Wildlife

[JamesD]

After a lot of dwelling on "who I am as a photographer," I've decided that I want to do wildlife photography as one area of focus. It kind of fits in with my theme of "take the picture of things as they exist," rather than setting up staged shots. So, I figured I might as well start....

This is one of my first wildlife shots: geese at the bird reserve, shortly after they arrived in Alaska. Since this is from my first set of shots, there's gotta be a lot to improve on; what do y'all think? What can I do better? And what, if anything, went well?

Details: Canon Rebel GII, 200 mm, wide aperture, short shutter, Program Mode, Kodak Elite Chrome 100 scanned and desaturated in Gimp. Dreary day around sunset. I desaturated because the image had little color saturation to begin with, and I personally like BW.

 

[Paparazzi Paul]

I would like it if you could have gotten one of those birds to stand out a lot closer up and in really sharp focus. I wonder if you could go back for another try, as it looks to me like a great location for wildlife photography.

Cheers PP

 

[Fadi]

Another tip, and I'm as guilty of it as anyone else, hold the camera level.

 

[JamesD]

I would like it if you could have gotten one of those birds to stand out a lot closer up and in really sharp focus. I wonder if you could go back for another try, as it looks to me like a great location for wildlife photography.

Cheers PP

I would have liked to get a lot closer, but there is unfortunately a fence around the field. I do plan to go back, however, and if I sit really still for a long time, they might come up closer. I'd actually really like to take the picture from a lower perspective.... I'll have to see whether there's a more suitable location somewhere around the perimeter.

Thanks for the comment!
-James

 

[JamesD]

Another tip, and I'm as guilty of it as anyone else, hold the camera level.

Yeah... I know. That's one of my big problems, getting it level. Most of my photos seem to lean a bit to the left... I think it's because of the way I squeeze my face up to the camera to peer through the viewfinder. I'll work on that!

Thanks!
-James

 

[deb]

Can you tweak the contrast a little? The image looks a little fuzzy (could be the scan) and increasing the contrast may give it a little more punch.

 

[Shan]

sometimes It is very rare to think about some problem:who I am as a photographer!!
good thinking~James!
BTW:those canadian goose seems not very clear,but good try!!
you may need some more long burnt lens~~~Trivet is necessary of course!

 

[BadRotation]

dont be scared of the geese. If you move in a non threatening mannor, you can get really close to them.

I have been only a foot ar so away from a few of them, and they didnt even mind me being that close to them.

Like said, get closer, and capture the detail.

Keep at it and you will come up with some great shots, wildlife photography isnt nearly as hard as people make it out to be.

Sorry to steal the thread, but here are a couple of my crappy shots to compare to. I was only a few feet from the first one, as well as the second pic.

Like I said, move in a non threatening mannor and they wont even care you are near them. Sometimes during mating season they get groggy, but the other day I was about 5 feet from a mother and a bunch of goslings.

 

[JamesD]

Thank you, all, for your comments!

With regard to getting closer to the geese: I'm afraid I'd have to let them get closer to me. We're not allowed to cross the fence. I forgot to note that this particular reserve is in the middle of town, next to one of the main thoroughfares.

I tried tweaking the contrast, but I'm afraid that it didn't help much. The image is just a bit fuzzy. I used a tripod, but low lighting, slow film, long focal length, cheapish optics, and mediocre scanner are all working against a good image here. I might get back out there this weekend during the day, if the geese are still there, using negative film. The slide film was an experiment, since I've never used it before. Prints usually scan pretty well for me, but not always quite like I like them.

BadR: I love the second image, with both geese in the vertical orientation! That's a great shot! :thumbup:

I'm planning to go hiking this weekend, too, so I should be able to get some more critters on film. They're everywhere this time of year.

Thanks again!
-James