Hey folks, welcome to another Feathered Friday, hosted by yours truly, @keithboone.
If you love photographing birds as much as I do, I just know you have some great photos to share. To participate in #FeatheredFriday and receive an upvote & resteem, please follow these simple steps:
- Make your own post and use the tag #featheredfriday
- Comment below with a link to your post - This will get you a lot of extra exposure from the other participants. If you don't do this, I may accidentally miss your post.
- Consider using the #birding tag which will also get some more eyes on your post.
Here's some of my own work. All photos were taken by me with a Nikon D750 camera. If you participate in this challenge, please make sure that you post only your own photos. This week I will try to give some commentary and photography tips throughout the post. Let me know if you find any of this helpful - or if you think I should just shut up and show you the pictures!
A pair of Canadian Geese on a pond. 1/1600s f/6.0 ISO1000 420mm
I photographed this pair of Canadian Geese in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, BC. One of the best tips for shooting birds on a pond is to get down low. Lower than this would have been even better. The point is to get down to eye level which helps to establish a connection with the subject. Try it with kids or dogs. Get down on the floor at their level and see how much it improves your photos.
Great Blue Heron. 1/2000s f/6.3 ISO640 550mm
Catching birds in flight is my favourite type of photography. Keep the shutter speed high if you want to freeze the action. Slower speeds can also work if you enjoy a little blur in the wingtips. This shot was taken at 1/2000 second which will generally result in sharp photos. The above photo as captured at the Esquimalt Lagoon Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Victoria, BC.
A pair of American Wigeons. 1/1600s f/4.8 ISO2000 135mm
Here's another shot from Beacon Hill Park which is an awesome location for bird photography. This photo was taken at 1/1600th second which might be a little slow for Ducks, which generally flap their wings very quickly. I will usually shoot a little faster than this. Notice the slight blur on the wingtips. Of course, you could also choose to accentuate the blur for artistic reasons if you like by shooting at a slower shutter speed. Experiment and see what you like!
Bald Eagle. 1/1600s f/6.0 ISO1400 380mm
This Bald Eagle was captured in Tofino, British Columbia. I've been talking a lot about camera settings and I can imagine many of you are thinking this is complicated stuff. I know most people shoot in a semi-automatic or fully automatic mode and that's fine. Cell phone cameras are fine, whatever camera you have with you is the best camera there is! When you're ready to take it to the next level, however, I really recommend learning to shoot in manual mode. I've been shooting for years now but it's only over the past few months that I switched to full manual for all my photography. Again, let me know if you're interested in this stuff - I'm considering doing a series of posts on the subject if there is any interest.
Robin. 1/200s f/8.0 ISO125 300mm
A Robin in a Gary Oak tree on top of Mt. Tolmie, in Victoria. I liked the soft colours of the background sky and the lichens on the tree. Robins are supposed to be a sign of spring but the light in this shot just feels like winter to me. I checked the date and sure enough... January 25th, 2016.
Canada Goose. 1/1600s f/5.6 ISO100 300mm
Here's a Canada Goose in flight, captured at the bird sanctuary in Esquimalt. I often have trouble aiming and staying on-target long enough for the camera to lock focus. There's not much you can do about this except practice. I throw away at least 95% of all bird photos, but when I get a good one, it feels like it was worth the trouble! Oh, here's another tip... Crop your photos! No matter how long a lens I have, I always wish I was closer. I guarantee that every bird photo I've ever posted has been cropped to make the image bigger.
Killdeer. 1/1000s f/6.3 ISO400 600mm
Here's the last shot for this week. Thank goodness, I was running out of things to say! This Killdeer was exhibiting paratrepsis, also known as a diversionary display or anti-predator display. The basic idea is this: the bird makes a lot of noise and may even pretend to be injured in order to draw your attention away from the nest. Killdeer are the champions of this behaviour. These birds are well camouflaged and blend right into their environment... except for when they climb up on a rock and jump around and squawk like crazy! I got down as low as possible to capture this bird in silhouette against the water. Notice the eye, which is placed on a thirds-point intersection in the composition. The nest was about forty feet away to the right. Want to hear more about stuff like this? Let me know in the comments, thank you!
All great shots. Just wanted to let you know @dswigle and myself picked you as our first Steemer of the Week and shouted you out in my latest post!
https://steemit.com/dtube/@old-guy-photos/9s0x1dh3
That's crazy, Paul... I've never been anything of the week! Wow, I'm totally blown away by this! Thank you and thanks to Denise! You guys are the best!
Well, I am making do, @keithboone (Hiding my head in shame.) My birds are from my Bangkok balcony with a crap camera and not even processed, but I had fun taking them anyway. I will take photos like you do in some alternative reality.
https://steemit.com/esteem/@fitinfun/feathered-friday-goes-birding-off-the-balcony-in-bangkok-thailand
As always, your birds are stunning this week. The American Wigeons in particular are a great catch. They look like they are ready to attack you!
Thank you so much for this challenge. I already have my photos for next week and I will say they will be a bit of an improvement. I have a heron from California coming up, but you might have to squint.
Thanks very much, Sharon, I am excited to go check out your city birds, I'll be there in a moment. Happy that you like my photos... the shot of the wigeons shows the power of cropping - they were not as close as they look. Thank you for posting and for all your support! Have a great weekend!
I will have a great weekend, and you too. I'm glad you kept your distance I think they had their eyes on you.
So here's another tip... I believe someone was feeding the birds and I got in front of them to catch them flying in... Sometimes dozens and dozens of birds will fly in and then the trick is to try and isolate just one to focus on... it's tricky and I miss most of those attempts.
Thank you! I have some natural areas now near where I am in Kuala Lumpur and I will go try. I need to get a better photo stock for sure.
Oh, Happy #FeatheredFriday!!! I didn't get any this week, but, my efforts will be doubled! As a token, I will leave you with this.
The minimum tip amount is 0.1 SBD - check if you have sufficient deposit :)
@cardboard I do now!!! Should I resend?
Yes :)
Thank you! :)
OMG, that's the funniest thing yet! Thank you for sharing your potentially feathered friends, Denise! :-)
It was the closest I could come today! :)
Now we know the egg came first. I always thought so :-)
What a delight to spend my Saturday morning going through this post, using equipment to obtain a better shot. Cropping photo's I have tried something to remember to do more often, thanks @keithboone
Bringing link over as requested: https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@joanstewart/feathered-friends
Thank you! It's a good idea to do it this way as more people will find your post :-) If you really want people to visit, notice how some people include the best photo from their post in the comment they leave here. I think that will get them extra visitors to their post, perhaps more followers etc.
Just love everyone of those photos with your tips it will help me more and i hope to be capturing photos like that also i haven't had the change lately to be going out and find more birds to practice my bird photography it's been a while and living in Thailand Bangkok city sadly you only see the most common birds flying around like pigeons and seagulls i might have to do another African Safari Tour :)
Well here is my link.....
Feathered Friday hosted by @keithboone !!
I'm excited to see what you've got. Thank you for posting in Feathered Friday - I'm on the way to your post now!
Cool :)
Thank you @pixresteemer!
Very nice! Thank you for sharing! Have a great weekend :-)
Gorgeous photos!
This is my entry:
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@eto-ka/feathered-friday-blue-crane-zhuravl-stenli
It's such a beautiful bird! Thank you for posting in Feathered Friday
Friday already, another week over! Anyway here is my entry
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@stevejhuggett/feathered-friday-at-the-owl-garden-by-steve-j-huggett
Time flies, doesn't it? ;-) Thanks for being here again this week. I'm excited to go see your post...I'll meet you over there!
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Thanks a lot @esteemapp!
This is my entry.
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@goat-girlz/first-attempt
Ok, I'll go check it out! :-)
Wow, great flying photos! I find them very hard to do with my current camera... gotta love those Reflex cameras :) Will join the feathered craze in a bit! ;)
Nice, I'm looking forward to it!
I like the birds in flight, usually mine are by accident, so difficult capturing them.
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@karbon/white-throat-sparrow
On my way to see!
Great photos Keith. I appreciate the comments as well.
Thank you, happy to hear that!
Great photos. Funny about always wanting to be closer. We were taking lots of smart phone shots. So we bought a digital body to start using our old lens. Now we have a 300mm that we always wish was longer lol
Exactly... and I have a 600 but I still crop my photos. I find I can crop quite a bit when the photo is for display on the web, but it's a different story if it is intended for print.
https://steemit.com/birds/@steven-patrick/feathered-friday-mourning-dove
That is such a pretty bird! Awesome addition to Feathered Friday! Have a great weekend :-)
I got a few here
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@rossfletcher/feathered-friends-on-featheredfriday
Thank you, Ross, I'm on my way to your post now :-)
Wonderful shots Keith. U&R.
My entry:
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@redheadpei/feathered-friday-16478ad9a46dc
Great to see you here in Feathered Friday, I'm going to see your post now... meet you over there! :-)
All of your photos are amazing, as always! And thanks for all the tips!
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@melinda010100/feathered-friday-77d62cd75eb98
Thank you so much, Melinda! That's a fabulous shot of the chicks in the nest! Can't wait to see the rest of your post :-)
Fantastic photos and very helpful hints. Sadly I still rely on my phone camera but one day when I will have better camera I will definitely come back to your post to refresh my memory.
Here is the link to my post
https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@nelinoeva/feathered-friday-shy-swan-9d935e6684301
Cell phone photos are more than welcome in Feathered Friday, and I encourage you to keep shooting more! There is a guy I always see in the park who likes to show me his photos. He sees me walking around with my big camera, and then he shows me stuff on his phone that blows my mind... then he asks to see what I have and I'm embarrassed to show him! It's not about the camera, it's all about the eye of the photographer! Thanks very much for posting!
I absolutely agree that what makes the photo great is the photographer, not the gear. And also what matters is practice and more practice.
Thank you very much!
You got a 3.62% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @keithboone!
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Love it! Here's mine for today...
That's a beautiful photo, thanks for posting in Feathered Friday! Keep those photos coming! :-)
Awesome photos! Here is my entry: https://steemit.com/featheredfriday/@missladybug/feathered-friday-swans
My photos are not as sharp as yours, and definitely not professionally looking, but it's something, right?
Thank you, that's more than "something", your swans are lovely!
Wow, you have some beautiful shots here!
I wish I were a great photographer, but I just muddle away.... I have taken a couple of on-line courses, but for some reason I cannot find the patience to practice what I am learning... one day!
In the meantime, if I had to choose just one of your images to love, I would fail the test, they are all stunning!
I have no post today but wanted to comment on your great photos 😊
That's very nice of you to say, thank you! I'm happy you liked the photos :-)
I am resending your !tip I just had to run to the bank and put in some money!
Haha, that's funny! Run to the bank! Thank you :-)
🎁 Hi @keithboone! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
Check out @dswigle blog here and follow if you like the content :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful selection of quality bird photos @keithboone All very different but all fabulous. I really love those American wigeons flying straight towards your camera. You must have been tempted to duck......but not really when I think about it. What's a peck or a splatter of organic bird material landing on the forehead compared to securing this magnificent shot.
Here is my entry for #featheredfriday
https://steemit.com/esteem/@trudeehunter/welcome-swallows
Thanks very much, Trudee! Glad you like the photos... the wigeons are one of my favourite shots, I think you can get a sense of how fast they were moving. Enough about that, let's go see your post!
I can see why the wigeons would be one of your favourite shots Keith. A very rare capture indeed, and I imagine it would sell well if given enough exposure.
Howdy sir Keith! I'm back. sorta. And these are gorgeous shots! Love the information about the Killdeer bird.
Thanks a lot, my friend. I remember seeing one on a golf course flopping around in circles pretending to have a broken wing. It's really an amazing thing and pretty brave when you think about it. All this to protect their young!
That is remarkable sir Keith! You'd think an eagle or something could see that and come swooping down! I like those birds.
Well, they might... in which case they'd get the Mom or Dad but miss the nest. I think that was the male on the rock. Here's Mom and one of the chicks.
These birds don't build nests like most birds, they just find a little hole in the ground and blend right in.
oh man, that's such a wonderful picture too. And a beautiful sight.
Congratulations @keithboone!
Your post was mentioned in the Steem Hit Parade in the following category:
Thanks very much @arcange that's so cool :-)