Stilts to Analyze: Here are the stilts that I shot a couple of hours ago. I still had to crop quite a bit more than I wanted. I think the noise level is better with the lower ISO (kept...

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Here are the stilts that I shot a couple of hours ago. I still had to crop quite a bit more than I wanted. I think the noise level is better with the lower ISO (kept at 100-200) than what I used for the Wetlands post from the other day.

Please feel free to offer suggestions.

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For Variety

Singing Swan

I see improvement. I envy you all these birds. Are you very far away or can you get closer to them?? I especially like the third shot...very nice.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Singing Swan wrote:

I see improvement. I envy you all these birds. Are you very far away or can you get closer to them?? I especially like the third shot...very nice.

I would love to get closer but that would require investing in a longer lens or a pair of waders. The water can't be too deep since it's hitting the birds about 3 inches up their legs, but there might be a lot of silt under the water. The barbed wire fence I was shooting over is also a deterrent. I vote for the lens.

Thanks so much for looking and commenting. I'm glad you see an improvement and my efforts haven't been completely in vain.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

vicksart wrote:

Here are the stilts that I shot a couple of hours ago. I still had to crop quite a bit more than I wanted. I think the noise level is better with the lower ISO (kept at 100-200) than what I used for the Wetlands post from the other day.

Please feel free to offer suggestions.

A definite improvement, Vicky! Partly because of the lower ISO but also due to the closer birds and less need to crop. You probably could shoot at ISO 400 if you could get close enough. What about the use of a teleconverter? Are you using a tripod? Just some thoughts. Keep up the hard work!

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

birdpix wrote:

A definite improvement, Vicky! Partly because of the lower ISO but also due to the closer birds and less need to crop. You probably could shoot at ISO 400 if you could get close enough. What about the use of a teleconverter? Are you using a tripod? Just some thoughts. Keep up the hard work!

As a matter of fact, I was going to ask you what you think of teleconverters. I've heard the results may not be worth the investment. What is your experience with these? I was thinking of getting one for my Canon 60D and its 18-200 kit lens. Maybe I'd be happier with the extra reach on the Pentax 300 lens. It would certainly be a lot more affordable than buying another big lens.

For these shots I used a fence post to stabilize the camera. A tripod might have been slightly steadier.

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

snails_pace Loc: Utah

I especially like #4. I've only seen one stilt here so it must be fun to have a location to find so many.

These are really nice too considering that at ISO 200 you must have had a really slow shutter speed.

Do you do much post-processing? If so, ISO could be increased considerably. Then the pic could be sharpened a bit in Topaz Detail 3 and the noise would clean up nicely with Topaz Denoise.

A nice set of photos.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

snails_pace wrote:

I especially like #4. I've only seen one stilt here so it must be fun to have a location to find so many.

These are really nice too considering that at ISO 200 you must have had a really slow shutter speed.

Do you do much post-processing? If so, ISO could be increased considerably. Then the pic could be sharpened a bit in Topaz Detail 3 and the noise would clean up nicely with Topaz Denoise.

A nice set of photos.

I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. Shutter speeds varied between 1/250 and 1/2000 with the aperture priority mode (mostly f 5.6).

My post processing is done with Dell Paint Shop Pro. I use it to for very basic improvements. One of these days, I'll learn to use photoshop and look at Topaz as well. It's a matter of finding the time to sit down and play.

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

Very good set!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I want to address composition rather than technical aspects. For me #2 is super-duper! Nicely blurred background of texture/tone that adds interesting without detracting from subject; perfect placement of the bird to give a sense of its size and alone-ness, with the reflection and posture a pleasing ++

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

rlaugh wrote:

Very good set!

Thanks for taking a look and commenting rlaugh. I always appreciate hearing from you.

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Linda From Maine wrote:

I want to address composition rather than technical aspects. For me #2 is super-duper! Nicely blurred background of texture/tone that adds interesting without detracting from subject; perfect placement of the bird to give a sense of its size and alone-ness, with the reflection and posture a pleasing ++

Thanks for a very thoughtful analysis Linda. I appreciate the time you took to look and comment.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Love all the reflections, well done! :thumbup:

vicksart Loc: Novato, CA -earthquake country

Bmac wrote:

Love all the reflections, well done! :thumbup:

Thank you Bmac. I appreciate it.