We get them on the Texas coast in the fall. Interesting ducks. They fly very close to the water and land quickly. I’ve seen them stay underwater for longer than you suggest. Maybe because when they are here it is during hunting season.

I’m going out in the boonies at the lease tomorrow morning with no internet, spotty phone service. I’m going to shoot with no filter and try to duplicate the conditions where I got the streaking. If it disappears...problem solved. Back Monday. I’ll let you know what happens. Thanks for all your suggestions and comments.

Exactly! Us old fogies don’t know how to use this new-fangled technology! And really, I forgot what year it was...must be the COVID quarantine messing with what little is left of my mind. What day is this...and what’s my name?

I took it off last night. then put it back on.

Yes, the UV filter has been on that lens for so long I forgot it was there.

[quote=Wallen]It is the bokeh on the bright strips of grass(branches too). You need a lower f-stop to diffuse it more and not get the stripped effect. Making sure that the background is further away from your subject can also help as well as finding a background that has no highlight.

As an interim solution to your present photos, if you have Photoshop, you can make two layers, blur the bottom background and using the mask tool adjust the top layer so you show the blurred background on areas of your choice.

Like the sample below:[/quote

That would be a great fix unfortunately the rules of the contest I will be once again entering forbid doing so. And without getting a new lens, I can go to no lower fstop at full extension. 100-400 II- at 400mm f5.6 and with 1.4 extender 560mm f8. These are limitations money and the contest have imposed on me.
I have to solve my problem photographically not in processing. I just wanted to find a reason for the streaks in the first place.

Yes, same lens. Tiffen UV filter. I’ll take some tomorrow without. I don’t have as many bird possibilities here but I’ll try.

Here is the kind of background I would rather have.

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Excellent, I will attempt to cover the threads. I am using a rubber lens hood originally from my mamiya rb67. That maybe where the problem lies. I will also check the assorted filters I use. Thanks for the information and the link you included. This may be the answer I was looking for. I will check tomorrow when it’s light.

Thanks for the suggestions. In south Texas, it’s always hot so definitely a possibility. But I can’t always choose the backgrounds. During the summer there are a lot of dried plants and grasses so that is a usual background. I’m practicing for the contest but I can’t always choose where the birds are. Here is another shot of a painted bunting with some streaks. Harder to see in this one but, they are there. 1/3200 sec at f7.1.

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I almost always work with the zoom telephoto but when I have time I’ll try to duplicate the effect with my 24-70 2.8. Obviously I won’t be taking birds but maybe some bugs.

I understand all of your comments but to me, it detracts from the pictures. It draws my eye away from my subject. I’m trying to keep the backgrounds as unobtrusive as possible.

What do you mean by texture? There are leaves and grass. If you download you can see the streaks much more clearly.

I have a problem that I hope some UHHer can help with. These pictures have not been modified from the Raw file except some cropping and conversion to jpg. They look the same as the raw files. I took pictures with a Canon 5D Mk4, 100-400 II, Stabilizer on, Stabilizer Mode 1. The Flycatcher was taken with a 1.4 extender III, 1/2500 sec, f8, iso2500 at 560mm. The quail was taken without the extender 1/250 sec, f5.6, iso 400, 400mm.
There has been no sharpening, denoise or any other modification. In the background of both pictures, there is streaking around some of the light portions of the background. This is a problem I hope I can correct. This is in the background of many other shots, all different f stops, shutter speeds and isos. Any idea what is causing it? The contest I am going to participate in starting in January requires at least an 18MB tif file with no upsizing and allows nothing besides global file modification. No masks, blurring, cloning, etc. I hope to have this streaking taken care of before the contest begins. Any valid suggestions will be appreciated- or any suggestions of tests I can run.

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I have seen chasing activity before but not this aerial attack. Apparently he had been watching the ospreys and decided to try it himself.