Share Your Best Photo of the Day

[Aaron]

This area the chickadees will land on you even if you don’t have food. Still very quick though!

[RobinHood]

The lake was perfectly flat so nice detailed reflection of the head of the Gadwall.

[Johnd]

 

[Kevin]

They didn't obey the sign.

[bearcat6]

[Seanbirds]

4 hours ago, RobinHood said:

The lake was perfectly flat so nice detailed reflection of the head of the Gadwall.

Ooooh... nice!

[AlexHenry]

Not the greatest photo due to overcast conditions but Prairie Falcons are pretty tough to photograph in my experience...

Edited January 6, 2021 by AlexHenry

[Connor Cochrane]

I haven't had any good photos in the past few days due to bad weather, but I'll put up a few from a week ago over the next couple days.

 

[Seanbirds]

4 minutes ago, AlexHenry said:

Not the greatest photo due to overcast conditions but Prairie Falcons are pretty tough to photograph in my experience...

Cool!

[neilpa]

Best I could muster on a gray day

[IKLland]

BCNH

taken today, orange county, Ca

[Jefferson Shank]

 

Don't take me wrong! @IKLland I just used this picture as an example.

To all to whom this may apply (including me)...  For example, this is a good shot! But the framing detracts from the quality of the picture. A common pitfall among beginner photographers is to always put the bird in the exact center of the image. It’s an understandable impulse, but one that results in all of the photos looking the same. Instead, experiment with the rule of thirds and place the bird along an invisible line a third of the way from the edge of the image.

Here are a few articles that explain further; https://www.audubon.org/news/how-compose-perfect-bird-photo https://www.photographytalk.com/beginner-photography-tips/composition-tips-for-beginner-bird-photographers

And yet be creative! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOt2w5Wnk94

I am also a beginner photographer and I struggle with getting the bird framed right. Marie Read's book on Mastering Bird Photography is a book I would highly recommend for bird photographers and is where I learned a lot.

[IKLland]

1 hour ago, Jefferson Shank said:

Don't take me wrong! @IKLland I just used this picture as an example.

To all to whom this may apply (including me)...  For example, this is a good shot! But the framing detracts from the quality of the picture. A common pitfall among beginner photographers is to always put the bird in the exact center of the image. It’s an understandable impulse, but one that results in all of the photos looking the same. Instead, experiment with the rule of thirds and place the bird along an invisible line a third of the way from the edge of the image.

Here are a few articles that explain further; https://www.audubon.org/news/how-compose-perfect-bird-photo https://www.photographytalk.com/beginner-photography-tips/composition-tips-for-beginner-bird-photographers

And yet be creative! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOt2w5Wnk94

I am also a beginner photographer and I struggle with getting the bird framed right. Marie Read's book on Mastering Bird Photography is a book I would highly recommend for bird photographers and is where I learned a lot.

i have not clicked the links yet, i will. basically you want the bird in the center? i think mine is in the center...

[IKLland]

@Jefferson Shanki read the audobon one and it seems you don't want it in the middle? i am confused?

[Jefferson Shank]

 

A common pitfall among beginner photographers is to always put the bird in the exact center of the image. It’s an understandable impulse, but one that results in all of the photos looking the same. Instead, experiment with the rule of thirds and place the bird along an invisible line a third of the way from the edge of the image.

 

basically you want the bird in the center? i think mine is in the center...

That's not what I am trying to say. Sorry, maybe I did not explain clear enough.

[IKLland]

1 hour ago, Jefferson Shank said:

That's not what I am trying to say. Sorry, maybe I did not explain clear enough.

then what did you mean? Sorry to bother you.

[Jefferson Shank]

 

 it seems you don't want it in the middle?

Exactly! It's a common pitfall for beginners, including me, to center the bird and crop the photo in too close. Like I said don't take this the wrong way.

Edited January 7, 2021 by Jefferson Shank

[IKLland]

1 hour ago, Jefferson Shank said:

Exactly! It's a common pitfall for beginners, including me, to center the bird and crop the photo in too close. Like I said don't take this the wrong way.

and this is to show the habitat the bird was in?

[IKLland]

but, when i took the pic you can see the habitat, too. So it is to show__________________what?

[IKLland]

@Jefferson Shanknow i understand what you meant, but i am curious why?

[The Bird Nuts]

22 hours ago, Aaron said:

This area the chickadees will land on you even if you don’t have food. Still very quick though!

I've always wondered if a chickadee will still be brave enough to come to your hand after being banded!  We've been hand-feeding one chickadee here for, I think, four years now which makes her a pretty old chickadee.  If only she was banded.

[The Bird Nuts]

3 minutes ago, IKLland said:

@Jefferson Shanknow i understand what you meant, but i am curious why?

It's called art.  Most would agree that a "good" photo is a piece of art, and certain compositions, such as when the bird is off to the side of the frame, are more pleasing to the eye than others.  You can do whatever you want with your photos, but if you feel your photos need some improvement, Jefferson gave some good tips.

[Jefferson Shank]

 

@Jefferson Shanknow i understand what you meant, but i am curious why?

It gives the photo a more pleasing, balanced composition that catches the eye of the viewer. A tightly framing picture with the bird in the center gives a boring bullseye look. But that also depends on the angle and position of the bird. 

[MichaelLong]

30 minutes ago, Jefferson Shank said:

Don't take me wrong! @IKLland I just used this picture as an example.

To all to whom this may apply (including me)...  For example, this is a good shot! But the framing detracts from the quality of the picture. A common pitfall among beginner photographers is to always put the bird in the exact center of the image. It’s an understandable impulse, but one that results in all of the photos looking the same. Instead, experiment with the rule of thirds and place the bird along an invisible line a third of the way from the edge of the image.

Here are a few articles that explain further; https://www.audubon.org/news/how-compose-perfect-bird-photo https://www.photographytalk.com/beginner-photography-tips/composition-tips-for-beginner-bird-photographers

And yet be creative! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOt2w5Wnk94

I am also a beginner photographer and I struggle with getting the bird framed right. Marie Read's book on Mastering Bird Photography is a book I would highly recommend for bird photographers and is where I learned a lot.

well you cant have every thing in life, for example the first photo is framed better, however the face is slightly out of focus, while I much prefer the second photo's pose (and it's in focus) but unfortunately it's in the dead center 

[Aaron]

22 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

I've always wondered if a chickadee will still be brave enough to come to your hand after being banded!  We've been hand-feeding one chickadee here for, I think, four years now which makes her a pretty old chickadee.  If only she was banded.

They definitely do! This one was travelling with 6 other chickadees who all of which were banded and fighting over the ‘nothing’ in our hands. I would have tried to get pictures of the whole band, but was near impossible to track one individual. I was able to last year at this location, for a 2 year old chickadee. Looking back I wonder if this is that same chickadee as the 7 is in the same place.  Might have to review to see if I can see any more numbers.

Though, this is a very popular spot and many many people feed the chickadees so they are far more friendly than your average chickadee. Banding also occurs at this location so it’s fairly safe to assume that these were all banded here when they were already quite tame.