hello...is this thing on?

nokk · Apr 16, 2021

the sony a1 arrived yesterday while i was at work. i got off late at night, went home, setup the camera, but didn't take any test photos and went to bed. woke up early (10am) today to go shooting at the refuge before work. i get out there and find a bird to shoot, hit the shutter and nothing happens. i check again, the af box turns green but that's all. i hold the button down for a second, nothing. curses are flying quicker than the birds. no blackout on the evf, no shutter noise, nothing.

i climb back in the car and look at the back of the camera, press the shutter button again and this time i see the little red buffer light gives the quickest of flickers. something had written to the card. i hit the play button and find there's already 90ish photos on the card. i realize the stupid electronic shutter was on. more cursing as i switched to the mechanical shutter so i could at least have some feedback. i only had a half hour to drive through and shoot today, but i'll have more time tomorrow.

K9Kirk · Apr 17, 2021

Nice shot. I like clarity on them from so far away, the level of white on all their wings and the subtle background is a plus.

PJM · Apr 17, 2021

I like this shot. To me it almost has a bit of an abstract quality to it. I think the repetition of the tonal range, bright and dark, in each of the birds makes them stand out against the background. Nice eye and nice catch.

I can't quite figure out where you were shooting from. Were you shooting up, down or sideways against that background?

nokk · Apr 17, 2021

K9Kirk said:
Nice shot. I like clarity on them from so far away, the level of white on all their wings and the subtle background is a plus.

thanks k9.

PJM said:
I like this shot. To me it almost has a bit of an abstract quality to it. I think the repetition of the tonal range, bright and dark, in each of the birds makes them stand out against the background. Nice eye and nice catch.

I can't quite figure out where you were shooting from. Were you shooting up, down or sideways against that background?

thanks pjm. i was shooting with the camera parallel to the ground/sideways. the trees are going up and down as expected, they're just too dark to tell much from them. there was water below and a partly cloudy sky so i was getting light from above and fill light from below. the birds were banking so they could come around and land in the low water, which is why we're looking at the top of them.