Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

I visited the Salt Marsh today and the lighting was dull and overcast. There were several types of birds but a group of Pelicans stole the show diving right in front of the bridge I was standing on. Please look at the small fish the Egrets are chasing on bottom left of 1st photo. I did not notice it when taking this shot.

Egrets chasing fish on bottom right of photo.

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Pelican Diving

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Need help with I.D on this one

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Pelican with Fish

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Wish the shot was in better focus!

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Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Nice action captures!

Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

Thanks Nikonian, I tried to get a shot of a pelican hitting the water but failed miserably. I was either too early or too late in all my shots. I sure was jealous of all the guys shooting 7-10 frames per second!

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

This is quite a nice series. A few pointers if I may. #1 is a compelling photo, but I would crop out the second egret and isolate the front one with the fish trying to escape. Do that and then enter it into this weeks contest whose theme is "Survival"

#3 is a Western Grebe

#5 is a very interesting picture but lacks Depth of Field. The fish in the bill are sharp but the eye of the bird isn't. Some of the exif data has been stripped so I couldn't determine what lens/focal length you were using nor the aperture. Remember, that with long lenses we have less DOF. AS we get closer, as in this photo, DOF gets very shallow. Add to this the use of a full frame sensor which reduces DOF even more and you can see what happens. Given the light, I don't know what Aperture you had available. Perhaps you could have increased the ISO sufficiently to gain a smaller aperture. Also, with long focal lengths, DOF is split 50/50 rather than 1/3 in front and 2/3 behind the focus point.

Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

Thanks birdpix, The lack of focus now makes sense. I shot this at F7.1 with a 400mm lens but was very close for that lens. ISO was 1000. I thought 7.1 would be fine and was trying to keep ,my ISO down. I now understand why I should have have shot with a smaller aperture. I would never have figured that out not knowing the info you just gave me. Thank you again, I am now anxious to try again with the new knowledge you gave me :thumbup: :P

Chasing a meal

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birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

There is an online DOF calculator at DOFmaster.com. It is also available for the iPhone.

That photo doesn't appear to have been cropped so you must have been very close. DOF is a real issue with longer lenses, especially when used at short distances. It becomes a particular problem with long billed birds that are facing directly towards the camera. I have numerous pictures of Egrets and Herons where the eye is in focus but the tip of the bill is not. How much more difficult it is with a Pelican? We are always struggling with our needs against our equipment's capabilities. How high an ISO can I use without excessive noise? How slow can I set the shutter speed and still stop motion or camera blur? Sometimes we just can't do it.

I don't know the high ISO characteristics of the 5D MkII but that is something that you need to evaluate. If you could have gone as high as ISO 3200, you would have been able to shoot at nearly f/16 and gained some DOF. What shutter speed were you at? Could you have reduced the speed a bit to gain DOF? Does the lens have IS? Were you on a tripod? Where exactly did you set the focus point? All of these are questions you need to ask yourself.

Which would you rather have: a noise free image that was mostly out of focus or one that is in focus but with some noise?

infocus Loc: Australia

Great captures in my opinion.

firtree Loc: Florida, USA

I think they are all amazing. Wish I'd have been there.

VHD-Tex Loc: Mc Allen Tx.

Red Dog---Perhaps you have met Ray Spencer who shoots in your area. Takes wonderful pictures. Nice shots from your camera.

Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

Thanks for viewing and nice comment infocus!

Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

Thanks firttree, I wish the last one would have been in focus.I thought F7.1 was ok, but I was too close with my 400mm and the depth of field was not great enough.

Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

Thanks Tex, I do not know Ray Spencer, but may have seen him around! I see some of the same people around and say Hi but do not know their names.

Rathyatra Loc: Southport, United Kingdom

Fabulous set!

Reddog Loc: Southern Calif

Thanks for viewing and taking the time to comment Rathyatra!

Rathyatra Loc: Southport, United Kingdom

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