Some birds for you to view.

[Thunder_o_b]

Comments and critique always welcome.

1. Baby red wing black bird (I think)

2. Great blue heron.

3. A dove.

4. A cardinal.

5. A winter robin.

6. A penguin.

7. Barn goose.

 

[cgipson1]

Love the first shot... all are nice though! I see you aren't just a one trick (macro) pony! That dove is giving you the stink-eye! lol!

I see you shot these at 150mm to 400mm... what lens? I have been looking for something longer than my 70-200 with a 2x TC. Been looking at the Sigma 150-500.. can't justify the long primes!

 

[Thunder_o_b]

Love the first shot... all are nice though! I see you aren't just a one trick (macro) pony! That dove is giving you the stink-eye! lol!

I see you shot these at 150mm to 400mm... what lens? I have been looking for something longer than my 70-200 with a 2x TC. Been looking at the Sigma 150-500.. can't justify the long primes!

Thank you Charlie The dove was pissed because I was distracting the girl dove he was hitting on

Photos 1,2,5, and 7 were shot with the sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro using a 580EXII flash and soft box, except the great blue and the goose were natural light. The others were shot with the Sigma 120-400mm OS zoom. I used a better beamer and the 580EXII flash. except for the cardinal, that was a tripod shot through double pane glass at a bird room, natural light.

I am giving serious though to selling the 120-400mm. Don't get me wrong it is a really good lens, but I am a prime lens user and good just does not work for me, I need the IQ that only comes from a prime. Some how, some way I will have one of the big primes…Someday...

 

[cgipson1]

Love the first shot... all are nice though! I see you aren't just a one trick (macro) pony! That dove is giving you the stink-eye! lol!

I see you shot these at 150mm to 400mm... what lens? I have been looking for something longer than my 70-200 with a 2x TC. Been looking at the Sigma 150-500.. can't justify the long primes!

Photos 1,2,5, and 7 were shot with the sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro using a 580EXII flash and soft box, except the great blue and the goose were natural light. The others were shot with the Sigma 120-400mm OS zoom. I used a better beamer and the 580EXII flash. except for the cardinal, that was a tripod shot through double pane glass at a bird room, natural light.

I am giving serious though to selling the 120-400mm. Don't get me wrong it is a really good lens, but I am a prime lens user and good just does not work for me, I need the IQ that only comes from a prime. Some how, some way I will have one of the big primes…Someday...

Yea.. I know.. those long primes are really sweet! lol! My trouble is anytime I am setup for something really long... something really cool shows up like three feet away! This summer had a bull moose like 10 feet way while shooting landscapes with my 10-24..... drives me nuts! Last week I was shooting some ducks at 30 yards or so with my 70-200 and a Raven lands inside my closest focusing distance, and just looks at me... and boogied when I tried to move, naturally. I did get some shots of the Raven... but nothing spectacular!

 

[Thunder_o_b]

Yea.. I know.. those long primes are really sweet! lol! My trouble is anytime I am setup for something really long... something really cool shows up like three feet away! This summer had a bull moose like 10 feet way while shooting landscapes with my 10-24..... drives me nuts! Last week I was shooting some ducks at 30 yards or so with my 70-200 and a Raven lands inside my closest focusing distance, and just looks at me... and boogied when I tried to move, naturally. I did get some shots of the Raven... but nothing spectacular!

Isn't that the way it always is. I walk around with a full backpack, and don't you know the one thing that I find I need, is the one piece of gear I left at home…..Yesterday I decided that I would only take the macro rig to the butterfly room, and the tropical birds in there were landing right next to me. Too close for the 150mm macro….Friggen birds…...

 

[jriepe]

In my opinion these are all very nice shots. They look sharp and detailed to me. Love the Robin shot.

Jerry

 

[Thunder_o_b]

In my opinion these are all very nice shots. They look sharp and detailed to me. Love the Robin shot.

Jerry

Thank you Jerry

 

[blackrose89]

They all great. Nice focus and composition.

I really like #2 because it's a whole scene, not just an up close photo of a bird, and great expression on #3. #1 has lovely crisp detail.

 

[Thunder_o_b]

They all great. Nice focus and composition.

I really like #2 because it's a whole scene, not just an up close photo of a bird, and great expression on #3. #1 has lovely crisp detail.

Thank you blackrose

 

[Joel_W]

super bird set for sure. Love Pic #2 because it's just not about a close up of a bird.

 

[ishootmuscles]

Nice shots. I like #3. I would like more intense light to make the colors brighter. It's nature after all.

 

[baturn]

Thunder-- are you using your flash and Better Beamer on camera? and if so, how do you avoid / deal with the bird equivalent of red eye?

 

[Thunder_o_b]

super bird set for sure. Love Pic #2 because it's just not about a close up of a bird.

Thank you Joel_W

 

[Thunder_o_b]

Nice shots. I like #3. I would like more intense light to make the colors brighter. It's nature after all.

Thank you ishootmuscles

I'll try to revisit this shot this weekend and reprocess it and see if I can improve it. Thank you for your input.

 

[Thunder_o_b]

Thunder-- are you using your flash and Better Beamer on camera? and if so, how do you avoid / deal with the bird equivalent of red eye?

Yes, the flash is camera mounted. I have never experienced red eye in bird shots, lucky I guess.

Been thinking about this. It might be that the flash shots all are taken at an angle above or below the bird instead of straight on. Shots 1,3,5, and 6 are flash shots.