Bird Photography

[fast knoll]

very very sharp

[dusty fog]

Awesome, machine learning so daunting for me, haven’t been able to grasp it yet

[fast knoll]

ugly ahh pic cause i havent gone out to a spot yet but the fine feather detail is quite nice

[hidden wyvern]

youd die if you seen my prime lens lol

looks like this but no noticable quality difference, im thinking it was improper/lazy cleaning of dust in my case since it was used

wouldnt worry about the dust in that case

[fast knoll]

yea it def wont affect anything but it just annoys me that it came like that right out of the package lol

[hidden wyvern]

my zoom over the years got a piece of dust in it too but yeah, not much can be done really besides servicing and then theres a chance of a second piece of dust getting in

kinda similar in a way about stuff like that, my advice is to let the feeling in lol, happens to them all eventually. Can also be helpful even with used lenses people think look ugly given they function as normal

[fast knoll]

So would it be extremely stupid to screw off the front glass and use a blower on that spec of dust

[fast knoll]

does the vignette work on this image or nah

also new lens so sharp

[astral saffron]

I’m a fan on vignettes when the background is monochromatic like in this case 👍

[hidden wyvern]

without a cleanroom i wouldnt recomend it, although i think its harder than just screwing it off anyway

just might make it worse if in any random room, plus taking it apart then putting it back is tough at least for a lens compared to general tech stuff

[fast knoll]

Yea ima leave it

[fast knoll]

saw my first yellow crowned night heron

[astral saffron]

I found where a kingfisher lives

I am so exited

Going to come back tomorrow morning

[gilded yarrow]

Hell yeah

[astral saffron]

I've been looking for weeks

Saw a flash of blue and my heart raced

Now I need to figure out where it perches and where I can sit and wait

[fast knoll]

@gilded yarrow spotted

[green meadow]

Photographed ducks with my old sigma 105mm macro lens. It was kind of fun and they were pretty close to me.

[fast knoll]

nice reflections!

[scarlet tulip]

you have some very tame ducks, these are great

[gilded yarrow]

Lmaooo

[astral saffron]

I'm so annoyed with myself. As I was packing up it decided to fly right by me 🙃

Had I waited 2 more minutes I would've gotten a shot

[gilded yarrow]

Just because it flies by doesnt mean it wouldve landed there, and for in flight shots chances are high af wouldnt have worked

[astral saffron]

No of course not but there may have been a chance

I’ll keep going until I get a shot but work keeps getting in the way 😅

[gilded yarrow]

Lol yeah kingfishers are just knowing where their favorite perches are and lots of patience, you'll get the shot if you invest enough hours

[green meadow]

Thanks! And yeah, they’re really used to people. It’s almost like photographing domestic animals, but fun nonetheless.

[scarlet tulip]

The challenge is different, is all

[green meadow]

You guys got all those cool looking herons. Grey heron is all we have here and even those are kind of rare.

[fast knoll]

Got some shots walking my dog around the neighborhood

These are like 1 mp crops tho LOL

[fast knoll]

Yea each region has their positives and negatives

[green meadow]

And I can only dream of hummingbirds. 😅

[green meadow]

true true

[dusty fog]

my region has no tits

do you guys have any advice/general tips/strategies for finding raptors consistently?
I'm trying to track down falcons/kestrels but I can't think of any good way besides random searching

[scarlet tulip]

Ebird is good for finding places they’re likely to be

What I do is find a hotspot with known raptor activity and then check the photos that people have uploaded; you’ll sometimes be able to find a raptor spot based on those

If you’re in the right region for eagles and ospreys, they’re the easiest to find because they like water

[dusty fog]

yea osprey not a challenge though

only seen 1 eagle near the coast, i guess they like fresh water more?

kestrel is my current fixation though

i wish there were species filters on hotspots

like do you just click randomly on hotspots and look what they had?

[fast knoll]

u can search a species

then click on large map

then zoom in on ur location

and change the dates spotted to like 1 month or less

then u can see where a certain species was spotted

[dusty fog]

all i can get is the 12km boxes

[fast knoll]

click on large map

[dusty fog]

oh ok ok

[fast knoll]

then u can zoom al the way

and see the individual hotspots

[dusty fog]

fuck yes

thanks

[fast knoll]

np

[dusty fog]

amazing

defo heading here

[fast knoll]

pretty rare tho

last spotted was in june

[dusty fog]

thats the most spotted area near me

theres one other similar

that ones a little better, multiple in june

july is a weak month for them here i think

[fast knoll]

yea july is bad for birding in general ive heard

[scarlet tulip]

They like areas with perches near the water

Rivers especially

Kestrels enjoy open areas with cover nearby

They will perch on fences and wires to look for prey before hovering to actively hunt

[magic crown]

i'm so excited in 1 week i go there for 10 days to shoot a barn owl/tawny owl and some sparrows (this is all terrain they have)

It's a stable so they have a lot of land with plains, forests and even abandoned houses

[scarlet tulip]

the problem with shooting on the beach

[magic crown]

[astral saffron]

Out for a run, going to come back here

[astral saffron]

Is this a land owner who lets people come out to shoot owls?

[astral saffron]

Officer he’s pointing that big lens at me!!

[gilded yarrow]

Oh damn bro found the whole family

Sick

[gilded yarrow]

Back at my kingfisher spot

A bit later than I had planned because I was talking to a girl until like almost 4am

Well that was fast

[magic crown]

That's my aunt field

[gilded yarrow]

already landed here 3x in 2 hours

No special pics tho, no cool poses or anything

[magic crown]

Kingfishers have favorite spot that's why

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah I know lol

Thats why I'm sitting here

[magic crown]

At my local pond he got in the same place like 10x in the same morning

[fast knoll]

rip does this bunny have a massive tick

im starting to try to photograph small birds

theyre so skittish

i end up cropping a ton i guess 500mm isnt a whole lot

my technique is prob buns tho i prob need more patience

[gilded yarrow]

Caught him blinking

Just a screenshot

Holy sharpness

Tried something

[fast knoll]

wow

very nice

i can never make dark backgrounds like that without the mask looking weird

[gilded yarrow]

The background was just like that, I only made it a little bit darker

[fast knoll]

Also call me an idiot but I removed that speck of dust LOL

It worked

[fast knoll]

Wow that’s amazing

[gilded yarrow]

This is the raw, with my crop its mostly dark, only had to reduce Highlights and like -1 overall

[gilded yarrow]

Didnt see this, thats insane lmao

I really hope its still all aligned properly lol

[fast knoll]

yea the front stuff perfectly stacks on each other so it should be aligned lol. i didnt touch anything besides the front glass i just lifted it up then put it back into place

[fast knoll]

Some pics straight from my camera

[fast knoll]

i realized that object mask detects ur subject rlly well compared to subject mask lol

[rocky turret]

so angy 😠

Never saw a bird mean mug me for so long

[dusty fog]

I keep hearing a tufted titmouse near where I just moved

Must find

[dark minnow]

While waiting for foxes, a nice woodpecker landed near me. First photos of this one so pretty happy

Pretty sharp too

[gilded yarrow]

Ohhh pileated

[fast knoll]

i saw an acorn woodpecker today

drove to a little town saw lots of turkey vultures flying

and a hawk with a mouse in its claws lol

and turkey parents crossing the road with their babies

only snagged one pic today that was prob ass

pretty sharp ngl

[rocky turret]

are we living the same life, just saw a wild turkey with 3 chicks this morning

I saw my first kingfisher today too, I had no clue they were so big

I thought they were lil guys

[gilded yarrow]

common Kingfishers are pretty small, belted are bigger

[rocky turret]

That makes sense, these were belted

[gilded yarrow]

smh no camera with me

[hidden wyvern]

young sparrow of some kind

[rocky turret]

just noticed a secret lazuli bunting

[fast knoll]

0.5 mp crop 😭

[eternal igloo]

it's ok we live ina society

[fast knoll]

fluffiest mourning dove

[fast knoll]

wowza

ngl theyre uglier than i thought i was zooming on his face and got jumpscared

[eternal igloo]

havent edited or cropped this yet but why does this woodpecker which should know how to eat struggle so hard 😭

he struggled with it for like ten minutes, longest id ever seen a woodpecker stay in the same place near ground ngl

[rocky turret]

The babs are kinda cute though

[fast knoll]

yea i saw rlly small chicks

but they crossed the road too fast

only got the parent

[magic crown]

golden hour time

[fast knoll]

very nice

[shut hazel]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMDzVLJIpND/?igsh=dmY1cXhneWs4N2xj
If only this could happen to me fr

benjamin.j.marshall

Last week I became a kingfisher dad for 24 hours.

Story time: I found this little guy on the ground, I think he was over heated or confused but very friendly.

I moved him out the way of any cats or mink around and let him rest up for a night. The box had no lid on and he could have left at any time. But the next morning her was waiting for m...

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My only time seeing a Kingfisher up close was a dead one in india :(

[magic crown]

Thanks

[rocky turret]

What are ya'lls general editing tweaks with enhancing bird eyes? I've kind of just been throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks

[green meadow]

Young long-tailed tit

[green meadow]

I rarely do any local adjustments to eyes. But on some rare occasions like closeups etc. I have used radial gradient and light rooms iris enhance preset with my own tweaks.

Atleast I don't have any one edit fits all solutions. My method is trial and error. 😅

[fast knoll]

if the eye is huge i brighten it a bit

if not i mostly leave it

or just brighten the face in general a little

[hidden wyvern]

at best i use a mask brush and slightly adjust shadow or exposure, but the bird is usually bright as is, meaning it might not need a specific change

[rocky turret]

Thank you guys!

[scarlet tulip]

The most I will do is a very soft mask around the eye, and then increase exposure

This is only necessary on birds where the head is in shadow

[fast knoll]

do u guys know what this is

looks like an oriole

was in my backyard

[rocky turret]

Where do you live? iNaturalist is saying oriole too but undecided on exact species

[hidden wyvern]

ive seen female baltimore orioles which look similar although the wings which i cant see give it away if it is one

theres also this which looks a bit closer

[fast knoll]

socal

i think female hooded oriole

looks very similar

[magic crown]

Time to woke up to shot some flamingoes

[astral saffron]

Do you find that using a camo cover on your lens helps? I was to get something to protect my lens but need to decide between a camo cover or just black

[magic crown]

It's better than a white lens body

[magic crown]

The top 4 of the day

Almost all hidden with a net and a outfit

This grebe don't wanted to get close so i put the net and he got like 2m close of me

[magic crown]

i think i cooked well today

[gilded yarrow]

Vignette on the Flamingo shot is a bit too strong imo but the pic is sick

[magic crown]

yeah but i did it to put the direction of the sun

[gilded yarrow]

I know I do that with every pic

Lol

try to make the gradient softer or make it a bit lighter

Its too obviously this way that its a gradient you know what I mean?

[magic crown]

yeah i understand what you mean

[gilded yarrow]

See my kingfisher pic for example, also strong but the gradient is very soft

[magic crown]

decent shot btw

like that ?

[dusty fog]

i think lift the shadows in general a tiny bit

[magic crown]

if i did it the image looks way too soft

[dusty fog]

maybe the blacks idk

the black on the wings is like clipping almost

[magic crown]

the original is already really soft

[fast knoll]

yea the head is so small it's prob hard for the af

[wide flint]

A6400 doesnt have bird detection af anyways

[magic crown]

yeah but i have real time tracking instead it's not good as eye AF but it's almost the same

[mint warren]

I may have an opportunity to get an RF 200-800

should I do it

[spring vault]

yea

[eternal igloo]

if it’s nonspecific enough where r u that u see all these cool birds

[magic crown]

In south france here it's really common to see birds like ibises, flamingoes, roller and bee eater

[remote remnant]

me when broke

[dark minnow]

How well does it work?

[remote remnant]

af is slightly sketchy, but it's sharp

[split path]

I think this photo is not properly focused. Is there any possible way how to solve that?

I know the background isn't really good.

[astral saffron]

The focus seems fine but it looks like there is a little motion blur. What shutter speed was this taken at? Was this cropped?

[split path]

1/1000

This is the original crop.

[split path]

It was quite dark so I was aware of high ISO.

[fast knoll]

for how much

[mint warren]

New so 3000 aud, had a surprising tax return

[rocky turret]

Are his colors too washed out? Most towhee pics show them as jet black but I felt like this was closer to what I saw. Maybe a young adult? I dunno

[scarlet tulip]

i don't see an issue

[dark minnow]

young chickadee i think

[scarlet tulip]

looks to be, yeah

[rocky turret]

so scrungly

[gilded yarrow]

Baby bird

[magic crown]

It's not his wife ?

[gilded yarrow]

Mouth still yellow, pretty sure that means its a young one

But yeah female

[magic crown]

Yeah i don't seen it first time and yeah it's a female

[fast knoll]

first time photographing a green heron

[sour spade]

Does anyone happen to know of a guide online or person that uses the OM-D, E-M5 for birding? I know it's not an ideal setup, but I got the camera, Olympus 40-150mm f4-5.6 lens + another lens, case, and several batteries for $50. So, I'm having fun. 🙂 Will upgrade down the line.

[fast knoll]

blinking hummingbird

[gilded yarrow]

Its pretty much the same as with any other cam, only problem would be 150mm/300mm ffeq

Doable but you probably wont get frame filling shots

[astral saffron]

At my kingfisher spot this morning. He came by 3 times. Always flying from my rear to the front as if he’s going in circles around the area

Landed on this branch twice but I think it need my 2x converter for this spot. Ended up being a little too far and too dark in the morning.

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah they do that

Which cam is that

rv?

[astral saffron]

Think I'm going to have to sit on the opposite side because he won't turn and face me 😅

[astral saffron]

A1

[gilded yarrow]

Oh sick

[astral saffron]

2mp crop

[eternal igloo]

does the camo net actually work

[astral saffron]

First time using it. It's so my movements are hidden under the net, my face/eyes aren't visible, and the human form is covered

I had a squirrel and mouse both come within 1 meter of me

[eternal igloo]

then id say that’s working pretty well lol

[astral saffron]

I'd also rather use a net than wear something because the air flows through easily and the biggest thing is breaking up the human shape

[eternal igloo]

get urself a little hot shoe fan

😭

[fast knoll]

U have a 600 lens?

[astral saffron]

300

[magic crown]

Why everyone needs decent crop (lower than 4mp) to have an good image of a kingfisher

[astral saffron]

Your camera has the crop built in

[magic crown]

yeah but a 2m crop is really huge

[astral saffron]

Oh absolutely

I’m going back with the teleconverter with some better light

But I was already at 12800 iso @ f2.8

[magic crown]

for example this shot have a 8mp crop

and i was like 2m away of the subject

[gilded yarrow]

Yes

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao you got effectively 900mm and still had to crop to 8mp, how are you complaining about other people cropping

[magic crown]

first it was with the tamron 150-500 with a shitty quality so 750mm and i don't really like doing huge cropping like 4mp

plus if i'm doing prints for customers

and otherwise this is the full size photo so it's a portrait crop

[dusty fog]

not everyone can have 600mm on apsc friend

[magic crown]

It's funny because some people buy a FF and then use the APS-C crop, even though APS-C bodies are cheaper and more "qualitative" in terms of megapixels

[wide flint]

You were also at 1/3200 tho, more than enough room to drop that down and even still get decent action results

But Kingfisher on a branch you're also fine with like 1/500

[warm tiger]

There’s place for that too, for people who do more than just Bird/long range photography

Eg, if someone wants FF for portraits but also likes birding (and can’t afford FF long range lenses), using APSC glass and crop on a FF body is reasonable

[magic crown]

real

[astral saffron]

I dropped it once it was on the branch but keep high shutter speed ready for action

[hasty forge]

I find it very fun that you can actually have a sort of "hybrid" setup like that, definitely can be a better bang for your buck option

FF stuff looks very fun but I also am built like a bunch of sticks duct taped together so lighter lenses it is.

[sour spade]

First "decent" shots I've gotten. Mostly putting these here since they're my first shots. It'll be nice to see down the road how much better they get.

I'm fortunate to have a pond right next to me that has a bunch of herons and egrets.

[fast knoll]

Nice start!

Ngl sometimes SoCal annoys me

The weather is so good that it’s always sunny so the lighting is quite harsh past like 9 am

These would prob be quite nice in even lighting

[sour spade]

The 2nd picture is particularly nice. I would be quite happy with it!

Going out tomorrow to the Audubon Center in Illinois in the morning. They have some really nice trails and lakes. Will post some pics if anything is good! 🙂

[fast knoll]

ooh belted

r u guys all just camping out at a single perch for these shots

[rocky turret]

I keep finding belted in the same exact spot; but of course it's across a canal on the electrical wires behind a grungy treatment plant, so guess I'll just suffer 🫠🫠

Entire 212 acre natural area and they choose the glorified drainage ditch next to the parking lot

Even went on inaturalist to check out if I'm missing any and the last 3 posts are on that damn wire lol

[hasty forge]

I need to find good spots around me other than my backyard

I don't really know what to look for though, for either birds or insects really

[rocky turret]

Do you have natural areas where you live?

[warm tiger]

Yeah. I’m not but my wallet is so that’s my motivation for looking at that option

Might be getting a D800 soon

[hasty forge]

Very much so, I live in the countryside

My backyard is more akin to what you'd call a park in a city lol

[rocky turret]

Oh that's ideal then

[hasty forge]

I happen to live next to the biggest forest in France too, or maybe one of the largest? I forgot

I tried going on forest walks and while it was ideal for macro, birds can hide a little too well

[hasty forge]

That's fine too

I'm glad my interest in photography is mostly wildlife oriented because my first camera purchase ended up being a solid choice lol, going with MFT at first may have been a pretty solid mistake if I was more into other genres

That oly 60mm macro is too fun of a lens for me to regret it though

[warm tiger]

I’m very happy I started on a Four Thirds camera too, gave me the reach I couldn’t get with anything else

And that let me learn what I liked (ended up with a lot of stuff that require range that I couldn’t have tried with a starter kit/prime)

[hasty forge]

Yeah it's a very nice system if you require that reach

the 100-400 has been very fun to use

It's lightweight and small enough for me to be able to handhold it and 800mme is definitely more than enough for birding

[remote remnant]

went to the only bird spot i know and arrived too late, zero birbs

[hasty forge]

What are the best times for spotting birds? I'm guessing morning and evening?

[magic crown]

Depend but mostly yeah

Before/during the sunrise and during the sunset

[hasty forge]

I see I see

I can notice a slight spike of activity in late morning in my backyard

From the smaller ones at least

I imagine that's partly why faster lenses matter a lot for birders but everyone ends up wanting more light so maybe it's not just that

[fast knoll]

use ebird

it tells u any hotspots around ur area

[hasty forge]

I'll look that up, thanks

[gilded yarrow]

Yep

[gilded yarrow]

Yep

Lmao

[hasty forge]

I guess it makes sense that the best time are synced with when bugs are out!

[scarlet tulip]

For this one I was hiding under a tree to get out of the rain

[rocky turret]

tell me this isn't a turd

I cannot for the life of me see anything but a piece of shit

like?? 😭

Didn't even eat it just held it for awhile and dropped it

[remote remnant]

i got there at 7pm and no birds

last time i went i went at 2-3

[magic crown]

That's can happen sometimes

[remote remnant]

[magic crown]

With the kingfisher i go there at 6am all days for one week and i got it only the last day

[gilded yarrow]

could be from its nest

[astral saffron]

Birds eat the poop of their young

[eternal igloo]

started going through my massive 6 am shoot and this is prolly my fav so far

[magic crown]

A very sus hole

I'm now sitted and i'm waiting if something is going there

[hasty forge]

Dude that's my house.....

[magic crown]

a juvenile Black Redstart

he was pretty friendly and curious

[hasty forge]

Beautiful shot

I really like the highlights on the bird

That's one sharp shot

[magic crown]

maybe the sharpest i've ever made

[hasty forge]

I like it a lot

[magic crown]

thanks

[fast knoll]

Yea that’s so nice

Beautiful branch

Not a boring dead twig

[hasty forge]

I was looking through my photos and was thinking about how I didn't really have a lot of pics to show for all of my weekends spent walking around in circles in my backyard, but the shots I did keep were far up amongst my personal favorites

Birding is addicting for how rewarding having your patience being paid off is

Keep running around and you'll get a cool photo, eventually

Also birds keep you company when insects are all hidden away during winter so they're very cool little buddies

[spring vault]

dont think about it too hard

[hasty forge]

I wrote four sentences it's okay I think some people think way harder about other topics

[magic crown]

Yeah where i am actually it's a really woody and rainy place

[hasty forge]

I checked out your website and Instagram, hello fellow french person

[magic crown]

Hi there

[hasty forge]

You've gotten some stunning shots on your Instagram account, very nice work!

[magic crown]

Thanks ❤️

[hasty forge]

Looking at those again, what are they called? I love the shine on them

[spring vault]

these are tree swallows!

btw the "dont think about it too hard" was referring to my pic not what you wrote about birding

I focus stacked it so the dof is a little impossible

[hasty forge]

Aaaah my bad!

Sorry about that lol

[hasty forge]

Thanks! Trying to expand my bird name vocab

Now that you mention it yeah the DoF is magic here but it works very well

[sour spade]

In some of the videos I've watched and articles, people mention shooting in sequential mode. I believe this means that hitting the shutter button will take multiple photos at the same time (on Olympus cameras Seq H vs Seq L seems to determine whether you can use S/AF or C/AF and how fast(?) it takes those photos).

Are you folks using this mode only for birds in flight, for fidgety birds on a branch, or always? As a beginner, I feel like I sometimes take 2-3 shots, but the bird is always twitchy and causing me some blurring problems.

[spring vault]

sequential sounds like some olympus thing

[fast knoll]

need some editing advice rq

[spring vault]

any modern camera ull be using continuous af with whatever the fastest burst rate is

and a fast enough shutter speed the bird isnt gonna be motion blurred

[fast knoll]

so this was shot with a gray cloudy background

is it too fake if i turn the temp down on the background to make this

[spring vault]

id tone it down some

can still have it a pale blue

[fast knoll]

ok lemme try a little more subtle lol

hows this

[spring vault]

yea

[fast knoll]

thank u!

[shrewd basin]

I take like 100 photos of birds and end up using liek 5 of them. Not only bird but for everything I use continues shooting. For example people, I take at least 3 photos because the chances of them having eyes closed is high XD

[shrewd basin]

I waited once 1h for a mama bird to come feed her baby's

[fast knoll]

nice!

bird looks bald ngl

[shrewd basin]

Bald birb, very nice photo of bald birb

[gilded yarrow]

nah I sometimes do that too

[fast knoll]

yea cloudy background is so ugly

just boring white

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao yeah

[gilded yarrow]

I really like how all the colors are matching

background, bird and fence all kinda similar

Looks great

[fast knoll]

insanely sharp too

[gilded yarrow]

Baby redstart?

[fast knoll]

how far were u from the bird and what focal length?

[gilded yarrow]

Looks like 600 frame filling so like 2m

would be my guess

[split path]

It was at 600 mm and about 3 meters far.

[fast knoll]

ah very nice

how do u get small birds so close to u

do u just sit there

[gilded yarrow]

Yea

Lol

[gilded yarrow]

Hell yeah I'm pro focal length guesser

[split path]

No, it just flew next to me on the fence and sitted there calmly.

I was just walking around.

[fast knoll]

wow

very. nice

i need to find some tame small birds

[gilded yarrow]

Parks

cities

[fast knoll]

Yea my new apartment has some chill birds I think

Will try to make friends with them

Booty shot

[gilded yarrow]

Man I havent got any nice shots in a while

No more time, working more hours now

[fast knoll]

who is riley

[split path]

I also got these cute small ducks.

[gilded yarrow]

We all are

[fast knoll]

whos the original

[dusty fog]

hard to say really

[outer prairie]

Me

[carmine fox]

skrunkly little sparrow with a friend in tow

[broken mantle]

🪥🪥🪥

[fast knoll]

this was iso 12800

check out the sharpness

[sour spade]

Terrible lighting and poor photography (excited for my 75-300mm to get here for my budget improvement), but I saw my first bald eagle and wanted to share. Was extremely cool to watch. They perched and then put on a great flying show directly overhead for probably 2 minutes just circling. Just such a majestic bird.

Promise to improve my photography so these are cooler shots 🙂 And to not only go out when it's raining 🙂

I just started, so I figured it'd take a long time to see a bald eagle, but I was just on my morning walk with my fiance and he graced us.

[dusty fog]

hey man 50% or more of bird photography is just finding them, then the next 40% is pointing your camera at it

so you did great haha

[fast knoll]

yea seeing a bald eagle is insane already

[sour spade]

Thanks folks 🙂 It was the highlight of my week lol. Felt almost surreal to just see him sitting there.

[eternal igloo]

wait is it rly that crazy

[fast knoll]

for me

[sour spade]

Yay! He came back. Got him in a brighter setting this time. Hopefully he'll come back this evening for better lighting.

[eternal igloo]

ny bald eagle population has apparently increased like crazy from googling

[sour spade]

He/she comes to the same spot, then eventually flies in the same direction, so I'm assuming his/her nest is nearby.

It's right over a creek, so I'm also guessing it's their feeding ground. So, I'm gonna keep campin' around.

[magic crown]

The first one for me is perfect

[scarlet tulip]

yeah that's well shot

[fast knoll]

insanely clean background

[dark minnow]

Guys I hate it, i'm in the ''uninspired zone'' and cant get out of it

any tips

[scarlet tulip]

Try something that isn’t birds

[shrewd basin]

Don't shoot for a week or more

[astral saffron]

Try a different genre. Or only B&W. Or take a little trip to somewhere new and see what you can find

[broken mantle]

^ this. Been there, tried insect macro for a bit, now i’m back taking bird pics.

[astral saffron]

Or mammals. Rabbits, squirrels, marmots, foxes, deer, hedgehog, or anything else that is cute

[magic crown]

I went to a species conservation and sanctuary zoo and saw so many cool birds like pelicans and japanese cranes

It's a good one because it protects endangered species or injured species (amputated wings caused by a fishnet for example) to give them a "retirement"

[rocky turret]

I miss living near a zoo, or even open wildlife rehab, the nearest is abt 100 miles away

My coworker was psyched to tell me about a publicly accessible outdoor raptor rehab center the other day, turns out it closed down like 8 years ago

[drifting silo]

Been more than 3 months for me and I still feel that way 💀

Just editing old travel pics every now and then atp

[drifting silo]

Love the 2nd pic. Great detail

Was the background just that dark, or is that masking? If its the latter how did you get such a clean mask with the fine feathers on the edges still being crisp? Tried doing that several times but so far always a failed attempt

[magic crown]

The background was already really dark but i darkened it at max to have this

[magic crown]

the glossy ibis combo

[sour spade]

Update on the bald eagle: he's married.

[fast knoll]

Lowkey fw this shot wish it wasn’t on a power line tho

[sour spade]

As a beginner, powerlines are my nightmare. I just can't get it to focus on the bird. Even if I stop down, etc. Need to practice more.

[fast knoll]

what camera do u have?

[sour spade]

OM-D E-M5 with the 40-150mm. Gonna upgrade the lens soon to the 75-300mm.

[fast knoll]

thats a m4/3 right

600mm will be nice

[sour spade]

Yep! Got everything for $50, so an extra $300-ish isn’t too bad. Just want to find a good deal

[sour spade]

Found this handsome fella. First time seeing a green heron.

[dark minnow]

Here's a few photos from my trip in Nova-Scotia a month ago

[shrewd basin]

Goofy name, he ain't green smh

[sour spade]

In some lighting, you can definitely see a hint of green. But the name is very ambitious lol. Probably Brown Necked Heron or something would be better

[shrewd basin]

I see

[shut hazel]

long boi

[daring imp]

What time of day do u guys usually go photographing birds? Is daytime at 28c a bad idea? Been very quiet in birding apps now in summer

[wide flint]

Mornings are op for birding, they're the most active and light is normally very nice

But summer in general is a bit of a quiet season for birding. Most birds have fledged already and the migration has not yet started

[daring imp]

Morning here is literally 3-4am cuz of midnight sun.

[shrewd basin]

Uhhh, you shared you're full cords my guy

[daring imp]

Come find me then 🤣

In the middle of nowhere not close to my home

[shrewd basin]

I'm in äänekoski, see you there soon

[daring imp]

See u bruv 😂

[daring imp]

Im in ruka atm. Got my mökki here

[shrewd basin]

IN RUKA????

Broo I love that place

Actually my favorite place, like I love the Oulanka National Park, such a beautiful scenery

[daring imp]

Good place for a kingfisher haha

Samee idk where i am at atm either 🤣 on some random road lol

[wide flint]

What I did on my vacation in north Norway is just wake up at 5pm, go out all night and then sleep from like 8am till 5pm

[daring imp]

Samee my mökki is like 30km from there super close.

[shrewd basin]

Can I rent it out :3 for a week.

[daring imp]

Not done yet building

[shrewd basin]

Can I help build?

[daring imp]

If u got 15k to finish it sure 😆

[shrewd basin]

It's possible. Sigh but no, I'll be leaving Finland soon :(

[daring imp]

My fav shots from last ruka trip

[shrewd basin]

Ive been working for a year here and I leave this month to go back studying in Latvia.

[shrewd basin]

[daring imp]

Oh dopee

[shrewd basin]

Ye, and for a year I've traveled like 60% of Finland and the Oulanka park is still my favorite place

[daring imp]

It is fr i always go there too

Also käylä i was just there @shrewd basin

[shrewd basin]

I see I see, man such a good lense, I'm still on a 70-300

[broken mantle]

What bag do your use to carry that lens(?).

[daring imp]

Bad pic but this. Fits the 600, 150-600mm few smaller lenses and 2 cameras

[split path]

I saw a kingfisher yesterday.

But I didn't have my camera with me that day.

Only my phone that is really bad for telephoto shots.

Kingfisher is quite rare in area where I live, so I was surprised I finnaly saw him.

[broken mantle]

Yeah they do that. And won’t appear when you have a camera ready

[fast knoll]

Went to check out the wild parrots today

[astral saffron]

When I lived in Florida we had wild parrots right outside our house

Really wish I was into photography back then because I know exactly where to go for ospreys, egrets, cranes, and everything else

[dusty fog]

thanks now i can check them out also

[fast knoll]

Of course

[magic crown]

some edits of the day

[shut hazel]

i got a very sharp photo from my backyard of this pileated woodpeckef

[shut hazel]

quite bright in the background but birb

[shrewd basin]

Intresting angle

Feels like you shoot looking 80° up XD

[shut hazel]

it was quite high up in a tree

originally it was about 2 meters off the ground

but when i got closer my settings werent dialed in and it went up

[shrewd basin]

Photography moment

[shut hazel]

yup

it was originally in this area right here

i was just standing in the middle an alleyway

slowly made its way up this telephone pole

then flew away to a telephone pole in front of me house

[shrewd basin]

Make BIRB noises so it comes closer

[shut hazel]

lmao

i cant make no sounds like dat no more my voice aint it

[sour spade]

Found a lot of nice birds today. Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, some wood ducks, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow Crowned Night Heron. The Orchard Oriole was really cool (second picture).

[shut hazel]

jorb

[shrewd basin]

The second photo is like finding waldo

[dusty fog]

My favorite

Best birds

[sour spade]

He’s worth it. He’s handsome 🙂

[sour spade]

Improving a bit!

[gilded yarrow]

ffs

my whole family is in croatia

I'm not because I need to work

my brother just sent me this

[shrewd basin]

BIRB :D

[gilded yarrow]

Hoopoe

Not even 1000 of them in germany

He just saw like 5 of them

[shrewd basin]

catch them

with a butterfly net

[gilded yarrow]

Lmao

[shrewd basin]

look, a common loon

[rocky turret]

what a loon

loony

[shrewd basin]

there so smooth

siberian jay :D

[magic crown]

Not a really good quality (very huge heat haze and movement) but still a decent shot for me

[shut hazel]

woah

big birb

[wide flint]

Yeah eastern Europe is OP for hoopoe's

[sour spade]

Synchronized swimmers and flappers.

[astral saffron]

This little guy loves this spot and not my perch 😭

[shrewd basin]

such a lovely birb, hope you got nice pics of it

[astral saffron]

I found a way to cross the river and get a good view on that perch for tomorrow

[dusty fog]

beauty

[shrewd basin]

Such a great photo

[magic crown]

Thanks that was fun to make this shot she was really curious

[sour spade]

Me continuing my parasocial relationship with my bald eagle. Looking menacingly.

I can't get a hummingbird for the life of me, so the best I've gotten so far is a silhouette of one. Dude would not hover. I'm gonna start camping by flowers.

[shut hazel]

You are gonna get snatched fr

[astral saffron]

To get a shot of a hummingbird your best bet is to sit and wait a a feeder

Or a flower that they frequent often

[rocky turret]

I wish I could set up a feeder in my yard, just think it'd be a disaster with the amount of feral cats here

Getting really tired of them tbh

[sour spade]

It’d be my honor to get snatched up by him

[sour spade]

Yeah, I’ve just been waiting for it to cool down. Just isn’t fun sitting outside in this heat/humidity

[astral saffron]

Not sure where you're based but early morning is usually cool

Also when they are most active

And gives the best light

win win

This was taken at around 7 am today #🦀・creatures message

[sour spade]

I'm usually out between 6-8am, and then 5-8pm-ish.

I've had more luck in the evening than morning. Birds are most active in the morning, but they are too active. They're just bouncing around everywhere, so it's very hard to get a good shot.

Still getting better, so I'm sure once I'm more prepared/better at predicting, I can take better advantage of the morning hours.

[sour spade]

Also, how many of you guys are using tripods on your daily birding walks? I'm going birding daily (have been for weeks now). Now that I'm using the 75-300mm olympus lens, the shake is pretty intense. I haven't taken my tripod out yet. Are they pretty much necessary at this focal length?

[spring vault]

you can crank up the shutter speed to compensate

my lenses have pretty good optical stabilization so they're stable when held

so I don't use a tripod

oly 75-300 doesn't have any stabilization unfortunately

[astral saffron]

I only use my tripod if I'm sitting in one spot

Make sure you press your face against the viewfinder. If you're sitting in one spot shortly, rest your camera on your knees. Bring elbows together and hold your breath

Maybe look into a monopod if you find yourself wanting to rest the lens on something often

[light valley]

I’m not to sure how true this is but… They remember how long a flower takes to republish its nectar and visit the same flowers in a repeated learned order. Called "traplining,"
You may be able to predict where one will go next if you watch them long enough.

https://www.anthony-lujan.com/blog/7-incredible-facts-about-hummingbirds-memory-for-nectar-locations#:~:text=Hummingbirds'%20memory%20capabilities%20are%20truly,for%20the%20best%20possible%20outcome.

[sour spade]

This is very good advice. The "press your face" especially. It was a lot more stable than the loose connection I was doing. A bit hard with glasses, but it'll do.

[sour spade]

Thank you for the link! I need to get a lot better at learning behavior of subjects I'm interested in. Hummingbirds seem tricky, but I think I have some flower fields that might be a good spot.

[gilded yarrow]

never, just when sitting still

[elder yarrow]

not my shot, but looks super cool

https://x.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1952642098110271678

Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3)

Roseate Spoonbill bird in flight

X · Aug 5, 2025, 8:05 AM

[magic crown]

a good shot of a buzzard with a funny stare

[daring imp]

I want to see this so bad. Super rare here in finland but u can see them. My mom sent me a pic of this bird in fucking dubai of all places when she went there with dad 🤣

[dark minnow]

Got some very fun shots these past few days

[shrewd basin]

LOON!

[dark minnow]

Yup

[wide flint]

Battle of the falcons, 5 points to whoever guesses which species

[dusty fog]

real hard without more pixels

unless theyre just peregrine

top one could be many, id be surprised if the bottom wasnt peregrine with the black stripe

[wide flint]

Yeah bottom one is Peregrine

[gilded yarrow]

kestrel

bottom very obviously peregrine yeah

[wide flint]

Yessirrr

Never seen them side by side like that, was surprised by the size diffference

[gilded yarrow]

Yeah peregrines are much bigger

big females can get to the size of a buzzard

[wide flint]

Yeah lowkey thought it was a buzzard when I first spotted it

[dusty fog]

Oh duh lol, good one

[daring imp]

is this sharp to you guys?

i had 1/800 and still feels soft even tho the duck was standing still

[spring vault]

looks like a lot of digital sharpening

[daring imp]

yea ill show u og

here is the original @spring vault just brightened it up abit

is that sharpness still ok?

[scarlet tulip]

It seems to me that focus was missed on the eye

[spring vault]

looks like focus was more on the neck

[daring imp]

Do u think my lens has a bad auto focus? I forgot the word for it. Like the autofocus is somewhere else and not on the point

[spring vault]

prolly more the cams fault

my camera still occationally slightly misses focus on stationary birds but I just burst so it doesn't matter

[dusty fog]

✅ sharp perfect

[magic crown]

https://tenor.com/view/smg4-its-gotta-be-perfect-its-need-to-be-perfect-it-has-to-be-perfect-perfect-gif-3444643824445488839

Every photograher with focus

[magic crown]

What a place for photography

Ready

[astral saffron]

How’s birding in the forest? I always find they hide much better

[magic crown]

Well you can be suprised sometimes and this time i saw a black woodpecker

[magic crown]

that portrait is so cool

[magic crown]

@green meadow i think you shot a lot of them ?

[wide flint]

Tried to shoot some swallows. Shit is hard, they're so fast myself and also the af of my camera struggled a LOT

[sour spade]

Finally found a Snow Goose! Was just chillin'

[shrewd basin]

Good good birb photos

[daring imp]

Anybody here been unlucky with pics this summer? Animals been hiding like crazy here

My only shot im happy with this summer

[daring imp]

Yea fr. Got my first swallow pic sitting on a tree this summer. Feels like a rare picture when they always fly 24/7 when i see them 🤣

[daring imp]

I fucking hate birds.. no camera and this happened twice today

[shrewd basin]

You must have you're camera 24/7 on you're neck

[sour spade]

It has been very hard for us too. The overwhelming heat I think is a big contributor.

It has been a relentless summer this year.

[daring imp]

Yup heat is the issue here too!

[dark minnow]

yup same here, appart from some few shots of loons, i didnt get anything good

[daring imp]

I wanna photograph a loon badly. Havent heard or seen one yet

[shrewd basin]

Loon jumpscare

A family of loons actually was there

64.5559097, 26.4956663

Here are the coordinates

[daring imp]

Oo sick tyy!! Ill see how far it is from me

[astral saffron]

New tripod day

Build quality is worse tbh but at least I’ll be able to setup where I need to

The small one just wasn’t cutting it

[shrewd basin]

It was a month ago tho, they could of maybe flyed into a different location by now

[wide flint]

Holy shit, surprised that tiny tripod even held position

[astral saffron]

Small but mighty

Defintely holding onto it

[daring imp]

Yoo another big white user lets go!

[astral saffron]

Amazing trekking tripod

[daring imp]

How much does ur lens weigh? My 600 f4 is 5.3kg 🥲

[astral saffron]

1.4kg

It’s a 300f2.8

Honestly a really nice lens to walk around with

[magic crown]

Edits of the day

[wide flint]

Damn u got the same setup as Olle Nilsson

[finite flower]

im saving for a 400 2.8 or smth like that

300 is abit short

[wide flint]

Yeah, my dream setup is my Z8 with a 400 2.8, the Nikon one also has a built in tc

But thats like 15k so...

[astral saffron]

The built in tc makes me jealous of nikon lenses

[fast knoll]

leaving this server for a while cause i have to focus on med school

i'll be back eventually

[magic crown]

Tawny Owl sound spotted near my aunt house ! (sound at 3am) i'm going to try a shot of it when the weatwave is gone

[shrewd basin]

Good luck

[dark minnow]

here its pretty much one of the easiest rare bird to spot, get to a lake, wait for the evening and there you go, heard one

[sour spade]

So, I'm pretty strict with birding ethics (trying not to disturb the birds, staying far enough away, if an Eagle/Hawk/Owl watches you, backing off a bit, etc). It seems implicit that you shouldn't be feeding them in the wild (excluding of course bird feeders at home).

But I'm watching a fairly long video. They're in Norway and the man has several photo blinds that are used by National Geographic/BBC for documentaries, etc. In it, he's feeding them constantly. Putting berries, bananas, bread, etc., around in the forest near the photo blinds and elsewhere. Seemingly for the express purpose of photography.

Is this common in wildlife photography? I'm seeing quite a bit of information on it.

[dusty fog]

Is it common - yes
Are people against it - mixed

I would say if you're doing it in one location consistently in the wild, that's bad
If you're just doing it a location you will never return to once, why not

Aside from ethics some photographers see it as cheating (less fun, less challenge)

Birds around urban areas are beyond fucked though anyway, they eat whatever all the time

[sour spade]

Thank you! I still don't think that I'll do it. Was just surprised that something I figured would be universal was in fact not universal. Was surprised to see it in the video. I'll look more into it to see what people are up to!

[dusty fog]

Wait so was it a National Geographic guy doing it or just some nerd using the hides they use?

[sour spade]

It's this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wujMSqzbU1g&t=1618s . The man who owns the land/blinds seems to be pretty knowledgeable, and BBC and National Geo have apparently used his personal blinds.

I think the person is also an actor? I think people can visit his land in Norway.

[daring imp]

Sick photo! Havent gotten this close yet

[daring imp]

Wtf. An owl just chilling on the road at night.

I just waited untill he flew away didnt wanna honk

[dusty fog]

lmao what a weirdo

he's like
"Wtf. A human just chilling in car at night."

[shrewd basin]

Oh yeah I feed them sometimes to get a better chance to take a photo of them

[shrewd basin]

I like owls :3

[magic crown]

tawny owl now confirmed

[wide flint]

Not me spending 30+ hours looking for a short eared owl without any luck and you just finding one in the middle of the road 💀

[daring imp]

Without my camera.. 🙂 only my astro lens with me lol

[daring imp]

It was night time too sadly wouldnt be able to take good pics of it either sadly... bro fr ive had the same luck as u. Havent seen anything lol

[green meadow]

I don't recognize that species. Is it ferruginous duck? If so, we don't have those here. Only 24 sighting between 1959 and 2022. 🤔

Pretty good trip to west coast of Finland. Five new species for me. Kingfisher, sanderling, red knot, little stint and grey plover. Sadly king fisher was really faraway, but still it was really nice to see one.

[scarlet tulip]

Welcome to the kingfisher experience

They’re distant and skittish

Nice shorebirds!

[green meadow]

Thanks! Specially that little stint is my favorite and really beautiful little borb. And that kingfisher had long river where to fly around. So I was lucky to see it and get even that picture.

[scarlet tulip]

The kingfishers here are the same, even though the species is different

Lots of long crossing flights over water

[wide flint]

So annoyed with myself that I missed this shot

[dusty fog]

What was the next frame

[wide flint]

Looks like the left one just put it's foot down on the branch

Would be cool if it actually grabbed the other one with it's claw lol

[scarlet tulip]

not a gallery shot but lol

"get the fuck out of here you can't have our fish"

[rocky turret]

biblically accurate tern

[shrewd basin]

AAAAA, such buteful and freandly bird here and I didn't take my camera

[magic crown]

Drink station in progress

[shrewd basin]

[wide flint]

Thats a really inventive setup. Might go and copy that myself

But probably only next spring

[magic crown]

You can do that now so in autumn, winter and spring you will have a lot of visits

[wide flint]

Yeah but I'll build it at my mom's house, and im mostly there in spring and autumn

[magic crown]

Tada

[wide flint]

Really nice

[magic crown]

Soon we will add a pump to make a waterflow

[dark minnow]

Wish I had the space to do it

Would be covered in snow half of the year anyways

[dusty fog]

Sick

[acoustic hull]

if id be a bird, id use it

[shrewd basin]

I'd drink from that

[acoustic hull]

That pleasant moment when you go outside during sunny day, full of energy and happy and you see a dent trying to feed barn swallows with bread and buns thrown into water

[shrewd basin]

Noooooooooo

Bread bad

Not good for swan digestive system

[acoustic hull]

yeah mood ruined right there

oh and forgot that if i remember right like 10m away from where he was theres a big box with duck food and info

but nah

boomer asshoes gotta ignore it

[acoustic hull]

can someone tell me what bird is that? is this some magpie remix or just magpie with balding head

in poland

[wide flint]

Seems like a normal magpie to me

[acoustic hull]

Idk ive seen some other magpies here and they were cuter

My brain is probably just tripping tbh

[shrewd basin]

Crow with a new decal

But no, looks like just a magpie

[acoustic hull]

Alrighty thanks

[dark ermine]

out here living my dreams. very cool stuff. Do you have to plan for mosquitos or is this far enough away from your house / not an issue at your location?

[magic crown]

No mosquitoes here

[dark ermine]

time for me to move ig lmao

[wide flint]

First time getting a nuthatch in front of my lens, such a cool bird

[dark ermine]

phenomenal

[wide flint]

Thank you kind sir

[magic crown]

The drink station is now fully ready and maybe tomorrow it will have his first visitors

[shrewd basin]

Me first me first me first

[magic crown]

what do you think guys ? i wanted to try something

[gilded yarrow]

Masking looks weird, eye too

[remote remnant]

you guys need to print your photos

[finite flower]

correct

[acoustic hull]

i would print but if i spend money on printer i wont spend it on new lens

but damn do i want a nice printer

[astral saffron]

Hard to fit a printer into a suitcase

[finite flower]

oo you have me thinking

[gilded yarrow]

Arent prints that size crazy expensive

[dark minnow]

Can’t agree more

[spring vault]

was $450 for the three prints that are all 24inx36in canvas from a nice print shop

they arrived in a wooden crate!

[gilded yarrow]

Damn yeah I dont have that kinda money just for decorating my room lol, maybe in a few months or so I'll print one of my kingfisher pics

Not sure which one I'd pick tho

[magic crown]

I can't imagine there is a owl here
Can't wait to hear it !

[magic crown]

The 1st one is the one
The shot is like a living image

And the price depend of the material and size

You can have a good print for 20€ in 20x30 made with forex (plastic)

[magic crown]

For my exhibit

And i will soon order 4 more of my shots

[fast knoll]

ok im back

med school isnt that bad

[gilded yarrow]

LMAO

[elder yarrow]

not mine, but is pretty neat

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10163102361081530&set=gm.10163770813874458&idorvanity=179531089457

[shut hazel]

oh

[magic crown]

The drink station now work i'm so happy to see happy bird enjoying their bath

[green meadow]

That looks really good and great that birds did found it so quickly. Where did you get that plastic tarp, what kind of plastic it is and was it expensive?

[magic crown]

It's from a friend who work in house build so he got 40 meter long
But it's not cost much it's 30€ 6x4m

[green meadow]

Not bad.

[magic crown]

For all of this it's i think 100€

For the water, the structure, the rock, the sand, and the water treatement

The water is copper treat

[green meadow]

Did you already install pump to get that water flowing?

[magic crown]

There no pump it's flat for now

Good for photos to have a mirror

Damn already 3 visitors

[green meadow]

Nice! Will you add some sand or rocks to the edges to hide rest of the tarp?

[magic crown]

We soon add a hiding net to cover

And we will add moss and branch around

I'll go do some shot this afternoon to try

If you want i can share with you the camera view you just need to make an account on Trail Cam Go

[finite flower]

this is not a bad wingspread

but idk

[shrewd basin]

This is fire yeah

[shrewd basin]

[dark minnow]

Saw my first sandpiper, these are tiny as shit

[dark ermine]

this perspective is breaking my brain

[dark minnow]

Wym?

[shut hazel]

it would be so nice to have one of those

great work on building it

[shut hazel]

very nice

[scarlet tulip]

1/100 shutter, still pushing ISO a bit

need to come back to this spot when it's not rainy

[magic crown]

Yeah fr

[magic crown]

That's so cool

[magic crown]

I have a small friend who want to shot with me

[magic crown]

That bokeh

[magic crown]

Bath party !

[shut hazel]

i wonder if it would be worth trying to make one of those here

i removed my garden bed since it had issues

got some potentially empty space

[magic crown]

Edits of the day

[green meadow]

Got some fly shots today and saw great tit that has lost its tail. It looks bit goofy.

Luckily new one has started to grow back already.

[scarlet tulip]

These takeoff shots are excellent

[scarlet tulip]

I’m always amazed at how fast birds recover lost feathers

[magic crown]

Well, I signed up for a bird photo exhibition. We'll see if I'm accepted

[spring vault]

gl!

[green meadow]

I think that those blurry wings gives really nice effect and adds interesting element to the photo. It probably looks better this way than if the movement of the wings had been stopped completely. 🤔 Nice picture and bird!

[scarlet tulip]

thanks! i find that the wings are hard to freeze since they beat so fast, it'd take a really bright day to get much chance of it

and as you say, conveying movement feels better here

[green meadow]

True true. Those are such amazing birds. Is it hard to get other parts of the bird sharp? Do they fly completely still or do they move around?

[scarlet tulip]

they hover to suck nectar from flowers, and fly very quickly aside from that

if they're hovering, i can usually get the head and body sharp at or around 1/500s shutter, but wings and tail move too much

[green meadow]

And they are so small that you need to be right next to them to fill the frame?

[scarlet tulip]

yeah, a decent crop on 24MP means being within 3M or so

on a Z9 you'd get some extra room

[magic crown]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/365326575329345536/1407770795559751841/20250820_183937.mp4?ex=68a75038&is=68a5feb8&hm=0f4eaaf40e5de7f3d584c3067afaea7be422256ccd899987e6582e38c509473c&

perfect

the paradise of birds

[astral saffron]

Found another Kingfisher spot. Might be a bit better because there is more sunlight let through but it's got tall grass covering most of the river so it's hard to get to

[finite flower]

interesting

id cut more of the right

maybe like this for symmetry?

[magic crown]

For the symmetry i used the rule of third that explain the black part on the left

[gilded gale]

The all seeing quack.

[daring imp]

What do u guys think about this shot? Finally got a picture of something. Been really dead all summer. I think its nice cause the eye peek thru the leaves

[dark ermine]

not bad, probably worth processing

[daring imp]

got the exposures almost perfect. here is the raw shots. what do u think about the sharpness? 7d mark 2 and 600mm f4 mark 1 IS L is my favorite combo so far

[fast knoll]

looks fine to me

[dark ermine]

yeah sharpness looks spot on to me too. i'd probably bring the tone cooler for both, up the exposure for the first, bring down on the second, and maybe a closer crop, or other edits to pull focus to our lil peekaboo playing friend

[daring imp]

like this?

how is the color on these? trying to match them but its hard for some reason lmao

[dark ermine]

i'm a person who doesn't like a lot of saturation personally so I was thinking more like this, but it's really whatever you like

[fast knoll]

background is too saturated

[daring imp]

u mean like too bright? im still learning to edit so im quite ass haha

[fast knoll]

nah like it's too green/yellow

i would maybe mask the background and turn the saturation slider down a bit

[daring imp]

better?

[fast knoll]

yea

it looks a bit warm now

[magic crown]

What a spot

[magic crown]

Nah bro perfect focus

[daring imp]

fixed

[dark ermine]

gas won

[dusty fog]

D7500 > Z8 is crazy work

[magic crown]

i still can't believe i've got this shot

[gilded yarrow]

Hell yeah

[gilded yarrow]

Lol fr

Just like me, went from canon 250d to a7iii

[dark ermine]

still sticking to the sigma 150-600c,for now, waiting for the FTZII delivery to see what i'm working with.

[dusty fog]

its not a horrible performance but i found it meh on Z6ii

but then again Z6ii was shit on it's own

[dark ermine]

Oh really? I thought i heard good things, what's bad about it?

[scarlet tulip]

floh does not like the z6ii

older Nikon Z bodies (except the Z9) had worse tracking autofocus than their competition

treating them like DSLRs was the best way to achieve results

[dark minnow]

which lens is that?

[shut hazel]

50-400 tamron

[dark minnow]

ooh ok

[shut hazel]

ye

very fun lens

[fast knoll]

Nice

[shut hazel]

birb

[spring vault]

borb

[wide flint]

Niiceee, welcome to the club

[astral saffron]

Anyone use a circular polarizer for their wildlife shots? I want to be able to shoot all day long but mid day sun is super harsh

[finite flower]

theres no point

by the time you rotate the polariser to the correct position the wildlife is gone

and you lose light

[magic crown]

alone in his small island

[wide flint]

Just keep it at the most polarizing setting the whole time

[finite flower]

but the subject will have different facings etc

unless you care more about the surroundings

[wide flint]

Yeah I think it's mostly about the surroundings and cutting out the glare you get in the mid day sun

https://youtu.be/p3QhWyeh8i8?si=CP1bXyfoD-x6j5lr

Found this video pretty informative about the possible use cases it has

Personally don't use it but I def think there are circumstances where it's a useful tool

[scarlet tulip]

I end up metering for highlights when it’s super bright out, it does help a bit

[finite flower]

i usually meter for the subject, and slight underexposure if its very bright out

[magic crown]

female wood duck or Mandarin duck ?

[shut hazel]

i think female wood duck

should be

[gilded yarrow]

Get lower

Fir that other pic too

Eye height

[shut hazel]

if i could i wouldve

it was taken from a small dam so i couldnt go any lower

was just walking through and had somewhere to be but ill be back there very soon

maybe theres actually a way down and i missed it

[astral saffron]

Wildlife photography is all about getting dirty

I've had my fair share of getting covered in dirt from sliding down river banks and then getting my shoes caked in mud or covered in grass from laying prone and trying to get closer to wildlife