this one driving down a road, asked my dad to pullover lol

[gilded gale]

so far this is the only decent pic I've gotten XD

[frozen belfry]

😂 still a beautiful bird

[gilded gale]

They really are 😄

I think they're allergic to me though, that was at 800mm equivalent and it's still the size of a grain of rice XD

[sinful viper]

Hang around near rivers or inlets

I find they usually enjoy leafless trees but I don’t think they’re restricted

[gilded gale]

Yeah, that's what I've also noticed for the ones I've seen so far as well

[wheat hare]

They like to use the same perches so watch them for a while

[sharp valley]

I’ve just been on a 1 hour walk and didn’t see a single bird unless it was really high up and far away

It’s so annoying dude

This is the place

What are the best places to see birds

[green meadow]

This might have been quite good for this weeks contest, but I will stick with the one that I already submitted.

[green meadow]

At least here in Finland July is often rather quiet time what comes to birds. After young ones leaves nest, most of the birds seem to disappear some where. Then they come briefly back when it is time to migrate back to the south.

[sharp valley]

Ah dang it fair enough

[frozen belfry]

dont think any of these are worth editing

[wispy mesa]

i wish i had those birds! ❤️

[gilded gale]

getting a tad closer to the kingfishers!

still crazy cropped tho 😦

[frozen belfry]

soon

one day

that branch is perfect

[wispy mesa]

https://tenor.com/view/some-day-some-day-my-prince-will-come-prince-princess-prince-will-come-gif-13346639

[green meadow]

Same 🤩

[wispy mesa]

i really find it interesting and love to see the different birds in the different areas of the world. and what everyone calls "ony the xy bird" where then others are totally amazed of because it's not common in their area (does that make sense? i can't really find my words today in english)

[frozen belfry]

youve got ptarmigans though!

[green meadow]

true true, but those are more common bit up north from where I live. Sadly I have never seen one.

[frozen belfry]

aw:(

[green meadow]

I have thought this same thing. It is amazing how somewhere some parrots might be everyday birds. 😅

[frozen belfry]

my bf is near Kajaani, he hasnt seen one:(

it is one of my life goals to photograph one

as well as photograph a sukhoi again (i fucked up my chance the other day 😭

[green meadow]

Some times they are quite familiar to people. Just need to be at the right place at the right time. 😄 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMzpM-V6mgM

[frozen belfry]

😮

give

💜

its so cuteeeeeeeee

[green meadow]

Yes it is 🤩

[frozen belfry]

finland just keeps getting better

adorbs birbs, moomin, snow….

[wispy mesa]

we actually have some but they are not native here. they escaped from being pets (or were abandoned by their owners) and now they live as wild animals here in the area.

it's these (not my picture)

Rose-ringed parakeet

[frozen belfry]

awww

[wispy mesa]

ah found it, this is my picture

[frozen belfry]

awuhhhh

[green meadow]

They are cute. That is same time kind of cool and sad because people don't think what kind of consequences their actions might cause to the local nature. 😕

[wispy mesa]

it's already since 50 years! the assumption is that it's a population of about 2000 animas in the meantime. i tried to find out but it doesn't seem to be really intrusive, though it's not researched enough yet.

at the moment they are labelled "potentially invasive"

[green meadow]

Good that they are not (probably) that harmful. 👍 🙂 But some (luckily few) pet owners should know better. And I think that this is better known issue now than what it has been back then.

[wispy mesa]

yes, i think so too, people are more aware globally, thank god

[hidden wyvern]

theyre also rage snowballs sometimes i hear

[frozen belfry]

i love them even more now

[hidden wyvern]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5wDEk1aF3U

kinda like a pigeon sized chicken that also sounds like a laser beam sometimes

[frozen belfry]

my heartttttt

i wanna breed them

[gilded gale]

omg theyre amazing

[green meadow]

This is sad. Young golden-eye has fishing lure stuck on its belly from the hook and fishing line is tangled around its ankle. It was standing on a rock in the middle of flowing water so I didn't have any means to help it. 😓

[scarlet tulip]

I’ve seen that with mallards before, people are too careless with their fishing lures

All this for what amounts to catch and release, it’s a bizarre hobby at times

[frozen belfry]

oh poor sweetie

[green meadow]

I also don't totally understand that catch and release type fishing. What comes to lures and lines sometimes those get stuck to places where there is nothing to do about it. But I've seen fishing equipment (especially lines) left in places where it is not a mistake, just indifference.

[frozen belfry]

I dont agree with catch and release

catch to eat

[scarlet tulip]

i figure if one's going to catch a fish they ought to eat it, but then people would probably fish less

which might not be bad

[green meadow]

Amazing photo 👌

[scarlet tulip]

Today was a good osprey day

Tomorrow I’ll go back to the same spot with more sunlight in the morning, I hope

[green meadow]

Sounds like a plan. 😃

[mint warren]

I'm hopefully gonna have an osprey day tomorrow morning

but the nest is in a spot with too much backlight, all my shots so far have not worked out

hoping I can get one fishing

[mint warren]

Tried to salvage what I could, awful lot of backlight and didn't expect it

Also obligatory fairy wrens

[mint warren]

yeah they blue

[hidden wyvern]

went to a trailhead, got scratched, sunburned and a photo of a sandpiper so im happy

lots of barn swallows too

pipers run really fast when zoomed in, swallows were even harder when flying

[hidden wyvern]

this bird is amusing

just looks so annoyed

[wispy mesa]

I saw this young Black redstart today and it was so brave that i really could come quite near to it.

[spring vault]

nice duck

[mint warren]

Anyone here done any bird photography in Vietnam, particularly near Da Nang?

[green meadow]

Got some OK photos today. 👍

[wispy mesa]

🥰

[green meadow]

Grebes zebra baby.

[pure belfry]

nice wing tip dip

[scarlet tulip]

I was happy to find it when I checked the burst

[gilded gale]

freedom from slow mode!

But yeah, getting closer to these kingfishers is such a pain @scarlet tulip

[scarlet tulip]

it really is

i've tried about everything i can think of short of a blind or a ghillie suit

they're too skittish

[gilded gale]

it's like literally any sight of me and theyre off, click clacking away

i swear it's them laughing

[scarlet tulip]

and they'll avoid a perch if someone is even looking toward is

[pure belfry]

I usually shoot my kingfishers in roughly the same locations. I know where they're likely to perch before I go, so I can plan my approach to their likely locations where they won't see (much) of me before I am ready to shoot.

Also, sticking to areas that are actually frequented by people will often work better, because they're less likely to immediately fly when they see someone

So creeks near walkways etc are always good.

This image I got the other day was a result of both - and in the end the kingfisher was quite happy with me moving around it at relatively close range:

[gilded gale]

Yeah, I've been trying to get them at the lake that is surrounded by a park around here

yeah that's wild

I'm still stuck with this

[pure belfry]

I totally manifested the above shot. It's one perch that I always hope a kingfisher is on

Normally if I don't see one I just move on

but I camped the spot out

and one just arrived.

After getting a few decent shots I tried moving around and he stayed

which was a surprise

Sometimes you just need to get lucky with wildlife

can't exactly ask them to pose where you want

You can setup in a spot, frame a perfect image and just wait for a subject to arrive though

[gilded gale]

Somebody turn me into Snow white or Pocahontas already T.T

[pure belfry]

just be prepared to fail more often than not

[drifting silo]

City birb

[green meadow]

Really nice colors and sharpness. 👌

[drifting silo]

Thanks

[wispy mesa]

i love and hate them at the same time

the birds, not your picture. the picture is great!

[solar bay]

i am so happy i got a decent photo of an American redstart these birds move so fast (this is an unedited photo)

[wispy mesa]

as i said, light and heat are not my friends at the moment, so the quality is horrible, but look at this beautiful pattern of feathers!

[green meadow]

I had today some kind of artistic moment and tried something different/abstract.

[hidden wyvern]

Two pipers

Pretty happy as this is my second time getting the chance

[green meadow]

Cute little birds 🤩

[mint warren]

Damn nice, how'd you get that close?

[hoary sigil]

I cheated, it was at a bird of prey centre

[mint warren]

ah fair nuf

still nice photo

[hoary sigil]

Ty

[wheat hare]

bunch of shit bags https://wgme.com/news/local/acadia-park-rangers-seek-help-identifying-hikers-who-disturbed-protected-falcon-area-maine-precipice-trail-acadia-national-park-migratory-bird-treaty-act

[scarlet tulip]

State ought to put snipers out

[hidden wyvern]

i think the "scared away from their nest" is a bit misinformative, lots of people say birds abandon nests because people show up once or twice but thats not actually the case most of the time (needs to be repeated offenses), however, birds can get enough fear to cause heart attacks

either way to them its like a tiger approaching your children, idk why people think its fine

here's another red-winged blackbird but of a completely different look

these guys are the perfect example of mess around and find out, they attack every single bird thats like 30x its size in the area protecting their nest

good news from that article is those idiots probably wouldn't have done much of anything yet in reality, but hopefully they get charged and hopefully never do it again.
If that island i seen with the puffins wasnt protected people would be hiking on it, throwing trash and garbage everywhere, probably polluting the water and leaving plastics and the birds would leave with so much attention, people need to just follow basic rules like those signs lol

[wheat hare]

I'm more inclined to follow expert advice but thanks

[hidden wyvern]

no offense to the writer but their expertise is writing the stories, not wildlife protection, cant believe every article lol

[scarlet tulip]

The way to solve this is a nice set of handcuffs and a nice big fine

[wheat hare]

I don't look at just this article. I've read many other things and talked to many other people.

[hidden wyvern]

anyways though, that belief with it scaring birds is not unprofound, just inflated. One person seeing a nest doesnt cause them to abandon it, wildlife researchers say its influenced by many "threats" to the bird

[wheat hare]

Big ol fat 'Depends'.

[hidden wyvern]

birds of prey usually have to deal with other birds of prey fighting for nesting space, its natural for them to run into threats to their nest

how much they are willing to put up with it though, hard to say

[wheat hare]

👍

[scarlet tulip]

This is a relatively simple rule these people violated

Given that we can’t state the exact level of disturbance that might make the falcons leave their nests behind, its best to just close the trail

[hidden wyvern]

well the problem is that is was closed, people just being people

[wheat hare]

lol

[scarlet tulip]

Frankly, if there’s budget for a trail camera, there’s budget for an SR25 and a few boxes of Gold Medal Match

[hidden wyvern]

need like 50 signs past the other 15 signs that say dont enter for them to maybe see it

[wheat hare]

They see them they just don't care.

[scarlet tulip]

This isn’t some well-intentioned bumbling

These people see the rules, they know the rules

And the rules clearly aren’t a sufficient deterrent

[wheat hare]

Especially when the trail is a cool one

[scarlet tulip]

I personally am cool with the federal government killing these people where they stand, on reflection this is a better deterrent than a fine Daddy pays anyway

[hidden wyvern]

i was about to say have the area 51 type sign lol

[scarlet tulip]

It would work!

[hidden wyvern]

need jailtime or something at least, fines are flawed by being rich/parents who will pay or being so broke you cant pay anyway

[scarlet tulip]

Can put some big signs up too

[hidden wyvern]

actually then theyll think people are hiding aliens or something in this random walking trail and motivate them to explore more

[scarlet tulip]

Oh true, you’re right

Or they’ll assume it’s being used for weird conspiracy stuff

[hidden wyvern]

part of why i like these trails is not having to deal with mindless behavior like what these guys do lol, havent met any weirdos on walking trails yet, goes to show its not impossible to encouter though, earlier seen some video of a guy harassing geese with his dog because geese "annoy" him like thats intentional

[wheat hare]

Unfortunately Acadia is a National Park and there's a shit ton of idiots every year like every other National Park.

There is no fix.

[scarlet tulip]

None that would pass any kind of political muster anyway

[hidden wyvern]

oh i see, ive never actually gone to a full-on national park yet

i stick to random nowhere trails which i see on ebird and stuff and regular town parks

[wheat hare]

I plan to spend a lot of time in the North Woods

[hidden wyvern]

those sandpipers i found recently were off the side of some trailhead near a random rocky beach, a beaten path but there was like 3 people on the beach in total

much more peaceful lol

[wheat hare]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Maine_Woods https://www.fsmaine.org/f-a-q-s/maines-north-woods/

[hidden wyvern]

honestly surprised thats in the us its so close to me lol

i live in ns which is around here (highlighted) practically a boarder hop away from it, theres also some big spots like it here( smaller area though iirc)

im hoping to go here someday, wildlife reserve of sorts, protected but you can to exploring and such

would be a place to see bears, owls and such

[hidden wyvern]

finished a non-phone ratio version

that wimberly monogimbal makes it easy to just swap between both ratios, also the monopod makes it much easier to get to eye level with the bird which i experimented with this friday, so far pretty happy with it

this one is either a juvenile red winged blackbird or the female variation, as mentioned they do protect nests in the area from ravens and such, could be either

one issue with it is the lack of a carrying bag, forgot that when moving lol

[wheat hare]

https://tenor.com/view/david-rose-schitts-creek-my-god-gif-17870241

[wheat hare]

Oh good they at least identified the asshats in Acadia

[mint warren]

Osprey time

[mint warren]

better crop of a previous pic

[wheat hare]

This may be ridiculous because I'm so anal but if it was mine I'd slightly burn the brighter spots at the very bottom edge of the crop

it's a lovely photo

[mint warren]

No you're right, I might just crop that out altogether

[wheat hare]

just don't crop out the moss 😄

[mint warren]

good lord no

[gilded gale]

getting closer >.<

[mint warren]

Hows this?

[wispy mesa]

Guys, I saw a kingfisher sitting in a bench yesterday 🤩

[mint warren]

Nice

[drifting silo]

Went out today in hopes of spotting more stonechats only to find that the spot where they stayed last time had been destroyed
There used to be lots of shrubs and branches for them to perch

[kindred locust]

S h a r p

[gilded gale]

I don't feel I over sharpened 😞 anything else to look for?

[analog kindle]

I mean maybe too much clarity or contrast but great photo!

Last morning I got this flicker:
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/622201862

[kindred locust]

It's sharp, isn't that a good thing?

[gilded gale]

Yeah I just thought you meant it was over sharpened through editing.

[kindred locust]

No no, its sharp naturally

Sharp lens etc

[gilded gale]

This one look a little better? Went back this morning and the duckos were still sleepin

[hidden wyvern]

ground level shot of a duck

[gilded gale]

This reminds me of one of the very first pictures I ever took!

[kindred locust]

Where is this? I want to capture something like this but I really can't since I can't find those ducks even tho I search at water spots, lagoons and more

[kindred locust]

Damn! That's sick, which lens?

You just lay down and take a shot? Alrigjt

[hoary sigil]

I saw wild Flamingos earlier, I'll edit some better photos I took on my camera later on

[gilded gale]

Yeah, these are pretty typical ducks called Gadwall, they're pretty similar to your standard mallard. Found in lakes, ponds, wetlands.

[gilded gale]

This was the sigma 150-600, I now use a canon 100-500. And yeah get the camera low and shoot away. I often rest my camera on my shoe while I sit for low shots. Having an articulating back screen helps keep you out of the dirt and mud some.

[hidden wyvern]

i intend to try it out more with my monopod

much easier to get ground level with a rut or something

[gilded gale]

\o/

I'm actually pretty happy with this one I think

[frozen belfry]

ayyyyy finally

[dusty fog]

I love this one

One of the best

Brighten up the left side of the head though?

[hidden wyvern]

every country seems to have a "chickadee" or something like it, one of my favorite birds

just a fluff with wings pretty much, so many different colours though

[hidden wyvern]

speaking of small birds, here's a very grumpy baby nuthatch

[wheat hare]

https://haikubox.com/blogs/newsletter/723-million-bird-recordings sick

[hoary sigil]

Looks like you woke them up

[hidden wyvern]

there was a few with a very subtle nuthatch chirp i heard then i looked up to see this grumpy face looking at me

was just walking by though lol

[dusty fog]

finally got pics of the bird i've been looking for since i first bought this lens

[spring vault]

very cute

[hoary sigil]

Looks like that one Disney short animation

Called Piper

[dusty fog]

yeah i remember

thats an incredible short

[hoary sigil]

Fr

[dusty fog]

the sand and water sims are insane

[hoary sigil]

Yeah

I wish I could get shots that sharp

I always manage to miss focus by a tiny bit

[dusty fog]

haha, well the grass is always greener
i'm really not happy with the files from that body

it's a Zfc

but i use that over my Z6ii for the extra crop

[hoary sigil]

Fair

I use a Sony SLT-A55V

[vale lava]

bro is eepy

[mint warren]

daaaamn that red is peak

[vale lava]

unedited but quite interesting

[gilded yarrow]

Do you guys know if there are any birding discords that arent just local?

[barren yoke]

I'm in a bird discord called Birding International

I mostly use it for ID help because there's a lot of opinions there

[gilded yarrow]

Sounds good, thanks!

[barren yoke]

Ofc!

[gilded gale]

New lifer today! Barred Owl!!

[barren yoke]

Sweet! Owls are the best

Cool shots too

[vale lava]

swee i love owls

[gilded yarrow]

Man I cant seem to find good photography spots

Everything is so close to other people

I've gone out like 5 times in the last 7 days without a single good pic

And I dont have a car to drive to different spots either

Got 1 forest around 10km from me, maybe I'll go there the next few days

1 forest where I've never been*

The forest thats basically right behind my house doesnt seem to have any good photo spots

[spring vault]

it's also not really the ideal time of year

later in fall and spring will have more birds for me at least

[gilded yarrow]

The Problem isnt even that there are no birds, I see lots of different birds but they are never close enough/ in the right spot with a nice background etc

[gilded yarrow]

This is what I hate about germany, 99% agriculture and near to no actual nature anymore

[hoary sigil]

Same with UK

[dusty fog]

nice drone photography tho

[gilded yarrow]

Thats from google maps lol

[dusty fog]

ik...

[gilded yarrow]

Literally everything wtf

So annoying

[gilded yarrow]

Oh god yeah that looks even worse

[drifting silo]

I think so too. Last time I went out I barely saw or heard any birds. Its scorching hot too making it unbearable to sit around looking for birds 😅

[gilded yarrow]

Saw this funny looking guy today

1 photo after 3 days of being outside, I believe I just go out at the wrong times, I should just wake up early lol

[spring vault]

mornings are op

too bad that's when I'm sleepy

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao yeah same

[solar bay]

dang that's crazy i never knew that the forests were so small over there

[hidden wyvern]

2 years of hoping to find this bird and finally did within reasonable distance

i hid in the trees in some mud trench and waited for it to come to me lol, kingfishers startle easy

(it still seen me by the way)

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah most are sadly, theres some bigger ones too but nothing close to actual nature imo, the next hiking trail is never more than like 500m away

Theres still beautiful nature but nothings really wild anymore, hope you know what I mean haha

Thats why I wanna live in one of the nordic countries in a few years, either sweden or norway

[solar bay]

I hope you like the cold

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah haha

Much better than hot weather

When its cold I can just wear more clothes, a thick jacket etc for it to not be that bad

But you cant do anything about hot weather apart from staying inside lol

[hidden wyvern]

Two more

Might head back someday this week to see them again

[solar bay]

But the thing I hate the most about the cold is that your hands freeze quickly

[gilded yarrow]

Yeaa thats true

[solar bay]

and trust me you won't feel like doing anything when it's -40c outside

[gilded yarrow]

Well when its Winter in norway etc its too dark to shoot anything anyways hahahah

Are you from there?

[solar bay]

Im from canada

[gilded yarrow]

Ooh thats nice too

A bit too far away tho haha

[solar bay]

do you at what time the sun sets during winter over there? (Norway)

[gilded yarrow]

Ive heard once your pretty far up north the sun just doesnt really rise, its only like sunrise for a few hours but it pretty much stays dark for a few months

And then a few months later the sun is still up at like 2am lmao

Super weird

I think its called Polar night or something

[solar bay]

it's kinda like that here but less intense our sun sets at 11pm in summer and in winter it sets at 3:56pm

[solar bay]

that must suck during the winter

[green meadow]

About same here where I live in Finland.

[solar bay]

nice

[gilded yarrow]

Finland is so amazing too, but again a bit too far away for me to live there, I'd still want to be relatively close to my family in germany

[green meadow]

When I was younger I didn't notice it. But now it is obvious that lack of daylight in winter times affect you also mentally.

But luckily there is long summer days to load your batteries. 😅

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I've already noticed I feel better when its summer even in germany but I just cant stand the heat

[gilded yarrow]

Probably makes up for the lack of photography in the Winter too haha

[solar bay]

the summer is way better i feel like i have more time and energy to get things done

[green meadow]

Yeah but it is hard to wake up for the best lights at 2 a.m. 😅

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao yeah true

[green meadow]

But even thou winter can be bit tricky. I really like that we have real four seasons here. 👌

[solar bay]

here are a couple of northern lights i took while camping (i just have to edit them)

[green meadow]

this is taken from my backyard about week ago.

[gilded yarrow]

Around 2 weeks ago or so we got them in Germany again too

2nd time this year already and completely unexpected, I was just trying to see the perseids

Not green tho

[wispy mesa]

i missed both times 😦

[gilded yarrow]

Oh nooo, but since the sun will still be very active for a while I bet it'll happen again

[green meadow]

Yeah I heard that sun is in really active phase so there is good changes to see auroras even more often and more southern parts than usually.

[gilded yarrow]

Yep

Close to its max

[wispy mesa]

yeah, let's see! I was both times also in places where i wouldn't really had a good view anyhow.

[gilded yarrow]

The max is around mid 2025 so we got almost a year left, chance is pretty high I'd say

[drifting silo]

I have simply stopped trying

Last time i stayed up till 3am up on a hill for nothing

[solar bay]

It's so cool when they do that. The first time it happened I was so stunned

[dark ermine]

congrats! esp. getting it in flight too

[hidden wyvern]

thanks, ill have to vist them again sometime

[wispy mesa]

Oh noooo 🙈

[gilded yarrow]

Definitely too far away but I finally found one again!!!

This is uncropped lmao

[gilded yarrow]

Wooow

[gilded gale]

Pelicanssss

[mint warren]

luv pelicans

[gilded yarrow]

Yo @green meadow how often do you go out and come back with no good pics

I've been looking for wildlife for almost 2 weeks straight now and I have zero pics I'm actually happy with

Starts to get frustrating lol

[green meadow]

Well only rarely I come back home with nothing. If I don't see birds then I might try to photograph something else like landscapes or other nature subjects (some details etc.). Also most of the time I come back with bird photos. That's because I photograph same (also everyday) species over and over again. I'm sure that there is always room fro improvement and that I haven't taken my best photo of let's say mallard yet.

But then I also have my doubts. Sometimes I think that I have great photos and other times it feels like everything I have ever got are useless crap. 😅

I totally understand that frustration. But remember, it only takes one successful day in the field to turn everything around and make it all feel worth it again. Keep going—your next great shot could be just around the corner. 👍

[gilded yarrow]

Thanks haha, yeah I just need to find a good spot with a nice background etc

[frozen belfry]

@green meadow sorry to ping and ask an unrelated question here. General chat is busy. With Finnish military call ups, what exactly happens? Is it just final assessment to determine role? Or actually getting assigned the role? I tried looking it up but getting mixed results and bf is at work still

[green meadow]

Well process might be different now but at least when I was there about twenty years (OMG! how old I'm) ago. They told about the military service and then there was kind of brief assessment (according to doctors health check that had been done beforehand) and chat about if you are fit for military service in the Finnish Defence Forces. Then they said where and when I'm about to go to military service. But I think that there were nothing about what I'm going to do there or what my role will be. I think it might be possible to discuss about the role already then if you know what you want to do there. I don't know why they put me in artillery? But there during the service I knew I want to be a truck driver. So in some meeting or evaluation after the basic training they asked about that. Then I was accepted to a driving school and I got to drive a truck. Hopefully this makes sense and answers your question. 😅

May I ask why you are interested about that?

[frozen belfry]

Thanks Antti:) my boyfriend is Finnish, he’s 18 and has his call ups tomorrow. In the past he’s been excited about it but recently been quite nervous. He just got back from work not long ago and said he would prefer just some peace and quiet distraction rather than talking about it, which I understand. Just wanted to get an idea of what’s ahead of him so I can do my best to support him but not overwhelm him with questions and make him more stressed. I thinkkk he’s decided he wants to try for combat camera (he’s also a photographer) or maybe an IT role because that’s what he has been studying but not sure whether he’ll get either of those. Thank you so much for the info

[green meadow]

Yeah, it is exciting time and service time is a big change to every day life. I was nervous too and I think it is same with all big things or changes in life. But there is nothing to worry about. That combat camera sounds really interesting. But indeed probably quite limited spots available.

[frozen belfry]

He’s a huge military nerd, extremely fit and quite smart, I’m sure whatever gets thrown at him he will be ok. I’m just hoping and praying for him, trying to do the best I can from down here in aussieland 😂 thank you again

[green meadow]

Happy to help! 😄

[gilded yarrow]

Is this a fledgling? Just hopped around

[barren yoke]

Most likely

[frozen belfry]

@green meadow congrats!

[wide flint]

These alpine accentors in Romania were super cute and tame, very nice subjects

[gilded yarrow]

Holy shit I'm finally getting some pics again after none for 2 weeks straight

So happy rn

[gilded yarrow]

1st one edited, thought I'll try a different aspect ratio what do you guys think?

[wide flint]

Thats really clean, I think the crop is good as is, but could maybe use a bit more space on the sides

Especially on the left

[gilded yarrow]

You mean on the right? Isnt there a lot of space on the left lmao

Already made it a little bit bigger but I think its still a bit too tight not sure

[spring vault]

show the uncropped pic

[gilded yarrow]

Increased contrast and the space around the bird

[spring vault]

idk I would take more pics and get one with a better angle and pose

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah he flew away after that lol

This is the only other one I got, imo not really nice

[spring vault]

#15 pic u posted above looks nice

Robin or whatever it is

u can cook with that

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I got a different one of that bird in an even nicer location imo

Kinda boring pose tho

The other ones a bit soft sadly because it was at 1/800th handheld at 600mm but I'm sure I can just sharpen a bit lol

Meh

Uncropped

[gilded yarrow]

What do we think

[gilded yarrow]

Sorry for the Spam lmao

[analog kindle]

Ive been trying to get a photo like this for a long time!!
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/623089569

[wide flint]

wait you guys get hummingbirds that far north in the US?

[analog kindle]

Yeah, I mean it's not too far north....

They are just about gone now for the most part

I think

[wide flint]

Yeah I always just thought they were tropical birds but I guess I couldn't be more wrong about that

But yeah, we don't get them in Europe anyways

[spring vault]

I've seen hummingbirds in Maine

they migrate around

there are many species tho and some stick to the tropics

[wide flint]

Idk which one I like more

I think the second one, also way overdone the saturation on the first one now that I see them side by side

[dusty fog]

first photo is better but the editing is rough

try to isolate the subject more by removing some contrast from background and foreground

[wide flint]

How is that best done, just masking?

Honestly think B&W also has potential

[dusty fog]

Yeah Lightroom has subject and object detection

Idk the warm light could be really nice

[wide flint]

Working with darktable sadly :/

[dusty fog]

Could probably crop more too

[wide flint]

Still haven't figured out how to actually mask properly in there, tried it like 5 times but keep on fucking shit up

[wide flint]

Something like this?

If I fully cut out the bright spot on the top left it starts looking awkward

[dusty fog]

i think its fine if the background was lighter

[wide flint]

Slowly getting somewhere

[dusty fog]

the darks are super dark

[barren yoke]

Hey

I have a quick question

[drifting silo]

Yes?

Not that i can guarantee that i can answer ur question

But what is it

[barren yoke]

This photo or

It's a photo contest for something

[drifting silo]

I feel like youve posted these before

[barren yoke]

I have

I'm trying to decide between them

[drifting silo]

This one still has that haloing issue around the bird

If its a stylistic choice then its alright

[barren yoke]

Yeah kinda

I really like the reds

[barren yoke]

I can't even see it on my monitor though

[drifting silo]

1st one is obviously cleaner, i would go in for a tighter crop to remove distracting elements

Second one though looks more interesting to me

The background on the 1st one just looks too flat for my taste

[barren yoke]

Mhm

[drifting silo]

But this will need work in the editing

You need to figure out how to make the bird pop, create a nice composition, and use the surroundings to ur advantage

[barren yoke]

I wasn't going to change anything, I'm kinda behind

Just as they are, which would you pick?

[drifting silo]

Like make the dandelions interesting but not overpowering

Idk if its gonna work out though

U just have to give a try urself in post

[drifting silo]

Hmm

2nd one and just crop tight

But thats just me

Im just not a fan of the flat background of the first

[barren yoke]

I love them both lol

But I didn't want to submit 2 of the same bird

Maybe I should flip a coin

[drifting silo]

This looks okay-ish to me

[wide flint]

second one looks better yeah

but they are both really colourless, idk if it's part of the theme, but it doesn't make them that interesting to me

[green meadow]

I'm with @drifting silo second one looks better and that tighter crop works better.

[barren yoke]

Most of my photos are kinda monochrome with neutrals

[frozen belfry]

I like this. Picture and crop

[barren yoke]

Okay, thank you! I'll do that lol

[frozen belfry]

Good luck

[barren yoke]

Do you have any title ideas?

I was running out of ideas lmao

[wide flint]

Ah okay, fair

[barren yoke]

Wait what type of crop? Like just smaller or portrait or...

Most of my photos are off center, so I'm trying different things

[drifting silo]

The one i sent above

Just tighter in general

Im not limited to a single cropping style or aspect ratio

Whatever works for the photo

[barren yoke]

Okay

Just a ss but this?

[drifting silo]

Too much emptiness on the left

I suddenly cant remember what that word is lmfao

Blank space

White space

[barren yoke]

Negative

[drifting silo]

Idfk 😭

[drifting silo]

Oh right

If u wanna go w/ portrait orientation that can work too i think

But just for my own personal taste, I tend to leave negative space in the direction the bird is looking

Having it behind the bird’s direction just doesn’t look quite right to my eyes

[drifting silo]

That looks ok but my eyes are distracted or rather attracted by that cluster on the top right

[drifting silo]

Yeah that looks ok

[barren yoke]

Do you think "Burdock Sparrow" sounds like a stupid title?

I can't think of anything lol

[drifting silo]

I like simple so that sounds good to me

But i have no idea what the judges would be looking for

[barren yoke]

True

Idek it's not just bird photography

It's a photo contest for everyone who lives here

Any topic

[drifting silo]

Bruh

Well thats a difficult one then

[barren yoke]

Lol

[drifting silo]

Cant even tell if the judges would be more biased towards a certain genre

[barren yoke]

Mhm

I'm just going through the photos that fit the requirements and picking my favorites

I submitted 2 of my cat photos, a loon, kinglet, Killdeer and that sparrow

I'll let you know if I win anything 🤷‍♀️

It's by Oct 1 so might be awhile lol

[drifting silo]

Sorry i didnt read this

Actually yeah thats weird

Im opening the photo on my phone

And its pretty visible but when zoomed in it disappears

Ig its just a problem when viewing on smaller screens

Sorry about that lol

[wide flint]

I see a slight halo around the bird as well tho

On my pc

But you gotta be pixel peeping for it to be really noticeable

[drifting silo]

Yeah

[barren yoke]

It's alright

I might actually scrap the last sparrow because the contest is max 3 photos

And I have 4

Haven't actually picked tho

[waxen shard]

birb

[wide flint]

That is one birby birb

[green meadow]

LOL...This never gets old. Pair of great tits. 😅 Who is that genius that has decided English name of that species. I'm quite sure that it was some guy. 😂

[wide flint]

How do you get these great in flight/takeoff shots? Do you have a camera with precapture or just a lot of patience and good timing?

[drifting silo]

if I remember correctly Antti uses the Z9 with precapture

And that goes up to 120fps? Cries in 7fps lmao

[frozen belfry]

Don’t make me cry again lmao

[wide flint]

yeah, but that's only JPEG, max RAW burst rate is 20 fps if I'm not mistaken

but precapture is also such a sick thing

I hope some day in the future it will also be implemented on more entry level camera

[wheat hare]

Yes 20fps raw

Precapture, 30, 60, 120fps all jpeg. 30fps full-size jpeg, 60fps 19mp jpeg, 120fps 11mp jpeg

[frozen belfry]

[wheat hare]

Maybe Nikon will get their shit together with raw precapture soon™️

[green meadow]

Yeah I use precapture a lot for this type of shots. But this one is actually taken without it.

It was good example how big difference it is between editing raw and jpeg files.

[frozen belfry]

Oooo

[green meadow]

Also lot more detail and room for crop with better resolution.

I'm also really hoping that Nikon would add precapture for raw files too.

[frozen belfry]

That would be nice

Hmmmm do I hold off on a new camera then hmmm

I’ll probably still be too broke when it comes out though lol

[green meadow]

Yeah it is difficult decision when to upgrade. It feel like something new comes up right after you have purchased something.

and if not that then big discount campaign at least

[frozen belfry]

Yeahhh

I luckily got my xh2 on huge discount. The campaign had ended but they hadn’t yet changed it in the system so they let me take it cheaper

Had close to grand cut off the price

[gilded yarrow]

Do you use bait/ are you close to a bird feeder for the smaller birds?

[drifting silo]

My reaction time is just so bad
I had so many opportunities to practice takeoff shots today and didnt get a single one. The birds were very relaxed and occasionally walked up to me to the point that my lens wouldnt be able to focus anymore.

But anyway this still allowed me to get some nice closeup shots

Just not cool flight stuff, skill issue

[green meadow]

I have a photo blind at my bird feeder. I feed them mainly at winter times and just occasionally in summer and autumn.

[gilded yarrow]

Ahh very cool

I wish I had a garden for something like that

[green meadow]

Yeah feeder gives so much more opportunities and bird behavior is much more predictable.

Some might think that it is not actual nature photographing or that way photographer affects too much to birds behavior.

I think and hope that I'm doing a good deed. After all we have here harsh and cold winters for birds.

[green meadow]

I think that one you posted on IG looks cool.

For small birds it is somehow quite hard to read when they are about to take off.

[frozen belfry]

Do you have any ptarmigan photos?

[green meadow]

Unfortunately no. They are more common north from where I live. Black grouse is closest thing that we have here.

and of course hazel grouse

[frozen belfry]

Aaaaa they’re both gorgeous

I want to hug one

[frozen belfry]

Are these ones common?

[green meadow]

Yes quite common. But people and other predators hunt them so they are quite shy.

[frozen belfry]

Awuhhh:(

I love birds so much

Especially big ground birds:) (including chickens 😂)

I had a pet rooster who was more affectionate than my dogs

He would sit on my lap and preen my hair or fall asleep with my scratching his head

His name was Big Red. The horses name is Red 😁

[green meadow]

Birds are great. There is so many different kind of them. I think that they are natures own pieces of art.

[frozen belfry]

Very much so

[green meadow]

Great pair horse and rooster. I think there is possibility to take or rent summer chickens here. If I had place for it I would definitely take one.

[frozen belfry]

Oo that’s awesome, I would 100% if I could. My chicken days are long over unfortunately

We also had Big Reds son… Little Red 😂

[green meadow]

😄 👍

[frozen belfry]

:)

[frozen belfry]

This one looks either depressed or very wise

Beautiful photos

[solar bay]

I wish my chickens where like that

[mint warren]

tfw one of my favorite waterbird spots is basically dead because of council work

reeee

[mint warren]

or atleast it was when I was there

hopefully stuffs coming back

[hoary sigil]

Dayum

[icy sparrow]

yeah haha
The Beauty and the Beast

[icy sparrow]

Thank you!

[frozen belfry]

Also damn your about me

[drifting silo]

Thanks

Currently going on an editing spree

I tried doing a lowkey/dark thing but it didnt work out so i gave it my usual artificial light source from the corner with a touch of warmth

Tell me what u guys think about it

[gilded yarrow]

I like it, thats what I do in 95% of my wildlife pics too lmao

[drifting silo]

Yeah ever since i discovered the trick most photos just dont seem quite right without it 😄

[green meadow]

Looks overall good to me. Nice clean background and birds pose is nice. I really like that light effect you use. 👌 Also these things caught my eye. Birds head might be just a little overexposed. Also there is some color banding visible at least on my screen. 🤔

[drifting silo]

Thanks, I think the overexposed part is cooked. I tried bringing it down but the detail is already lost
And I have no idea why there’s banding either. It looked fine initially but then i noticed it appearing after exporting from photoshop

The photo itself is very low res, about 3MP, could that be a factor?

[green meadow]

I have encountered same kind problems time to time too. And I haven't figured out what causes it. But it might have something to do with the resolution or export setting or such.

Partly too bright or dark pictures are annoying to edit. And too harsh light is really difficult or impossible to expose correctly.

[dark ermine]

idk if well known but one thing I found to cause this is exporting in 8bit vs 16bit in ps, something worth checking

for some reason my photoshop will randomly swap over to 8 bit when importing from lr

also speaking of artificial corner light, most recent b&a, I see a trend 😄

[gilded yarrow]

Guys the Kingfisher is just fucking around with me at this point

I've been looking for a good spot close to my home since the beginning of 2023

Today I rode my bike to some random ass lakes in the middle of nowhere

As soon as I go down this little ramp to the water what is sitting literally 2 meters away from me behind a bush

A fucking kingfisher

I was too shocked to do anything, cam was still in my backpack

Was thinking about getting a proof shot with my phone but I tried to get my cam out then it flew away

Was already getting dark so I was just sitting there for around 30 mins, saw one and heard another but didnt land on the same branch again

It was sitting on one of those branches, I'll go there again next week if it isnt raining

[wide flint]

Yeah, kingfishers are tough bastards to photograph

[barren yoke]

And that's why they're my fav

[wide flint]

Right before I got my 100-400 I was in the Danube delta in Romania and we took a birding tour there. I kid you not, I saw over 70 kingfishers that day, all were getting super close as well. I'm actually still so annoyed I didn't have my lens yet back then.

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah but I finally found a nice Spot, from now on my life will be wake up, go there, go home after 6 hours, sleep, repeat

Until I have atleast 1 good photo

lmao

Heard atleast 2, maybe even 3

[wide flint]

Fair enough, with enough patience you'll probably get some great shots!

[gilded yarrow]

I'm praying he's actually using that branch to hunt, if he is he'll come there again 100%

And if he isn't I'll put a new branch into the ground, if he sees it its a 90% chance he'll land on it and if he has success hunting he'll come back to it

Kingfishers are very skittish but also veery predictable once you know where they hunt from etc

[wide flint]

Yeah, but even when you know exactly where to be it could take hours to actually get them in front of your lens

Do you have a hide you can setup next to the branch?

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah true haha

[gilded yarrow]

Not yet sadly, got one of those cheap ghillies tho lmao

No clue if they actually help

But a pop up hide is definitely the next thing on my list

theyre pretty cheap too

saw the one I wanna get for 50€ on ebay

Buteo something

This one

[wide flint]

Not a bad price for a hide tbh

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah only bad part is that it weights another 3kgs, my backpack already weights like 8 with my cam & tripod lmao

But its kinda like a workout every time I go out, I dont have my drivers license yet so I go everywhere by bike or by walking there lol

[gilded yarrow]

Would love to get this one since its a lot bigger but thats too expensive for me

This is pretty cool, chair with built in hide, can only look/photograph one way with that though

[drifting silo]

6 hours is some crazy dedication

Honestly im very tempted lately to just rent out a hide with those nice set up pools

I reckon those would hopefully guarantee some nice hit rates and even insane shots if lucky (like those kingfisher diving photos)

[dark ermine]

that really is some dedication, the only reason i get half the shots I do is because the woods are my backyard and my blind is my house lol. effort makes it that much more rewarding though

[gilded yarrow]

Gotta get the shot lmao

[gilded yarrow]

I wish I would have a nice backyard where I could set up a feeder etc that would be great

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah true, I like the looking for the birds and waiting part too so I'm not that bothered by it, makes it feel a lot more rewarding too haha

[drifting silo]

If I had a lot of time I also wouldn’t mind the waiting, but unfortunately that’s not the case so I would prefer if my time is well spent 😅

The closest spot for photos for me is about 2 hours away so that also sucks

The transport itself (2-way) already takes ca. 4 hrs out of my day lol

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I got that same problem, dont have my drivers license so most of the cooler spots are too far away

Takes way too long with train & bus

Very happy that I found that kingfisher Spot basically 15 mins away from my home

[drifting silo]

Im a foreign student so a private vehicle would be too much of an investment for a relatively short term stay rn, so its just trains and buses for me

[gilded yarrow]

I can either bike there which is around 6km or go there by train which would take 3 mins from my train Station to the other one and then 1km from there

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah true that would be really expensive haha

Actually not even 5km

[broken mantle]

people here are repurposing those $11 pop up toilet/changing tents(with the camo motifs) as a portable hide

something like this but in camo. yeah its not as good, but helps us get pics of small blue kingfishers and other small shy birbs

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I was thinking about doing that too

Found something else a few hours ago that could work as well

Umbrella & camo net

Super simple

[broken mantle]

wow

thats pretty handy, i always carry a foldable umbrella in my bag, not sure if i can repurpose it too

might need to 3d print something to make it stand

[gilded yarrow]

Just need some way to put it into the ground

May not hide you as well as a fully closed blind but should work good enough

[broken mantle]

yeah

[broken mantle]

i got a white bellied sea eagle pic

you can tell its an eagle if you squint your eyes hard enough

[wispy mesa]

i had a flying heron today in front of the camera, and we just had a Eurasian jay in the garden. I need to check tomorrow or next week if there is something of worth on the sd card

[hexed oyster]

Anyone have experience building a floating photo blind?

[dusty fog]

a boat?

[wheat hare]

no they said floating blind. https://mrjangear.com/shop/floating-hide-3-combo/

Theres a few diy guides floating around. Some use a PVC frame some use foam

[dusty fog]

thats crazy haha

interesting

[green meadow]

Every summer I have thought about making one that floats also the photographer. But I haven't figured out how to keep it both stable and portable enough.

[waxen shard]

having a wider base would help with stability

[green meadow]

Adorable creature and nice photos. Specially 2nd and 4th. 👌

[jaunty sundial]

Antti, where do you suggest shooting in finland? I need to find somewhere zen for my next solo trip 😔

[green meadow]

If you are planning to come now relatively soon (late September or early October) Then there might be some autumn colors and all landscapes looks quite nice. Koli might be one if you don't want to travel far north. There is a hotel with spa and one of the best landscapes and some hiking trails. So not really budget friendly but easy nature experience. Ruka and Oulanka is bit more north. Lots of hiking trails and really nice landscapes and nature but also some services. There is rentable hides at Oulanka where you can photograph golden eagles. If you want to be really zen then I suggest that you rent some cottage from middle of nowhere. For birding there might be still some migration going on. So some coastal places might be good, Hanko for example. 🤔

[jaunty sundial]

Thank you so much!

Yeah im looking to go late october

Im in romania at the moment and planned to shoot birds, but got a bit distracted and ending up spending my time on literally anything else 😅

I think your cottage idea is very good, although i cannot drive 😔

Is there decent public transport out there, or a train atleast, or should i come back when i can drive?

[green meadow]

Public transport between cities works quite well. But if you wish to go in to the "wilderness" then own car is must have.

[jaunty sundial]

Damn

Thank you though i appreciate it

[green meadow]

https://www.nationalparks.fi/nuuksionp This might be quite reachable nature location with public transport. It is located near Helsinki.

[jaunty sundial]

Took some inspiration from your bear pictures today atleast

[jaunty sundial]

Oo, thanks

[green meadow]

Wow cool. 😵 Specially first one is great. 👍

[jaunty sundial]

Thank you thank you!

Scary though haha

Didnt realise how volatile these badboys are

[spring vault]

too close

[jaunty sundial]

The cub did charge the car at which point i decided to turn around and call it

Didnt wanna stress them and yeah, so scary

[spring vault]

turn around and the mom is right there behind u

dun dun dun

[jaunty sundial]

😳

Honestly though nothing will be as intense as trying to capture a bird of prey actually moving

I manage to goof it up every time

[wide flint]

For birding in Romania go to the Danube Delta

That is actually the most op spot for birds ever

90 Kingfishers in one day I had there this summer, Pelicans, Herons, everything you can think of that lives near water, it's an amazing place

[wide flint]

Oh and if you're still at the Transfagarasan highway you can try for wallcreepers

I have a good for spot for it if you'd like

[gilded yarrow]

Lol what the fuck

Like actually 90 kingfishers?

[wide flint]

Yeah something like that, didn't keep an exact count and was hard to tell if they were new or just flew in front of the boat and you saw the same one again

But like more than you could ever keep track of, it was actually insane

[gilded yarrow]

Crazy, I'm happy if I see 2 after being out for an entire week lmao

[wide flint]

And the area around the Delta is also filled with red footed falcons, hoopoe's and bee-eaters

[gilded yarrow]

I think my hide wont arrive tomorrow, which means I cant test it until next monday

[wide flint]

Ah rip

[gilded yarrow]

So weird that hoopoes and bee eaters are in the same spots so often

I've seen many pics with both species on the same branch, so crazy

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah my gf comes over from friday to sunday so I cant just be gone for 3 hours lmao

[wide flint]

At one point we had a field full of them, I think it was about 30 hoopoe's, 40 bee-eaters and like 20 European Rollers

[gilded yarrow]

Woahhh I didnt even know what rollers were until now, thats sick

[wide flint]

Yeah, they are very likely to live in the same climates

[gilded yarrow]

I think we dont even have those here in germany

[wide flint]

I really wish I had my 100-400 back then, I got it like 4 days after that 😭

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah they went extinct in germany 30 years ago

[wide flint]

Still so annoyed with myself that I didn't just get it before the vacation

[gilded yarrow]

Oh nooo hahahah

[wide flint]

Yeah same, they are seen very rarely here in the Netherlands, but Romania and Greece are full of them

Also a lot of shrikes, sick birds as well

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah theyre very cool

Saw like 10 of them a few days ago, didnt get close enough for good photos tho

only got this

But they seem to live there, saw them in the same tree on 2 different days so I'll definitely go back there once I got my tent haha

only like 10 minutes from my home too

[wide flint]

Ah damn, they're quite rare in the Netherlands, especially where I live

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah well I dont have many interesting birds apart from the shrikes and like 2 kingfishers close to me haha

[jaunty sundial]

Ahhhhh i just left

I saw 2 king fishers in serbia but

No wildlife lens

😭

[jaunty sundial]

If you wake up soon let me know

[wide flint]

Wait

I cant send the link here

But basically its at the south entrance of the tunnel all the way at the top of the highway

[jaunty sundial]

No worries, can dm if needed

Hmm

[wide flint]

And you can look up at the cliffs, but they also sometimes go down in the little valley under the road there to hunt for insects

[jaunty sundial]

This point?

[wide flint]

But yeah, it's not a guarantee that you see them at all, it's quite a tough species. They had a nest exactly there this spring so it was a way better time to go then.

[jaunty sundial]

Cheers though

Appreciate dat

Was hoping to get some eagle shots but havent had any luck im afriad

[wide flint]

Yeah there are quite some raptors around there, but normally you only really see them circling up really high

In the Danube delta we also had quite a few white tailed Eagles getting relatively close and actually perching right next to us

[jaunty sundial]

Ooo nice

[jaunty sundial]

Honestly i should just give up with eagles

This focus + distance was way too ambitious but

Fml

[gilded yarrow]

Ayyy my hide actually does arrive today

[wide flint]

Niiceee

[gilded yarrow]

ITS HUGE

[frozen belfry]

That postage was so quick

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah, ordered it on monday or tuesday I think

Its so coooool

Got so many windows lol

[paper anvil]

Where did you get this again? Amazon?

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah

100€

[paper anvil]

Thanks! Tempted to get one.

[gilded yarrow]

https://amzn.eu/d/f8my4id

This is the one I got, I think I'll try it today so I'll tell you how it goes!

[paper anvil]

Sweet!

[paper anvil]

Does it take up a lot of space in storage or is easy to take on a short trip?

[gilded yarrow]

Its definitely bigger than I thought it would be but still manageable

Around 2.8kg

[spring vault]

most of the summer I'd be scared of mosquitoes but that'd be nice in the fall

[gilded yarrow]

Got straps too

[gilded yarrow]

Theres mosquito nets on pretty much every opening

[spring vault]

theyll find a way

vicious

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah probably true haha

But since pretty much everything apart from 2 windows is lined with mosquito nets it wont be that big of a problem

Only thing is that it probably gets pretty hot in there since its fully black from the inside

Atleast in the summer

Maybe nice in the winter haha

With the tent & stool etc my gear is officially more than 10kg lmao

closer to 11 even

[wide flint]

10kg aint even bad for a full loadout

[gilded yarrow]

Its bad when I need to go everywhere with my bike/walk because I dont have a car lmao

But yeah I'm getting used to it, and when I'm riding my bike with no stuff now my stamina is crazy

[green meadow]

Yeah, that's why I have looked for portable hide that has also closed bottom part. But now I realized that then it would be impossible to move the hide while you are inside.

[green meadow]

But that looks really good. Spacious and still quite compact when stored.

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah its okay

But after like 5 minutes I already noticed it gets pretty hot very fast

[paper anvil]

I'm curious to learn how difficult it is to put it back in its bag. Please be easy.

[gilded yarrow]

No problem tho since I can just open one of the side windows and enough air gets in to cool it down

[gilded yarrow]

I got it back in there first try, but I've also read people say its impossible lmao

Feels a bit like it would break because you have to twist and bend it a lot but there are Videos that explain it really well

[gilded yarrow]

Okay its only like that when the Sun shines straight onto it, I'm actually cold rn lmao

[paper anvil]

Does it feel like a quality product or does it feel cheap?

[gilded yarrow]

I personally like it, only thing thats kinda weird is that you can take almost all the windows off because theyre attached with velcro

Velcro everywhere lmao

But I guess that could be a good thing too kinda depends

[paper anvil]

Was it difficult to bring with you? I'll be traveling by bike mostly.

[gilded yarrow]

I basically put it onto my handlebars, kinda annoying but could be worse

The smaller Windows can either be covered/open completely or covered with mosquito net too, there are these bands that hold it in place

Alright I'm about to pack my stuff and drive back home, been sitting here for around 2 hours now and didnt even hear a kingfisher lol

Phone is almost dead and the sun is almost gone anyways

I'll wait like 20 more minutes

[gilded yarrow]

Alright I'm back home, overall the tent is great just sad that I didnt even hear the kingfisher today

I hope theyre still there and I dont wait there for nothing lmao

[paper anvil]

Odds are they arrived about ten minutes after you left...

[gilded yarrow]

Yep But sun was gone anyways so doesnt matter

I need to get there in the morning not at 5pm and my chances will be better lol

[green meadow]

Book smart great tit. Taken back in the days (2020) with D500 and Nikkor 200-500mm f5.6.

Blue tit wasn't that interested in about literature.

I'm looking my old photos and must say that D500 and Nikkor 200-500mm f5.6 was quite good combo.

[bright vapor]

What do you use now?

[green meadow]

Z9 and 600mm f6.3 and 100-400mm f4.5-5.6

[bright vapor]

You are my biggest inspiration when it comes to birding. I got a siggy 150-600 recently.

[green meadow]

Oh my, I'm kind of speechless. Thank you so much for your kind words. That sigma is certainly good choice for bird photography. 👍

[bright vapor]

I really admire your photos

[green meadow]

Thanks...Those are result of huge amount of practicing since 2018.

[bright vapor]

They caught my eye and I couldn't stop thinking about birds for a while

[drifting silo]

Havent seen any cool birds in a while but here’s a round robin

[wispy mesa]

aaaw cutie

[hidden wyvern]

uninspired bird and framing but this is just a little test of the bare 500 f/4 mk 1 (with 52mm drop in uv) on r6, no sharpening aside from default from lightroom to jpg type stuff

figured itd hold up lol, will be fun to find a real scene, also at f/4 so it should actually be sharper iirc