Raymond, Airic and Chiller have nothing to fear...

Antarctican · Mar 15, 2006

I'm sure all will agree that Raymond, Airic and Chiller take awesome shots of birds. My first instinct, on seeing their posts, was to chuck my camera and move to a convent in Lichtenstein. But then I thought "what the heck, can't beat 'em, so might as well join 'em" by posting some pics. I'm not in their league, by any means, but these shots are of some exotic birds I saw on my recent trip to Africa. [The birds were fairly far away, so these pics are zoomed and cropped. Hence the bit of fuzziness. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it]

1. Secretary Bird - a big bird with freakishly long legs, the bottom half of which are hidden in the grass in this shot.

2. Lilac Breasted Roller

3. Honey Eater

4. And as an alternative to the elusive Crow-on-a-tombstone, a Vulture

thanks for lookin'

JTHphoto · Mar 15, 2006

great captures, i love their (ray, airic, chiller) photos too, but i am willing to bet they don't have many shots of these birds!!! (forgive me if i'm wrong guys

)

awesome captures... they have some interesting critters over there! :thumbup: #2 and #3 are just beautiful... i love their names too. that "honey eater" is sleek, i bet that thing can break the sound barrier... :lol:

aprilraven · Mar 15, 2006

WWWWOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!
do not ever think your not up there with raymond, airic and chiller...your shots are just great...

i knew it was a secretary bird...i could see her coffee mug in the corner..

i love these...the honey eater looks so cool....looks like its kin to a hummer or something...

great shots....!! keep them coming, friend... your awesome...!!

digital flower · Mar 18, 2006

Great shots. I like seeing some different species.

LaFoto · Mar 18, 2006

These admittedly quite exotic birds still put you into a league higher than the one I am in ... I am in the birds-keep-flying-away-from-me league, you know! So there!

And I must say: these are quite a sight in so far as we don't get to see bird pics of THESE birds so often here! Very nice. I particularly like the Lilac Breasted Roller and his photo!

And the vulture is a perfect substitute for the oh-so-elusive crow-on-a-tombstone!

Arch · Mar 18, 2006

You've done good here Antarctican, That first bird looks like he's wearing a pair of trousers! good catch with the vulture too, they're awsome, good shootin' :thumbup:

AIRIC · Mar 18, 2006

A very exotic bunch of birds. You did well and I sure hope one day I can visit and shoot these birds.

Eric

ShelleySnapz · Mar 18, 2006

Not bad...not bad! LOL j/k you did a great job! I like the honey eater best...

Chiller · Mar 19, 2006

Great shots Jeanne. I have never seen any of these birds on here before. You did an excellent job capturing these, and what an awesome experience it must have been to see these in their real environment.
Right on.:thumbup: :thumbup:

M @ k o · Mar 19, 2006

That #1 bird, I seen it on Discoery Channel. It stomps on it's prey and I believe it was a cobra, unreal power in the legs. Amazing looking birds you capture. Thx for sharing them.

Raymond J Barlow · Mar 19, 2006

I think you did awesome, great shooting.. cool birds.. my dream is a trip to Africa one day..

I don't think there are levels, leagues, etc in here, or anywhere else in photography., we all go out and do our best... post them, and hope folks like them enough to view and/or comment. I never think of anything related to competition .. I just do what I love to do, and try hard to improve.. the best way to improve is to post in forums, and hope for suggestions that help.

To me, Bird photography is extremely challenging, fun, and rewarding .. but worrying about other photogs being better then me is the last thing I have in mind., I know there are 10's of thousands of great bird photogs out there who make my stuff look like junk. It's not about being better then anyone., it's all about doing your best, and having fun.. and the rush when you have a shot that YOU are happy with..

I am lucky to have friends like Airic, Canoncan and Chiller, who help me learn and share ideas., and this is why TPF is great

Antarctican · Mar 21, 2006

Thanks everyone for your comments. And don't worry, Raymond, I don't look at it as a competition, I just take pics for fun. I do, however, aspire to someday get the rocking shots that you, Chiller, Airic and Canoncan get. I'm lucky to live within easy driving distance of all of you, so LET'S GET A MEET GOING.