Share Your Best Photo of the Day

[Johnd]

Actually from today !

 

 

[BirdNrd]

Bewick's Wren perchin for me

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374476051

[BirdNrd]

Red-tailed Hawk

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374642111

[dragon49]

I figured out that if I use "sports mode" on my camera when shooting birds, I can eventually get some pretty cool poses.

 

Edited October 3, 2021 by dragon49

[Connor Cochrane]

I feel like it's been awhile since I made a post here

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374736011

[Jefferson Shank]

Rufous-collared Sparrow  https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374752331

[Birding Boy]

Low shutter speed and Kinglets are like oil and water...but man, I found a friendly (And very cute) trio of Ruby-crowneds this morning! Foraging in the open for the most part for at least a minute.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374772471

Edited October 4, 2021 by Birding Boy

[The Bird Nuts]

10 minutes ago, Birding Boy said:

Low shutter speed and Kinglets are like oil and water...but man, I found a friendly (And very cute) trio of Ruby-crowneds this morning! Foraging in the open for the most part for at least a minute.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374772471

Amazing shots!  Especially for such a low shutter speed.  I'm wondering if my lens is defective because I struggle to get photos that are focused so well like that even in good lighting with relatively still birds.

[Birding Boy]

14 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

Amazing shots!  Especially for such a low shutter speed.  I'm wondering if my lens is defective because I struggle to get photos that are focused so well like that even in good lighting with relatively still birds.

Thank you! I'm sorry to hear that your lens is giving you a hard time. I'm afraid I don't know too much about what would cause that.  And that was the only photo in good focus out of 10 or so where he was on the same branch haha. Sometimes when I'm trying to photograph small passerines like warblers or kinglets, I'll focus on a branch or something in the general area they're in, in anticipation of their movements so the auto focus is already close to the desired depth and takes less time to acquire. Otherwise my lens can be a little sluggish, but really not that bad. Maybe there's a camera shop or something you could take it to to get tested? Google is not being very helpful with its suggestions either...

[The Bird Nuts]

1 minute ago, Birding Boy said:

Thank you! I'm sorry to hear that your lens is giving you a hard time. I'm afraid I don't know too much about what would cause that.  And that was the only photo in good focus out of 10 or so where he was on the same branch haha. Sometimes when I'm trying to photograph small passerines like warblers or kinglets, I'll focus on a branch or something in the general area they're in, in anticipation of their movements so the auto focus is already close to the desired depth and takes less time to acquire. Otherwise my lens can be a little sluggish, but really not that bad. Maybe there's a camera shop or something you could take it to to get tested? Google is not being very helpful with its suggestions either...

Thanks.  That makes me feel a little better.  I have heard it's normal to get soft shots, but it seems too many of mine are turning out soft.  I always take short bursts and refocus in between as long as the bird is still there.  Good tip about the branch.  I do try to do that when I can, but it's like my lens can't see the difference in distance between the branch and the bird's head.

[Birding Boy]

34 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

 I do try to do that when I can, but it's like my lens can't see the difference in distance between the branch and the bird's head.

Oh man, yeah that doesn't sound entirely right. Even my 3rd party lens is usually pretty good about that. 

[The Bird Nuts]

40 minutes ago, Birding Boy said:

Oh man, yeah that doesn't sound entirely right. Even my 3rd party lens is usually pretty good about that. 

It could totally be that I am overestimating my lens's capabilities and not realizing that my technique is bad.  I just don't have anything to compare it to.  I do get some crisp shots, so I know it is able to focus properly.  And it seems to focus well on larger things, like my dogs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited October 4, 2021 by The Bird Nuts

[Birding Boy]

11 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

It could totally be that I am overestimating my lens's capabilities and not realizing that my technique is bad.  I just don't have anything to compare it to.  I do get some crisp shots, so I know it is able to focus properly.  And it seems to focus well on larger things, like my dogs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, same, that could be. The only other camera I've owned is a point and shoot, so I have no idea what a super fast lens/camera setup would be like ?

[neilpa]

27 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said:

It could totally be that I am overestimating my lens's capabilities and not realizing that my technique is bad.  I just don't have anything to compare it to.  I do get some crisp shots, so I know it is able to focus properly.  And it seems to focus well on larger things, like my dogs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

IIRC, you have the same camera + lens combo as I do (Nikon D7500 + Nikkor 200-500mm). I feel like I still struggle quite a bit to get the autofocus to work as well as I'd like. Lots of soft and straight up blurry shots I have to sift through to find the few good ones.

I've found that Steve Perry has a few good youtube videos specific to Nikon autofocus which helped me some. He also has an e-book about it, but I haven't checked that out yet.

Edited October 4, 2021 by neilpa

[The Bird Nuts]

Just now, neilpa said:

IIRC, you have the same camera + lens combo as I do (Nikon D7500 + Nikkor 200-500mm). I feel like I still struggle quite a bit to get the autofocus to work as well as I'd like. Lots of soft and straight up blurry shots I have to sift through to find the few good ones. One thing too check out is that Steve Perry has a few good youtube videos specific to Nikon autofocus. He he also has an e-book about it as well, but I haven't checked that out yet.

Thanks so much!  I had forgotten you have the same setup.

[Clip]

8 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said:

Amazing shots!  Especially for such a low shutter speed.  I'm wondering if my lens is defective because I struggle to get photos that are focused so well like that even in good lighting with relatively still birds.

Have you adjust the camera for your eye sight using the little dial on the side of the eye piece?

[MarkG]

 

[Clip]

19 minutes ago, MarkG said:

 

Nice! It is really showing off the pink in that bi-colored bill.

[Clip]

[Aidan B]

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374986251

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374986401

 

[Birding Boy]

1 hour ago, Aidan B said:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374986251

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374986401

 

Dang, jealous of the Raven! I can only ever find them when they’re in flight half a mile away or something. 

[BirdNrd]

Best Prairie Falcon photo to date!

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/375020081

[Aidan B]

2 hours ago, Birding Boy said:

Dang, jealous of the Raven! I can only ever find them when they’re in flight half a mile away or something. 

The closest I've ever been to a raven before yesterday probably would have been fairly similar, they're always soaring high up in the thermals. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by Aidan B

[meghann]

20 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said:

It could totally be that I am overestimating my lens's capabilities and not realizing that my technique is bad.  I just don't have anything to compare it to.  I do get some crisp shots, so I know it is able to focus properly.  And it seems to focus well on larger things, like my dogs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Out of curiosity, what is your aperture set to?

 

22 hours ago, Birding Boy said:

Low shutter speed and Kinglets are like oil and water...but man, I found a friendly (And very cute) trio of Ruby-crowneds this morning! Foraging in the open for the most part for at least a minute.

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/374772471

 

Can I see the EXIF data on that one? Great shot!

[The Bird Nuts]

3 minutes ago, meghann said:

Out of curiosity, what is your aperture set to?

I have it on aperture priority and change it depending on the lighting.  Usually 6.3 or 7.1.  I always try to focus on the head of the bird, but it almost always ends up better focused on the body than the head.  I found that most of my good shots are when I used f/6.3.