Bird Photography

[hidden wyvern]

as far as a stationary bird goes i could handhold it at 1/200 at least

ill prob have to get used to just the aperture at such a fl too, can see the lack of focus on the legs from the DoF

[spring vault]

what's the point of a drop in UV

[gilded yarrow]

fr, that uv filter probably makes it atleast a tiny bit less sharp

[hidden wyvern]

i think its just part of the lens in general and how its optics work (like out of factory) its different from one on the front for protection some use, heard something about them not focusing as great if no filter is in place

main point of the holder is prob so you can change that to a polarizer, uv is just kinda there by default. In this case its the default canon gel filter so im sure its as sharp as it can be lol, also gels dont effect it as much as front filters iirc because they're very thin

[spring vault]

if it's supposed to be there then sure I guess lol

just never heard of that before

since it obviously wouldn't protect the front element

[hidden wyvern]

yeah, im new to the lens myself so maybe someone could better explain it but i do know they should always have one in place, even just for something as simple as keeping dust out of where it would otherwise be

[spring vault]

I'm not upper class enough to have a lens with drop in filters

[hidden wyvern]

its practically like taking the camera body off, except the filter would actually catch any dust that you would fear entering the lens part

[wheat hare]

They all ship with just glass it's not UV though

it's to put the gelatin filters on

[hidden wyvern]

that clears it up then, kept seeing "clear glass" which is prob just that

[hidden wyvern]

first keeper with the lens, interesting to edit with and also brings out more colors irregardless of where

[wheat hare]

nice

[rustic crane]

These were like a year ago

[spring vault]

went to a falconry show & they had an owl too

[hidden wyvern]

Day 2 of handholding 500 f/4, 4 hours strong no water lol

Tired now though, monopod would clearly help

[gilded yarrow]

I bought a tripod/monopod and never actually used it as a monopod lmao

Sounds much more useful than it actually is, while it obviously does help with the weight a long Stick is just annoying to carry around full size/fold together every time you move

[spring vault]

keep hitting the gym

[hidden wyvern]

Thing gets attention too, talked to a few people

[spring vault]

or strap weights to the 500f4 and use it for a month and when when you take em off itll feel light

getting a big lens made me stop caring about the size of all my other lenses

[hidden wyvern]

I’m just using the pd strap lol

IS wise it’s fine even at 1/500

[drifting silo]

https://tenor.com/view/rock-lee-weights-naruto-chunin-exams-flex-gif-26433140

[hidden wyvern]

Now I’m getting ads for the actual sigmonster

“We heard you like hurting your spine and we have just the thing”

Next to it is the bazooka

[gilded yarrow]

My 200-600 is my gym

[spring vault]

strap weighs to it so it feels light normally

[gilded yarrow]

I've had it for around half a year now, already feels a lot lighter than in the beginning

[spring vault]

💪

[gilded yarrow]

Something similar happened to me, a large space of my room was full of boxes for a week, after I got rid of them my room felt twice as big lmao

[broken mantle]

Wow look at this strong person here. Handholding his 500/4

I actually bought a dumbell set after getting my 600mm lol

I’m still struggling handholding it for long periods

Last time i missed an eagle soaring shot, my shoulders just gave up and i cant point the lens upwards

[hidden wyvern]

my arms a bit sore the following day but im sure i can get used to the weight

im used to a zoom lens lol

[broken mantle]

The eagle soared above us a few times. Just to rub salt knowing i cant take its pictures

Yeah, was using a 150-600 before.

Birb. Broke the rules on this shoot.

Should’ve gotten lower but I can’t

[hidden wyvern]

thats like half why i wanted something like a 500 f/4 ^ lol

foreground and background seperation, now i need time to learn it of course but i did something with a heron earlier

[broken mantle]

Saw a youtube video of a guy making some stick rig that allows you to lower the camera for low angle pics from he safari car. Cant seem to find it again.

[hidden wyvern]

i did kind of get the shot using my zoom but it was difficult since thats at 7.1

also not as much circular bokeh as i hoped lol

[broken mantle]

https://youtu.be/7PVCtccXUQw?si=TKtwYLnGp0Xd12Kb at minute 11

[hidden wyvern]

must be a hefty thing to hold without dropping, i have seen something like this for much lighter lenses

[broken mantle]

Yeah

[hidden wyvern]

you know what, its a gimbal i seen, people would flip it upside down or something to get low to ground shots with like 24-105s or something

[broken mantle]

My friends just handhold while having half their bodies leaning out of the boat for low angle shots

[hidden wyvern]

i guess its safe if gimbals are used like that frequently

[broken mantle]

One uses a d4s plus 600/4, the other used the z9 and 400/2.8 TC.

Strong core strength, one slip and they lose their gear

[hidden wyvern]

i dont really know how strong my core is but yesterday i was basically climbing a cliff with the 500 f/4 in one hand, where some people see like a wharf or something i see a low to the ground shot possibly

bit scary lol

[drifting silo]

How difficult is composing with a fixed fl btw, the transition from zoom especially

[broken mantle]

Its painful

[drifting silo]

Im pretty used to zooming out a bit to find the bird lol

Newbie stuff

[spring vault]

I got used to using a 750mm equiv prime pretty quickly

[hidden wyvern]

mfd is different on this lens although the transition period didnt really happen, kinda just felt natural

[spring vault]

I was worried I would be too close most of the time lol

[broken mantle]

Was using the 150-600 on a nikon apsc. Now using the 600 fixed on a canon apsc(960mm ff eq)

[hidden wyvern]

i do zoom out on my zoom, but, i use 500mm quiite a lot

[broken mantle]

Funny enough still not close enough for most birbs im taking pics of.

[drifting silo]

And i assume thats not the case so all good?

[hidden wyvern]

kinda just feels like i locked my zoom lens to 500 and went out shooting

[spring vault]

worst case I take a couple steps back

[drifting silo]

Haha yeah 600mm is barely enough a lot of times

[broken mantle]

Might be getting a 1.4x tc

[drifting silo]

But there are rare occasions where even 200mm is too much 💀 when the birb is too friendly

[broken mantle]

Yeah

[spring vault]

I'm taking fewer shots where I'm forced to be creative with a wide angle environmental crop

[broken mantle]

Happened to me 2 weeks ago

A blue eared kingfisher perched <1 m in front of me

Cant even focus

[hidden wyvern]

time will tell if i run into issues as this is only day 2 of owning the lens, but, i feel like if i have an issue itll be with getting to like 700mm as i also have a tc for my zoom

will miss it a little if i just sold my zoom lens or something which wont happen

[drifting silo]

Built in tc when pls sony

A prime with some flexibility

[broken mantle]

Last trip the birds were to friendly, i mostly use my 70-200 instead of my 150-600

[drifting silo]

Lmao

These birds man. They either scram at first sight or just casually walk up to u

[hidden wyvern]

speaking of trips, on a boat tour the zoom i have wouldve prob done better than 500 f/4 with the continously changing distance to the birds

main guy was out with a base 400 2.8 getting shots

[drifting silo]

I had birds just walk around my foot looking for food

[spring vault]

getting flying birds is a struggle with the prime when they're close

[hidden wyvern]

zooms for sure have benefits with these things

helps a lot of them outclass the mfd too

i did get a seagull relatively close in flight but it is a big bird as is

[broken mantle]

Yeah just noticed this last trip. Was not getting as much BIF shots on my boating session.

I usually zoom out for such shots

[hidden wyvern]

as it got closer though the lens kinda just lost focus altogether

usually with my 100-500, the bird could be so close itd be out of frame, practically impossible to track at that point but yeah

[spring vault]

I like how the prime gives me one less thing to think about

no more managing zoom lvl just take pics

I got a body cap lens and it was taken even further cos I couldn't focus it lol

felt like taking pics with my phone

[broken mantle]

The ones i got have their wings clipped lol

[spring vault]

I usually bring my zoom with me just in case the tele is too close but I very rarely swap to it

[broken mantle]

Also messed up some group bird shots. Turns out stopping down from f4 to 5.6 is not enough to have them in focus. Usually i dont think about this on my f6.3(sometimes stopped down to. 7.1) zoom lens

[frozen belfry]

I don’t think I could survive with a tele prime. I have a 150-600 and it’s too tight still sometimes

[spring vault]

also having a teleprime just makes you look cool and that alone is worth it

[frozen belfry]

Yes lmao

[spring vault]

external zoom

[broken mantle]

Got kicked from 2 public parks due to my 600/4 lens lol

[spring vault]

wow

[broken mantle]

They see expensive stuff, they want me to give money.

[spring vault]

the parks I go to are frequented by birders so it hasn't been a problem for me

[broken mantle]

Never happened with my 150-600

[spring vault]

I went to an event where they ban lenses over 12in long lol

my telephoto is 10in tho

[broken mantle]

Sometimes i envy the mft folks on long hikes

They dont even sweat

[spring vault]

canon 100-400 is pretty small

[broken mantle]

Yeah

[spring vault]

I looked into what's available for mft and my setup is lighter than their equiv

[broken mantle]

Migh try getting an old canon 400/5.6 lens

[broken mantle]

Friends said the cheap MK I IQ is shitty. And next gens is better

[spring vault]

the RF one is good

[broken mantle]

The 800 mm fixed aperture lens looks funny

[hidden wyvern]

2nd day i ran into someone wanting to talk to me about wildlife stuff lol

i guess they just see big and think pricey

[hidden wyvern]

rf 100-400 isnt even a regular 100-400 yet still nice

things like 800 cad

yeah my plate i use for the zoom is like half of whats needed for this 50 0f/4 lol

will for sure need another plate

[broken mantle]

Arca plate?

[hidden wyvern]

yea its just the foot on primes is so huge

[broken mantle]

I just swap the tripod foot into one with built in arca

[hidden wyvern]

looking at this thing for it

i guess thatd be similar price anyway

[hidden wyvern]

i see one by jobu on sale

[broken mantle]

Not as comfortable to hold as the original foot. But easier to use with tripods and stuff

[hidden wyvern]

my 500 f/4 foot isnt winning a beauty competition either anyway

bunch of cracked paint lol

but it is oem

might consider that instead of constantly swapping plates i could just take the pd one off if i need to mount to my monopod/ w/e

[wide flint]

I mean, just get out the car...

[hidden wyvern]

if you want to exit the car to get low to the ground tiger shots be my guest lol

[broken mantle]

Yeah. But was thinking about using it from the boat

[broken mantle]

This too

In african safariswild animals see a safari car(plus its passengers) as a simgle large animal. So you cant do stuff that singles yourself out. Might be wrong, but thats what i heard.

[wide flint]

Oh I gladly would

[wide flint]

Hmm, at that point just hang camera overboard with your own arm no?

[broken mantle]

Yeah, friends does that

[hidden wyvern]

i ordered the jobu foot as it seems to be the most obvious choice to get first

lens hood maybe 2nd

[spring vault]

I printed a foot

[hidden wyvern]

also screw the sigma f/4 guys

mine was 70 more lol

[spring vault]

I bought a foot on Amazon that said it would fit my lens and it didn't so I said screw it and went back to plan A of designing my own

[hidden wyvern]

i think most of them just do this anyway but i got no 3d printer

[spring vault]

nah commercial ones are cnc cut aluminum

mines 3d printed carbon fiber nylon which is weaker but I trust it

[frozen belfry]

Looks good

[hidden wyvern]

one i got is alluminum although that zemlin hood thing which is quite a bit is printed

[broken mantle]

What materials?

[spring vault]

original plan was to print it outta metal which would have cost about $130 but the plastic prototype felt pretty indestructible already

carbon fiber nylon

[broken mantle]

I only have 2 shitty printers i dont trust to hold my camera gear lol

[hidden wyvern]

i guess id prob trust carbon fibre anyway

[spring vault]

I used my work's nice printer which was $75k

[broken mantle]

Saw one for a 150-600mm with internal metal rods reinforcing it

[broken mantle]

Yeah. My ender 3 printed foot will give me cold sweats before every trip

[hidden wyvern]

knowing jobu design ill receive the foot in like 2 months but usually theyre good for quality

first gimbal was a jr 3

[broken mantle]

@hidden wyvern Do you use the original hood? Or a foldable one?

Thinking of getting a foldable hood for mine.

[hidden wyvern]

i dont have a hood to begin with lol, came used with the original box

might consider the lens coat foldable one

[broken mantle]

Oooh

[hidden wyvern]

i did get something unique with it which is decent enough

[broken mantle]

Yeah my 600 with the hood in reverse cant fit in lots of bags lol

[hidden wyvern]

this little thing

its a quick access lens cap of some kind, pops in and pops off with like a finger

[broken mantle]

I dont have any bag for my 600mm i can use for airplane trips

[hidden wyvern]

so i guess they just put it back on in place of the big hood theyd otherwise need more storage room for

it reminds me of those little plastic containers for food with a cover on it

[broken mantle]

Saw one online that looks 3d printed, might need to design one for mine

[hidden wyvern]

Also want a lens coat but to hide the scratches not really protect it lol

its been outside at least 3 times

[broken mantle]

These

[broken mantle]

Gen 1?

[hidden wyvern]

yeah

[broken mantle]

Same my 600 is gen 1

Chonky bois

Gen 2 is kgs lighter

[hidden wyvern]

got it for 1.5k, it does have scratches on the front element but you cant see it even at f/22

only thing i actually see is a piece of dust which may be on my sensor and some stuff on my wall lol

[hidden wyvern]

for sure is heavy but its w/e i guess

remove the g and the gen 2 is like 5 more expensive

[broken mantle]

Yeah. More expensive

I will just go to the gym and handle my gen 1 lens

[hidden wyvern]

san also got a 500mm mark 1 recently, seen a mint one for cheap

[broken mantle]

Funny enough such lenses is kinda rare here. So i can traceback every single previous owner easily.

[hidden wyvern]

i never even seen one in canada yet for sale

i think theyve gotten to the point where its so cheap for so much power its actually a viable option vs 150-600 or something

bit pricier, but much better, probably people buying them up

[broken mantle]

Thinking of getting a gura gear kiboko 30l for flights. Any other reccomendations?

Really need to fly to get to the good birds

[hidden wyvern]

im pretty sure the bp 450 aw ii which is memed as the goat bag also works for flight travel, as like a carry-on

has some protective shell at the top too

depending on what you take though it may not work out, basically fits the 500 f/4 and a camera body lol

[broken mantle]

Will try checking the reviews for that bag

Currently im using the vanguard alta sky 66, but its too tall for flights.

[hidden wyvern]

im actually currently using the bp 450 to carry it around and its been fine, ive yet to use it in air travel but thats basically why i bought it, recall good reviews of it fitting air canada standards and such but gotta make sure those havent changed for todays flights

also opens from the front not the back, so less sketchy imo, someone would basically have to attack you to steal stuff while its on your back

[wheat hare]

https://asiapacific.panda.org/?387578/rare-goshawk-photographed-first-time-

[spring vault]

Just because the subject is interesting doesn't mean it's a good photo. Delete it and move on /s

missed focus lol

[wheat hare]

I’m leaning toward they knew it was going to be pushing it even at 800mm so they just took it for the bird ID.

[spring vault]

yea the article says they didn't know how rare it was til later

[wheat hare]

I have like 10,000 photos I wouldn’t have taken if it weren’t for later bird ID. I should probably review and cull those actually but effort.

I usually try to do it digiscoping through the spotting scope but sometimes the camera is just easier.

[gilded yarrow]

Couldve cooked so hard if that bird was closer to me

[wide flint]

Bro cooked

But then he didn't

https://tenor.com/view/deep-frying-cooking-fail-fire-gif-15075116

[gilded yarrow]

Yep lmao

2 kingfishers just flew past me again

[barren yoke]

Kingfishers are pesky sometimes lol

[dusty fog]

My goal this winter is to find a mute swan 🙏

[wide flint]

Are those not common in your area?

I have them chilling all around my neigbourhood

[dusty fog]

In one specific place they’re pretty common

Generally pretty rare though

[gilded yarrow]

1 kingfisher is sitting right behind these bushes, I've heard him dive like 20 times already

[gilded yarrow]

Hmmm this one could be sick

Brooo the kingfisher flew past me agaaain

I'm starting to think that the branch isnt actually one of his hunting branches

lmao

[wide flint]

holy dedication

but yeah, might be worth checking out other branches

or placing a new branch on a place where it regularly flies by

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah that would be the best option but I'd need waders for that lol

[wide flint]

You can just stick it in while you stand on land no?

just get a big enough stick\

[gilded yarrow]

Hmmm not sure

[bright vapor]

Cut down a whole tree

[gilded yarrow]

Well the water does get deep pretty fast and I saw lots of small fish really close so maybe that could work

[gilded yarrow]

lmao

[gilded yarrow]

Or atleast deep enough for the kingfisher to fish lol

Perfect size fish for the kingfisher, water is clear and should be deep enough too

Yeah that could be a great option actually, I'll see if I manage to do that tomorrow

Could get the kingfisher even closer that way

[wide flint]

Yeah kingfishers love the edge of the water, should be worth a shot

[gilded yarrow]

Do you know how high that branch should be ? lol

Oh already found something

Yeah I should be able to do that

[wide flint]

Yeah anywhere around there should be good

[gilded yarrow]

If that works and a kingfisher actually catches something there that would be so sick since theres a pretty high chance he'll come back

And they fly past that place pretty often, I think they flew past it like 5 times today

[wide flint]

Yeah kingfishers are highly likely to check out new branches along their territory and will include it into their regular rotation of branches if they have hunting succes there

[wide flint]

overexposed vibing

[gilded yarrow]

We'll see if it works, kingfisher just flew past it

[hoary sigil]

W

[frozen belfry]

gl

[gilded yarrow]

Thanks

Its reaaaallly close to my hide so not sure haha

[frozen belfry]

🤞

[wide flint]

That seems nice, maybe get it pointed a bit more to the right so it's not above those reets but above open water?

[gilded yarrow]

The reeds are further back, just looks like it is above them

theres like a hole exactly below it where I've seen lots of small fish before

[gilded yarrow]

That right there

around 30-50cm deep

[wide flint]

Aah ok, just perspective being weird then

[gilded yarrow]

Yep haha

[wide flint]

Good luck today! Hope you get lucky

[gilded yarrow]

Thank you!

Already 1pm so a bit too late but who knows maybe the new branch will help

[wide flint]

I mean kingfishers are active all throughout the day, so should be fine

[hidden wyvern]

seperation is crazy at f/4 and the egg bokeh is nice too

will have to try that out more this weekend

[wide flint]

@gilded yarrow any luck yet?

[gilded yarrow]

Nope lol

Havent even heard them in like an hour now

Will pack my stuff in around 30 minutes, guess no pic today either

[dusty fog]

some days the birds are just MIA

[spring vault]

you gotta pay your models more

[dusty fog]

gonna go out to try to find those swans in a bit, hopefully my birds aren't also on strike

[hidden wyvern]

first real close up with the 500 f/4

[gilded yarrow]

Just heard him again

[hidden wyvern]

that water was like arms reach for the bird if it had arms to reach

[gilded yarrow]

really close too

But didnt see it

He just flew past me AGAAAAIN

[dusty fog]

alex send a selfie

are you in a hide or something lol

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah lmao

For 3 1/2 hours now

[dusty fog]

jesus

[gilded yarrow]

[dusty fog]

this is why i'll never be a good bird photog

i don't have that kind of patience

[dusty fog]

epic

[gilded yarrow]

Not a Selfie but this is where ive been for more than 3 hours now

Well I just took a walk like 10 mins ago but yeah

The fact that fucker already flew past me like 5 times is whats really annoying

[dusty fog]

what happens if you wait 5 hours then miss the shot

[gilded yarrow]

That would suck lol

Not sure how I'd miss the shot tho

I'll keep doing this until I get some nice pics

[wide flint]

Pain

You have some crazy dedication tho, I admire that

[gilded yarrow]

Haha thank you

Starting to think this is completely useless since he flew past me so often already but theres no other spot I could go to anyways

[wide flint]

Might be worth to scan that area for other possible perches and try there if this doesnt work

[gilded yarrow]

Too many bushes etc everywhere else, cant go anywhere but here sadly

[wide flint]

Surely there must be something right

You can also try scouting on Google maps, worth a shor

[wheat hare]

I just listen and read my kindle in a hide 99% of the time.

[hidden wyvern]

usually would take me about 6 hours for them to get used to it if i just suddenly popped out a tent to sit there for them

some people place a hide down prior and go to it overtime so theyre already used to it

[gilded yarrow]

Nah I've walked around the whole lake before

[hidden wyvern]

hiding the hide doesnt really do anything as far as birds go, but, them not seeing movement matters

so if they start to think its just some weird bush then thats ideal

[gilded yarrow]

Well I always take it with me because theres other people here too sometimes but I've been here pretty often by now

I've watched youtube Videos where some guy puts down a branch for the kingfisher, then puts up his hide and only has to wait for like half an hour lol

[hidden wyvern]

when i used my photo blind id always go to the same few spots and im sure they knew i was there, but, they started trusting it

[gilded yarrow]

Today is the 4th day I've been here with my hide

[wheat hare]

Get a Z9, setup branch, setup autocapture, take long nap, profit.

[hidden wyvern]

mine took like 2 weeks

[gilded yarrow]

Like 11 hours overall

[hidden wyvern]

once they did recognize it as a non-threat though it was pretty easy going forward

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah maybe I just need to be even more patient lol

[hidden wyvern]

ive also accomplished this by standing still infront of the birds for several hours

blind makes it easier since you can move a little lol

[gilded yarrow]

So you think I shouldnt look for other places yet?

Thought after 12 hours it would be very unlikely that it would ever land where I want it to

[hidden wyvern]

kingfishers from my experience have been pretty annoying to sneak up on so far

so i cant say for sure for them, but for other birds id wait a bit

[spring vault]

wake up to your memory cards entirely full of a napping pigeon

[hidden wyvern]

what i did do for a kingfisher shot was use an actual bush to hide in, seemed like they memorize the area

going to the same branches and alternate branches if someone/something came by

so hiding in a bush while someone walks by another branch spooked them towards me which they didnt see i suppose, or, didnt think of as a threat

took about an hour lol

[wide flint]

Any other bodies of water in the area? They could also be part of the territory

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah, 1 where I could try to set something up and another one which is closed off

Just heard him fly by again

[wide flint]

The pain 💀

[wide flint]

How is a lake closed off?

[hidden wyvern]

also no way this thing didnt know i was there as i took the photo lol

[dusty fog]

every bird i've ever photographed has 100% known i was there

i just walk around

[wide flint]

I always talk with the birds I photograph, some great conversations tbh

[dusty fog]

or lay down and wait

[hidden wyvern]

i guess its probably unique to each bird but this kingfisher liked resting on this spot quite a bit (probably did 15 times before i got the shot)

gotta find that spot and wait for them

[gilded yarrow]

Theres signs and fences, havent seen a way to get there anyways tho

[wide flint]

Yeah, with kingfishers it really is all about finding their favorite spots or spots they're very likely to try out new perches

[wide flint]

Fences are only there to be jumped ;)

[dusty fog]

does anyone know a way to see most recent sightings of a specific species in an area on ebird or merlin?

i can only figure out how to see general heatmaps

or click on a specific place to see if there were any spottings

i want to see where the most spottings of kestrels are near me

[hidden wyvern]

this one had about 6 but i seen a pattern in their behaviour, was a big marsh area and theyd basically circle the place to fish so eventually theyd come to me if i just waited, which is exactly what i did

the other 3 kingfishers had different patterns lol

[gilded yarrow]

Fuck I'm not sure what to do lol, I wanted to go back home in around 20 minutes but I hear him a lot rn

Could stay a bit longer I guess

[hidden wyvern]

i kinda abandoned using my hide and now go for surroundings and stuff (sometimes there just isnt any to work with)

worst part is checking discord and missing the opportunity

[gilded yarrow]

He's so close, I swear that bird is messing with me

[wide flint]

Gotta gaslight yourself enough till you get lucky

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah

[hidden wyvern]

wild sandpipers i did a similar thing, stupidly i layed on a rock waiting for them but it worked out, just got sunburned lol

[gilded yarrow]

okay its officially been 4 hours since I arrived

Was done setting everything up at 1pm, its 5pm now

[wide flint]

#1041487027255914566 message Did the same for this shot. Just dat down on a rock on the dam and waited like 20 mins for the birds to get used to me and they got really close

[gilded yarrow]

Bro now he's just straight up pranking me istg

He just sat on a branch not even 2m to the right of the one I set up for him

💀

But seems like he's getting closer so I'll just stay here

[wide flint]

Aynoway

You're getting toyed with

[gilded yarrow]

Yea lol

[hidden wyvern]

i waited a bit longer since they flew off when i was setting up but they got real close after about 40min

like i could grab them lol

[wide flint]

Yeah for quite a lot of birds they will get very close if you just sit still

[wide flint]

Oh yeah thats lovely

[gilded yarrow]

thats where he sat

Then he flew to the left I think

[wide flint]

Should've asked nicely if he could move to your branch

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao

[hidden wyvern]

if i were to follow a sandpiper theyd fly away before i could see them

[wide flint]

Im telling you, talking to birds is the strat

[gilded yarrow]

Just saw him again lol

Seems like he actually is getting closer

[wide flint]

Sending prayers your way

https://tenor.com/view/ron-swanson-nick-offerman-inshallah-gif-13027660

[hidden wyvern]

i want to retry this with my new lens and see how it works out, unfortunately i think theyre somewhere else now

happy i got two photos of them at least lol

[gilded yarrow]

Okay if I dont hear the kingfisher in the next 15 mins I'll go home

Should I take that branch down again or leave it there

[gilded yarrow]

Lol wtf

sparrowhawk

Got to move my cam without him flying away lets goo

Not a kingfisher but I'll take it

[wide flint]

Damn, thats a sick find!

Rarely ever see them sitting out in the open like that

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah, 1st time ive seen one ever

Was probably hunting smaller birds, theres tons of chiffchaffs there

Coolest thing is that he didnt fly away while I was getting my cam ready etc

[dusty fog]

No swans but some cute ?terns?

Trying to get one of them diving but they’re so little and fast

[wide flint]

Yeah terns are tough

Don't really get close either

[gilded yarrow]

Alright I'm back home

with no kingfisher pic

Sparrowhawk tho thats pretty cool too

[spring vault]

couple months ago I drove 40 mins to someone's back yard and sat for a couple hours with some strangers just in case a rare bird showed up again lol

it did not

I just took pics of squirrels the whole time

[gilded yarrow]

Dont pixel peep, iso 3200 and cropped results in uhh, interesting details lol

this ones a bit better, iso 2000 1/250th

[bright vapor]

This one is much better

The eye is sharper

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah true

Amazed by my cam once again, that was easily 25m away and even tho the iso was pretty high and light was bad its still a nice photo imo

Also its cropped a lot

This is uncropped

[dark ermine]

the second one is definitely sharper but idk, maybe my standards have been lowered by some of the salvages I've peeped, but the first one doesn't look bad either

[gilded yarrow]

Eh the 1st one isnt as sharp as I'd like

Would be enough for insta I guess

That was so cool tho, I was sitting in my hide and just wanted to check if there was a person coming and suddenly that guy was sitting there

Probably the reason all the chiffchaffs got quiet haha

[dusty fog]

these birds are so cool

[wide flint]

Run that boy through Topaz and you should be golden

[dusty fog]

which moment should I choose

[spring vault]

2

[frozen belfry]

🩵

[frozen belfry]

2 or 4. All amazing though

[dusty fog]

heavy crop on both but i like

[spring vault]

nice

[gilded yarrow]

omw to the kingfisher Spot again

I'll tell you guys how it goes lol, a few hours earlier today

2-3 hours earlier than usual, pretty nice since it wont be 6pm when I get home lmao

[wide flint]

Holy

[gilded yarrow]

New branch

[gilded yarrow]

Ooh just saw him after just 15 minutes of sitting here

[wide flint]

Hype!

[wide flint]

Btw why are you on human eye-focus? Does the a7III not have bird eye-focus?

[gilded yarrow]

Nah its set to animal the icon just doesnt change, but thats not really for birds anyways so doesnt matter

Mostly works just on dogs & cats

On birds only like 1% of the time lmao, its just not made for it

[wide flint]

Aahh I see

[wide flint]

Yeah, I have the same on the a6400

Even on bears it was very iffy

Only locked about 30% of the time if the eye was VERY clearly seen

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah its super weird, every now and then it decides to perfectly lock onto a birds eye even tho it shouldnt be able to do that

Wouldve thought it should work on bears tho

[wide flint]

I mean even if it didnt lock onto the eye it still got the focus right, just without the eye-lock

So still good to work with nonetheless

[frozen belfry]

Good luck!

[gilded yarrow]

Oh yeah definitely

[gilded yarrow]

Thank you!

[mint warren]

lucky

[gilded yarrow]

Holy shit

New Lifer

A fucking osprey just flew over the lake

Not 100% sharp but good enough for id lmao

[wide flint]

That's sick!

You're just using all your luck on random raptors instead of on the kingfisher I see

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah

My merlin heard the osprey yesterday too and I saw something dive in the water but I never really saw it so wasnt sure if it actually was one

Kingfishers seem to be at a different lake rn, dont hear them

[frozen belfry]

Merlin never works for me

[dusty fog]

osprey are the best

well... let's go with 4th best

[wide flint]

would be sick if you could see it hunting in the lake

the way osprey hunt is just magnificent

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah true, sadly havent seen him since that pic

[dusty fog]

coolest shit ever to see IRL

[frozen belfry]

https://tenor.com/view/eagle-crab-funny-bird-gif-1574230786420658539

[frozen belfry]

Not an osprey ofc. But this came to mind when you said that lmao

[dusty fog]

lmfao

did that eagle survive

[frozen belfry]

No clue lol

I hope so

[dusty fog]

he just forgot how to bird

[wide flint]

Blood really thought he was doing something there

He said let me cook

[gilded yarrow]

[wide flint]

@gilded yarrow had some luck yet?

[gilded yarrow]

Nah but I hear them all the time

Thinking about looking for a different spot somewhere else once I'm back home

[wide flint]

Yeah, the amount of time you spent there is crazy already, might be time to try some different spots

[gilded yarrow]

Yup

Makes no sense, he flew past that branch so often already

The thing is that there are no other spots with no humans around so I cant really use my hide anywhere else

Only other lakes I know of are these, not sure if there even are kingfishers tho and probably too many people as well

[gilded yarrow]

Okay I'm going home, once again with no photo

[dusty fog]

sad

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah i think i wont go there anymore

spend over 20 hours with no photo, I doubt that will change when I sit there for another 20

[wide flint]

Yeah those seem like kingfishers would live there

Especially the left one with the little island, there's like the little bit of water between the island and mainland, look promising as far as I can tell

[gilded yarrow]

Yep but probably the same problem that I have rn, everything overgrown so no way to place my tent down

Eh maybe I'll go there next week

[wide flint]

Take some gardening tools with you ;)

Nah jk, don't destroy nature

[gilded yarrow]

Haha

[dusty fog]

just bring a lawnmower

easy

[wide flint]

Bring some tnt, always does the job

[gilded yarrow]

Everything manmade around here anyways, no real nature anymore

[wide flint]

Yeah fair, same here in the Netherlands

[gilded yarrow]

Not having a car sucks so hard, I could go eeeverywhere if I'd have my license

[wide flint]

Should've gotten your lisence instead of the a7III

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao

nah I just didnt have time because of my Job, would already have it otherwise

I spend 16 hours at the kingfisher lake just this week

[wide flint]

Mf is complaining about no time, but just spent 20 hours the past week trying photograph a kingfishers and ended up getting 0 photos

💀

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah well i quit my job a month ago

lol

[wide flint]

Ah yeah that frees up quite some time

[gilded yarrow]

yep

[wide flint]

I have more then enough time to go out to shoot, just no fucking energy :/

Fucking sucks, havent been out for like 3 weeks now

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I wont have any energy for this for the next few weeks either lmao

[wide flint]

My guy spent all his energy

Gotta recharge

[gilded yarrow]

Exactly

[gilded yarrow]

Theres a bridge

Maybe I'll go there next week

If that bridge is still there that could be a nice spot

Not just kingfishers but waterfowl too

Hmmm I'm actually thinking about driving there rn to check the place

[wide flint]

Yeah, saw that as well, and the north side seems very open, so at least good views over the lake

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah

Okay I'm driving there now lmao

Not sure if the bridge is still there, I'll see if I can find it

hah

found it

[wide flint]

[gilded yarrow]

Looks very promising so far

[gilded yarrow]

Heard one

Only one tho and this place is huge

[gilded yarrow]

Not at that lake either

[gilded yarrow]

Okay I'm back home

Soooo

There definitely are kingfishers there, the problem is that there are 8 lakes, only 4 of those are accessible tho

And theres like infinite amount of possible perches, but also lots of spots where I could potentially set up extra branches

I think I could get a kingfisher photo there but it would take a looong time until I figure out where the kingfishers like to sit

[dark ermine]

love the temp / lighting on this, v nice

[mint warren]

had a rather ducktastic day

gonna start editing now, wish luck

[gilded yarrow]

Obviously just ID, not good otherwise but so sick

[dusty fog]

top 3 birb of prey

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah definitely

[wide flint]

Black winged kite is also up there

I dreamed I saw one this evening 😭

If only

[rancid fern]

Finally got a shot (however poor & only for ID) of a Yellow Billed Cuckoo!

[wide flint]

Just saw a family of woodpeckers right in front of my house. Sadly didn't have my camera with me, but really cool to see them in the middle of a big city like that

[wide flint]

Man I wish I had some op autofocus

Amazing lighting but my autofocus just didn't follow at all, definetly will be coming back to this spot for some more wagtail action

[wide flint]

Still got more decent photo's out of that than I expected, was good to finally be out again after 3 weeks of feeling like absolute shit mentally

[hidden wyvern]

what a nice shot to miss lol, i sharpened using topaz but it was very soft focus, figured id share anyway though

first issue i ran into with the 500 f/4 but its not really its fault, they were flying towards me almost, just the fact i cant zoom out lol, maybe ill use my zoom for this stuff instead, but, it is certainly quick enough AF wise

easier shot i did with it earlier

the separation is insane, maybe ill just have to greed it during a trip for birds in flight, spend like an hour doing it or something

[hidden wyvern]

i found another blue heron, might have a few pics of this guy, but here's the simplest one so far

[spring vault]

saw a buncha birds but didn't have my camera of course

[hidden wyvern]

usually i only see one heron in a spot lol

you got my entire city of herons

[spring vault]

yea it was nuts

[wheat hare]

I like heron cities

[dark ermine]

great shots, even the topaz sharpened one, wouldn't have been able to tell really, just chalked it up to motion blur

[dark ermine]

isn't this always the way. saw my first pileated woodpecker today but of course didn't have my camera. going to go back, hopefully catch it next time.

[mint warren]

Egret town

[frozen belfry]

Saw this near Darwin. Thousands of birds. Just went on and on

[hidden wyvern]

left is 500 f/4, right is 100-500

id argue both and very sharp but ones twice the price and a year old and the others 25 years old

[dusty fog]

there's more to it than sharpness tho

[frozen belfry]

Holy fuck they’re both amazing though

[hidden wyvern]

one comes with a bit of pain in the morning too but i should be getting a lens foot for it tomorrow, will be able to use mono/tripod with it safely, zoom prob does better in the handheld competition lol, functionally, both are pretty good

[wide flint]

Sanderlings are such cool birds

These came super close as well, just laid down on the sand and they walked within like 2 meters of me

[dusty fog]

awesome

best thing

[wide flint]

Yeah I was super surprised

[dusty fog]

what time of day was that?

[wide flint]

It did almost cost me my phone tho, tide was coming in and didn't notice untill my whole left side was wet

[wide flint]

these were shot between 10:30 and 11:30

Went out with my dad who had to do wader countings for a research institute today

And I was just chilling and taking picture, was absolutely lovely

[dusty fog]

gotta watch out for that tide, moves a lot faster than you think haha

[wide flint]

Yeah especially at the place we were, no elevation difference at all, so the water moves super fast

[solar bay]

Guys i think birds are trying to play angry birds irl because a falcon used this wood pecker as a projectile to hit my house

[dusty fog]

lmao

[hoary sigil]

Squarking intensifies

[gilded yarrow]

U sure he didnt just fly against a window

doesnt really look like he was killed by another bird

[solar bay]

It could be possible but I never heard anything

And there aren't any scuffs

On the window

[wheat hare]

I'd agree with Alex seems like it flew into the window or something

We've had a few at the house in PA not leave any marks

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah the only time I saw any Marks on our window was when a pigeon flew against it, left a perfect imprint of its wings & body

poor guy

Was dead instantly

[solar bay]

I remember seeing it drop like a rock ( from the corner of my eye) but I guess we'll never be sure

[gilded yarrow]

That was one of like 5 window strikes in the last 11 years I lived there now (atleast that I know of) tho so luckily it doesnt happen that often

[gilded yarrow]

Well I'm very sure that if it wouldve been killed by another bird there would be some obvious injuries but yeah no way to really tell

Sad either way, beautiful bird

[frozen belfry]

We have a lot of birds hit our windows on the farm unfortunately. Never leaves a mark

[dusty fog]

Cuties

[gilded yarrow]

What is he?

Buzzard?

[molten moon]

Think so, probably a juvenile

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah looks pretty small too haha

[wheat hare]

Keep forgetting they call them buzzards over there

[gilded yarrow]

New chair for my tent

[gilded yarrow]

What do you call it

[wheat hare]

Hawks

[gilded yarrow]

Ohhh never knew hawks are the same as buzzards lmao

[wheat hare]

Same genus the west just calls them Hawks for some reason.

And in some US regions Turkey Vultures get called buzzards

[gilded yarrow]

My buzzard

[gilded yarrow]

Loool thats weird

[wide flint]

Having taxidermy bird is cool af

My brother has some kind of auk, but forgot which species exactly

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah, my mom found him at a garage sale/flea market for just 70€

Super cool

[wide flint]

That is a fucking steal

[wheat hare]

I want one

[gilded yarrow]

Yup

[wheat hare]

It can go next to the moose I’m going to shoot in a few years

[gilded yarrow]

Not sure if its even legal to own one here in germany but oh well lol

[wide flint]

To get one done professionally it'll set you back a good 300-500eu here in the Netherlands

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah

Not the most special mount and if you look closely at the beak/eyes it isnt suuuper good but from a bit further away he looks sick imo

[wide flint]

Yeah it looks pretty solid

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao

[static magnet]

Is this a young starling? Looks like it's balding

[gilded yarrow]

does look special lmao

Looks more like a juvenile male blackbird tho

Beak is starting to turn yellow and he's growing his adult fully black feathers

starlings either got dots on them or they look oily

[static magnet]

Yeah, I assumed the white dots in the head feathers were the dots growing in but maybe not

[gilded yarrow]

Ohh didnt see that

But yeah if it'd be a starling the yellow beak wouldnt make sense

So probably male blackbird

still cool tho!

[static magnet]

my neighbor's roof had all the neighborhood starlings on it when I was out on that day

[gilded yarrow]

I saw lots of them a while ago, all gone now because of migration

[static magnet]

never seen that many flying over, would be nice to see one day

[gilded yarrow]

https://youtu.be/iRNqhi2ka9k?t=28&si=-YBDjTiyFqTTPj14

Check this out

Super crazy

Would love to see something like that one day

https://youtu.be/m6YDhVeW5Kc?si=sqi7Y3WYvnzituNb

Higher Resolution

[dusty fog]

thats crazy look like cgi

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah haha

[wide flint]

Coincedentaly I'm editing a starling pic I shot yesterday right now lmao

what we thinking?

I fucking hate editing man, can never tell if the colours and exposure actually look right and what to change about it

[wide flint]

Yeah, def a male blackbird

idk if full gray sky looks better or not

[molten moon]

Enjoy this nice tit

[dusty fog]

beautiful tit

[rancid fern]

need to do some camera maintenance and clean my sensor so these arent the best quality, but it was super cool getting these two shots of these semipalmated sandpipers!

[green meadow]

Rainy day ducks.

[dusty fog]

the rain is so fun nice

[gilded yarrow]

Alright just been to a potential new kingfisher spot, saw 2 of them but nowhere to put my hide so wont come back here

Will try to find a spot at those lakes relatively close to me then, probably next week tho since I'm at a concert tomorrow and its raining on thursday

[green meadow]

Finches in a sunflower field.

[solar bay]

guess what bird this is

[dark ermine]

can't fool us that is clearly a giraffe

[hidden wyvern]

few ducks this week

[dusty fog]

ducks

[green meadow]

Nice ducks. 👍

[hidden wyvern]

ty, the bokeh so far is pretty fun to mess with on the lens

[mint warren]

More white wing pics

[wheat hare]

https://www.youtube.com/live/JoD0w4mrdlo?si=U0wNzyP_pZDGAXcp

[hidden wyvern]

test 3: blows it out of the water

now i need to learn how to master f/4 with it

the blur is crazy, lighting was tough in this either way but it was partially cloudy + rain clouds + sun, but i like it

[spring vault]

thats the same pic twice

[hidden wyvern]

ones uncropped

[dark minnow]

Fist kingfisher, first heron, first cormorant. I guess thats a good day

[hidden wyvern]

little beep bird

500 f/4 can get close enough for sure

[dusty fog]

Crop or FF?

[hidden wyvern]

ff

[drifting silo]

A flying kingfisher too at that

[dark minnow]

yeah, he perched but way too far away

[frozen belfry]

Zig, Zag and Button

[gilded yarrow]

You guys wont fucking believe it

I'm in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but fields

[barren yoke]

Yeah??

[gilded yarrow]

Theres a small creek flowing through them

What do I find after 3 minutes of being here

This fucker

[barren yoke]

Omg

Gorgeous

[gilded yarrow]

Sitting closer to the perch rn since that was from super far away

Behind some Grass, dont have my hide with me

Not even a tripod

This is the last bird I expected to see here

[barren yoke]

Good luck!!

[gilded yarrow]

literally middle of nowhere

[gilded yarrow]

Thanks!

[frozen belfry]

YAYYYYY

Hope you get some more:)

[gilded yarrow]

Thank you I hope so too haha

[gilded yarrow]

Think I'll need to come back here with my hide etc so I can set up a new perch and then hope he comes back, not sure where he is rn

Pretty chill tho lmao

Just walked for a bit and found the perfect perch Spot, many small fish, clear water and no actual perches here yet

[gilded yarrow]

Just saw one again!! possibly a 2nd one

still too far away, seems to be a young girl

So happy that I finally found what seems to be a good Spot, not many good perches so even better chances for me

[dusty fog]

no way

airplane mode is funnuy

[wide flint]

Niiceee dude

Hopefully you'll finally have some luck at this spot

[gilded yarrow]

Haha yeah I think so, the only perches they got rn are 30cm high so super bad

I'll give them a premium hunting Spot, hopefully I get premium pics in return haha

[wide flint]

Sounds like a fair trade

Hope they take it 🤝

[gilded yarrow]

These are some of the only perches they got rn lol

[gilded yarrow]

Cropped to 4mp

[paper anvil]

Congrats!

[gilded yarrow]

Thank you

[dark ermine]

congrats!! you've been after a good kingfisher spot since like late 2023 yeah?

[gilded yarrow]

Something like that yeah haha

[hidden wyvern]

went out again today, i keep finding herons but this time ive also found a bluejay

its pretty good at weird situations like this with shadows and retaining detail (bit bright on its face but thats the sun)

not really any keepers of the heron as it was at a weird angle with foliage but you can see the bokeh spheres, crazy in water

need those autumn colours with the same bokeh lol, preferably a better angle too

[gilded yarrow]

Lmaoo yeah I'm waiting for that too

[spice silo]

First time shooting birds, like the first one especially rest is ok ig

Need to work on focusing and definetly back/foreground

[spice silo]

Wow that one looks stuningly great! #1041487027255914566 message

The second especially

[hidden wyvern]

put something together, bird is just odd as its like a dark and light grey at the same time, mixed with brown

i think its an immature great blue heron, might look better when its not lol

and then its neck alone is bigger than most birds are lol, awkward to frame

yeah it must be, at another walking park i got this different looking one, much further out

one thing thats clear to me is im getting good at finding herons for whatever reason

that solves it lol, can tell with their beak easily

[gilded yarrow]

lmao true

never edited that pic

I think he saw me

[hidden wyvern]

some birds you can just crop to do a fully body shot of, these, well, not as easy

[gilded yarrow]

[hidden wyvern]

i kinda like how odd it looks but hate the frame so much lol

[hidden wyvern]

Their eyes really don’t help either lol

[dusty fog]

lmao

[spring vault]

my top crane and heron piccies

the sandhill cranes are friendly at my park they just hang out on the trails hoping for snacks but ur not supposed to feed em cos they get aggressive

[hidden wyvern]

the ones im seeing seem to just be natural as theyre in fishing spots, i actually go to these spots usually for geese/kingfishers instead, kinda got to find a way t oget up to them to get the shot if that makes sense

i was wondering why all my shots of the herons have been getting these weird brown spots in their feathers, but, turns out thats just what happens as they grow lol, then again seeing a giant bird for the 2nd time you'd think its just fully grown already

this one i took awhile back (think i was still using 150-600 or early 100-500) is the fully grown version of the ones im finding, will be nice to see these ones grow up just like the geese earlier

[dusty fog]

https://tenor.com/view/planinarenje-hiking-nature-croatia-croatiafulloflife-gif-21555625

[wispy mesa]

This morning I read that quite near to my hometown there lives a northern mockingbird on a farm. They do not live here, probably came over from north America with a ship or something. The farmer wondered why there is a massive crowd of photographers

I mean he does not live there caged or as a pet, he just was sighted in the wild

[wide flint]

In Germany right?

Only like the 4th in Europe iirc

[wispy mesa]

Yes!

[green meadow]

How can you say no that face?

[wispy mesa]

aaaw cutie!

[daring imp]

Anyone ever tried capturing bird breath? Thats my plan now

[daring imp]

Kuukkeli 😍

[gilded yarrow]

My dad lives there too haha, if its still there next week I'll go see if I can find it too

[gilded yarrow]

No birds so far

[wispy mesa]

I won't go. There are so many professional photographers and ornithologists, i will feel like an impostor

[gilded yarrow]

Who cares, as long as you have a camera go see it

Basically once in a lifetime opportunity

[wispy mesa]

nuh, i'm shy in crowded places

[gilded yarrow]

Theres probably not that many people anymore anyways

And its not like theres hundreds of people on the same day

My dad lives only lives 2km away from that farm haha

[wispy mesa]

might see. i'm gone the next days anyhow actually, so i could only go after that

i needc to check where exactly this is

ah i found it

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah if its still there next friday I'll 100% go see it

[solar bay]

Dang this is crazy that German consider this the middle of nowhere

[solar bay]

Lucky! out here in the wild they are hard to take photos of,I've only been able to take decent pictures of them once

[green meadow]

golden eagle while trekking and without a hide.

And then from a hide.

[mint warren]

whelp guess I'm buying a portable hide

[green meadow]

I took those from a permanent or fixed hide that has been there for years. But portable hide will help also in many cases. 👍

[dusty fog]

How do you find where these are?

[green meadow]

A Company rents those hides. They and other photographers that have visited there are actively advertising on on social media.

[dusty fog]

Ah interesting

Never seen anything about that near me

[gilded yarrow]

Theyre sick

[green meadow]

Rent of those hides is also quite expensive and I have long drive there so those visits are rare occasions for me.

And even thou it is great experience to photograph eagles. I don't get same feeling from there as I get when I find some bird my self. 🤔

[dusty fog]

True true

[wide flint]

Here in the Netherlands we have a company that rents out hides and then releases all kinds of raptors and sick birds in fron of it to photograph

Not really sure why you'd want to go there tbh, it's so fake

[gilded yarrow]

Lol wtf

Thats so dumb

[wide flint]

ikr, saw an ad of them on instagram and had the same thought

Like at that point just go to a zoo or something, way cheaper and you'll see about the same birds

[green meadow]

Well that sounds kind of wrong. Those eagles here are totally wild birds and they come to the bait if they wish.

[wide flint]

Yeah exactly, as long as the animals are totally wild and their natural way of living is not disturbed at all hides commercial hides are fine imo. But the way that company does it is just unethical on so many levels.

[fresh kindle]

Thoughts on this knobbed hornbill photo?

[wheat hare]

Releases? Like rehab or rescue raptors?

[wide flint]

No like, they just live in captivity but they get to fly around a bit for a photoshoot and then go back into their cages

[wheat hare]

I don’t see a problem with that then

The birds are going to be out anyway and if people want to pay to take photos of them safely cool

[dark ermine]

hides aside, has anyone here considered using a ghillie suit? I started out thinking about diy options for hides and now am at ghillies 😄

[paper anvil]

I have, and still am. Would be far easier to transport.

[wheat hare]

I’ll occasionally use a little camo net to throw over the lens and maybe my head but that’s about it besides a pop up hide

[wheat hare]

By net I just mean one of these https://a.co/d/clNSNiG

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I have one of these too

Pretty nice to hide the big white lens sticking out of my hide lmao

[wheat hare]

Yup

[analog kindle]

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/624487763
Good fall WTSP shot today

Oh yeah also guys I got onto the eBird home page again with this one

[green meadow]

That hummingbird photo is amazing. 😮

[daring imp]

Should i practice manual focusing now while my autofocus is fucked? But its super hard to manual focus on animals tho. Thats what i think

I cant trust my auto focus motor anymore. Keeps failing so often

[daring imp]

Super nice!!

[analog kindle]

Thanks!

[dark ermine]

It wouldn't hurt, though it will be difficult. You'll have to practice anticipating movement, and would help to have some control over your environment so you can sort of predict where they go, backyard or something.

Like in Alex's case, putting up perches for the kingfishers in convenient spots

[gilded yarrow]

Wont be able to go to my new Spot until end of october visiting my gf until tuesday, then it rains the whole week and on friday I'll go visit my dad for a week

[daring imp]

Thanks thats true. But my cam has auto focus helper with arrows that shows when its in focus

[frozen belfry]

Not a photo but enjoy bebe bird. Sorry it’s super shakey, was hand held lol

@inner abyss plover hater

[inner abyss]

🍗

[frozen belfry]

NOOOOOOO

NO

[dark ermine]

these are lovely such a cute lil dinosaur

[frozen belfry]

:)

I took some photos too Ofcourse. Yet to import them though

[dusty fog]

baby dino nice

[frozen belfry]

Look at Zags cute face @inner abyss

Soft as fuck shot at dusk lol but Zag is so cuteeeeee

[inner abyss]

https://tenor.com/view/hmm-sus-suspicious-stare-eyes-on-you-gif-7197827967440963024

[broken mantle]

Birb

[broken mantle]

Pic above was taken using manual focus + MS burst + luck.

Tried using the precap on my R7. Crazy jello using the ES lol

Usually gets lucky and have 1 or 2 good shots. But didn’t get lucky this time.

[dark ermine]

nothing like action photographers to rack up a shutter count 😄

[broken mantle]

im dumb, had to cancel todays birding trip since i filled my memory card. and my laptop storage is full. now i have to sort through a few weeks worth of trip pics lol

[dark ermine]

culling is pain

[broken mantle]

yea. spent ~1 hour to turn 50gbs into 6gbs lol. next batches will take less time(had to update my os and stuff to support the raw format).

now gotta copy more pics to my laptop, and repeat it all again

[broken mantle]

yeah, its a tool, and i will use it to its limits.

iirc the worst case is just a shutter unit replacement lol

[dark ermine]

exactly

[broken mantle]

but i usually do 95% on electronic shutter. and only use mechanical shutter for action shots.

unlike my d7200

[dark ermine]

I honestly did not know electronic shutters were a thing, TIL

before the d7500 I was on a d90 😄

[broken mantle]

its a mirorless thing. but sensors with slow readout speeds will show the jello effect.

[gilded yarrow]

Thats crazy

I never use electronic shutter

[lean epoch]

Birdo

Took this one with the Sx40 HS

I think i'll edit it later

[green meadow]

I only use electronic shutter because that's all I got. 😅

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah on my a7iii the read out is too slow so electronic shutter always looks wonky haha

Actually yesterday I used it, but that was in a museum so not for birds or anything fast moving lol

Woah thats the angriest bird ever

[broken mantle]

My R7 has poor readout speeds. But i rarely take action shots. Mostly stills.

Also have the shutter selection on a quick menu(also as a saved setting on the mode dial, but never used this method of switching it lol).

The shutter slap is kinda crazy

[gilded yarrow]

Never used a dslr then

[broken mantle]

Just saw your IG. Really liked that you also add encounter/setup details such as pic was taken on a hide/bird tower/ or by chance

[broken mantle]

Also used a D7200 for birding. But since i usually use my R7 on electronic, turning on mechanical makes a huge difference lol.

[green meadow]

Yeah I thought that it gives kind of transparency how I get my photos. 👍

[broken mantle]

Might need to start doing that.

[spring vault]

if ur mostly taking stills why do u need the higher burst rate that eshutter gets you?

or are you not doing it for the burst rate

u lose some bit depth by not using mechanical

[wide flint]

Yeah I noticed that with my dad's R7, tried the precapture on some sparrows and the wings were all kinds of wobbly

[broken mantle]

Usually for the sound(or lack of it)

[broken mantle]

That’s something i dont know lol. Will try searching more on the topic

I thought the only issue other than the jello is with flash photography

[broken mantle]

Will try taking similar shots on all 3 modes next trip nvm someone already did https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4662859?page=2

Dayum lower noise and higher bit depth. Might change how i take pics lol

[hidden wyvern]

another bluejay

trying out the 1.4x

crazy how well it cleans up

now, ive prob taken thousands of photos of these blue birbs but still, that aperture makes this type of photo so much easier to control

100-500 would come out more like this, which has a nice flat background, can see the circles in the bluejay photo above though

[paper anvil]

What kind of filter are you guys using on your lens when it comes to bird photography? Standard UV filter?

[dusty fog]

none

most likely the same for most people here

some may use polarizing for water birds but to get filters that cover the lenses used for birds is usually impossible and always super expensive

most telephoto don't come with standard sized front elements

[paper anvil]

Ah!

[broken mantle]

I usually use a 95mm uv filter on my 150-600 lens for boat trips where you can get sea water droplets everywhere. Otherwise no filters.

And no filters on my other lens

[spring vault]

uv filters usually don't affect sharpness on wider angle lenses but they will hurt sharpness on telephotos so don't use em unless it's gonna be nasty out like on a boat like michael

[broken mantle]

Yeah. Wiping dried sea water from your front element is not fun lol.

[frozen belfry]

@gilded yarrow

shitty king fisher pic, i tried to get a better position and closer but it flew off

[gilded yarrow]

You making fun of me?

Nah jk, very cool!!

[frozen belfry]

no 😭

😂 thanks

got any more recently?

[gilded yarrow]

Nah havent been back there, shitty weather last week and since friday I've been at my gf's place until tomorrow

And on thursday I'll go visit my dad for a week so I probably wont be able to go back there until like 25th or something

[frozen belfry]

naw, hopefully they'll be around then

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I hope so too haha

[frozen belfry]

:) gl mate

[paper anvil]

Thanks everyone!

[wispy mesa]

I was on a trip over the weekend and they have tons of bird viewing places/huts. Unfortunately my lens is too short for most of those places, so I now have pictures of 15 very small great cormorants sitting together

[mint warren]

yay RBE time

I've been hearing them passing by

[wide flint]

Man I want fairy wren's as well :/

They're crazy beautiful