ejrmaine Loc: South Carolina

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Pentony Loc: Earth Traveller

"On a more practical level, you could do something to encourage the birds to sit in brighter parts of the garden. The more light they are getting, the easier it will be to get acceptable settings."

Feed them by setting up a bird feeder in a brighter area, not necessarily directly sun lit.

bdo Loc: Colorado

I often do the same thing, sitting on our back deck. We have a bird bath and a feeder. I have used a 300mm f2/8 lens on a Wimberley Sidekick, with the tripod set so the viewfinder is at eye level while I am seated.

I use spot metering and single-spot AF. I miss a few that way, but the birds will often stay at the bird bath for a long time, long enough to get good focus.

I use aperture-preferred, although I think I will try shutter-speed preferred this summer, just to keep the shutter speed above a certain minimum (maybe 1/1000 sec). I use a D7000 , and will go to ISO 800 without worrying about noise.

I think the tripod helps a great deal. At my age, I know my hands are shaky, so I rarely even try hand-held.

I have also tried capturing bids in nearby trees, power lines and roof tops, with much less success. The bird bath is a great asset, and the feeder is also good.

This spring, we have a raven that has taken over the bird bath, and very few other birds seem willing to share. I'm working on a setup to photograph the raven, but he (she?) is extremely wary, so it will be a challenge.

Keep trying. I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out my backyard photography.

digicamking Loc: Raleigh, NC

Try center focus and center weighted metering. Up your ISO for higher shutter speed and experiment with all settings but the three things mentiioned should improve things considerably. Hope this helps

Redshift Loc: Bethel Maine

Do you have a manual focus option on your camera and a depth of field preview option? Pre-focus the general area of interest. Check your depth of field. Manually focus until far and near are acceptably sharp. It doesn't look like exposure was a big problem but it may be a limiting factor on the f-stop available. Set your focus and don't let the camera change it.

digicamking Loc: Raleigh, NC

I do have a manual; focus and a depth of field preview. however, I have never used the preview option as it is too hard to see. I just know from years of experience if you are photographing something like that you need to use a small aperature, e.g., f8, f11, or f 16. The closer you are to the subject and the more depth of field you want will determine which of the 3 to use. I use manual focus most of the time, however, if I am photographing birds, movement, etc. I will use a higher ISO and put the camera on aperature preferred. Canon it is AV. Hope this hellps.

rmpinkard

Thanks for your input; you given me some good ideas. I have a good tripod but have never used it. Good place to start!

bdo Loc: Colorado

You're welcome. And please keep posting your photos as you go along.

rmpinkard

Will do. I'll be out tomorrow with my tripod and a lot more knowledge thanks to all of you guys/gals

seagent Loc: Colorado

I agree with the above recommendation...You may also use a Tripod and keep your F stop..You may be able to shoot at 100 ASA. I try not to go beyond 200 if I want to keep the rich colors. A tripod is necessary any time one takes
a close focus photo or are using a telephoto lens. I hope this helps and let us know how you do.. :)

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Depth of field is too shallow. Try f/11 or higher. That may require ISO 400 or ISO 800 too.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

So, basically you need to
a) use faster shutter speed. Up to 1/500th sec. depending on bird activity.
b) use higher aperture. Try f/8 to f/11
c) as a result of a and b you will probably need to up your iso.

Oh yea, you should be shooting manual exposure so you can factor out the backlighting and still have proper exposure on subject which will probably be in shadow (from your posted picture).

HTH

Redshift Loc: Bethel Maine

I was responding to the original question, not questioning your thoughts.

Pottsee Loc: MidWest, now Southern California

The first thing that comes to my mind would be to use a flash.

rmpinkard

Thanks for the input. Using a tripod is good advise. I'm going to hook it up this morning and give it a try.