My personal mission this year has been to achieve acceptable shots the Belted Kingfisher. They are fast and shy; and they don't stay anywhere very long. These are my results so far. Yet to capture: I want to get the moments when one hits the water and impales a fish. Wish me luck.
I have tried and failed, for a while, to photograph Tree Swallows as they chase bugs around a field. They are fast, and the make u-turns at impossible speeds. It became a challenge - an old-age obsession. So, recently, I went to a park where they have returned for the Spring; I sat in the grass where I could easily spin around, yet maintain a solid grip on the camera and telephoto lens. These were shot at f/8, 1/1600, and ISO3200-5000 on a cloudy day. I used Adobe Lightroom to develop the RAW.
I think I want to use a CPL filter with my 150-600mm telephoto lens. I do mostly bird/animal photography in many environments. I think it will help take the glare away from white feathers, or snow, or water, etc., and give me better definition where contrast is very high under bright sun.
Do these filters introduce optical problems at high focal lengths? - distortion, focus problems??
For those of you with experience in this area, can you offer some do's and don'ts in this area?
I always shoot RAW, and I always develop using Lightroom.
Thank you.
Volant Strips, PA 2/21/2022 - just at sunset
The male Northern Harrier, or “gray ghost” is specially designed for silent hunting: Its long, broad wings allow it to cruise low, with minimal flapping, and it moves slowly for a hawk. Northern Harriers hunt using their ears as well as their eyes, and to help them they’ve evolved a special circular arrangement of stiff feathers on their face that collects the sounds of rustling creatures and focuses them on the bird’s ears.
Only adult males are “gray ghosts” with gray feathers on the back and pure white below, with black on the tips and trailing edge of the wings. (text taken from an Audubon article)
Just some odds and ends from the rural parts of western Pennsylvania.
CC welcome.
Cooper's Hawk expelling pellet.
Cooper's Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Sandhill Cranes
Bald Eagle (4 yrs old)
Belted Kingfisher
Bald Eagle (1st year)
Merlin
Just a few shots from the marshes around the area.
CC welcome.
Here's a quick try, but a high-resolution scan would help.
Lightroom and Topaz Denoise helps me a lot in that kind of shot.
Red Bellied Woodpeckers have returned to my back yard.
Close-up with tongue extended
Composite of 2 photos showing male and female
I love the color contrast of Cardinals after a new snow fall.
Taken at Big Rock Park; New Brighton, PA
whitehall wrote:
I recently acquired my EOS R5 and am in the process of testing its limits. Normally, I shoot landscape or street and so far I am impressed. However, attempting to shoot some portraits in studio with a strobe, I ran into problems framing the image. Even with the modelling light on the viewfinder/screen remains dark. The camera will focus, AND BRIEFLY ILLUMINATE, but all adjustment of the sitter had to be done with a dark screen. I had the camera at 100 ISO, F8, 1/200. I appreciate I could turn up the ISO to say 3000, frame and the turn the camera back to 100 ISO but I wonder whether there is a simpler solution. I looked but have not been able to find an answer in the manual, but I might have missed it.
I recently acquired my EOS R5 and am in the proces... (
show quote)
I have the EOS R, and I am guessing the controls are similar.
Turn off exposure simulation when using flash. That should give you an ambient light view.