First ever attempt at bird pics

[suryad]

Please be gentle! Some of the shots of you all are amazing and it is really hard for a noob like me to even post his pics!

I dont know what I could do to make the duckies not look so bright....

 

[Peanuts]

Second one is excellent! you must be very proud of it Only suggestion for the second is to crop out the blown out top 1/3 of the picture and perhaps some of the right side to put it off-centre a little bit.
As for the first picture, you might want to try underexposing for similar situation

 

[suryad]

Thank you for the advice. I am just getting the hang of using my 20d. The possibilities are endless it seems. As for the blown out top....you mean where it is very bright correct?

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

yes, that bright area could be cropped out, as it is a distraction.. nice shot though.. for good bird shooting you need at least a 200mm lens, my new one is 80-400, and I am saving for a 600prime, or maybe a 800 now!

also,.try not to shoot down on birds, I always try to get at their eye level.. good luck!

 

[suryad]

Thanks for the tip Raymond. I have a 17-85 mm and that is what I used to take the pic....thats all I could afford as a student!

 

[Polygon]

Second one is amazing, good work!

Look out for cheap zoom lenses. For Nikon you can get the 70-300 mm for a student-compatible price, dunno about Canon. They might not be perfect, but still deliver very usable results.

 

[suryad]

Thanks Polygon...I had to get really close to the bird to get that shot. I didnt even think that it would turn out like that. In fact it turned its head cause I made a bit of noise by accident and it all just worked out for me. I have a 20d and a 17-85 lens and they were not second hand...if that is what you were implying.

 

[Polygon]

I wasn't implying anything and I wanna excuse myself if it seemed like that. I was having the impression that money was an issue from your previous posting and the prices for super long lenses easily reach thousand and more $.
Being a student myself I sure know I couldn't afford them ;-)

 

[suryad]

No no no Polygon haha you misunderstood. I should have worded it better. I thought you meant that there are lenses which if you are a student they are cheaper or something. Please dont take it the wrong way.

 

[Polygon]

No no no Polygon haha you misunderstood. I should have worded it better. I thought you meant that there are lenses which if you are a student they are cheaper or something. Please dont take it the wrong way.

Ok, then all misunderstandings are cleared.

But I really like the idea, someone should ask Canon/Nikon to give student rebates on their lenses. Like a moderate 50% or so ;-).

 

[Holly]

agree love the second, but would love to see it cropped.. Great job!

 

[suryad]

Polygon...agreed! But doubt it will ever happen haha.

Thanks Holly I will crop the image in a bit and repost the results.

 

[Chiller]

Very good first attempt. The second is amazing. I agree with everyone else, about the cropping. You would have yourself a stunning shot.

 

[suryad]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Here is the shot cropped for your viewing pleasure.

 

[JonK]

Hey suryad ...I came to look and my first impression was to crop the second shot and you'd have a beaut.
I just think you haven't cropped enough.
Bring in the right side to just before the first visible post and you're there IMO. :thumbup:
good work - the pink, grey, blue and green are nice together and the bird is really sharp and well exposed.