a couple of images from todays outing

[Mark Yates]

took the camera out today to one of my local spots so i thought i would post a couple of the results

Male Bullfinch

female Bullfinch

Bluetit

male Chaffinch

and finally the inevitable Robin

cheers for looking

 

[Brian Moore]

Stalking the birds eh, Mark? Lovely shots.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes, beautiful shots, Mark. Is this Cute Photies Day?

 

[Glen Roberts]

Yippee !!! Another bird photographer, I thought I was all alone .

Nice ones Mark.

 

[Allan Batchelor]

What setup do you use Mark,. I sometimes find my 300mm just isnt powerful enough

 

[Mark Yates]

thanks for the warm replies

What setup do you use Mark,. I sometimes find my 300mm just isnt powerful enough

i used a canon 50d with the 300mm F4 L and a 1.4x converter it just about gets you close enough for the more common stuff but the species i really want to capture could do with an extra couple of hundred mm at least
for example while i was photographing the usual suspects today when a sparrow hawk kept hovering around landing about 30 yards away at about 5 - 6ft off the ground in sparse bushes unfortunately 420mm just isn't enough to get a decent capture without serious cropping 600mm would have been ideal but unless i win the lottery it won't be happening any time soon

on another note i did see some rather large hares trotting about and they didn't seem that bothered about me being there so i think i'l make that tomorrows project

 

[Allan Batchelor]

One my friends uses a canon 7d and a 400 and shouts mainly birds and just about gets away with it I think

Flickr: Martial2010's Photostream

We have a marsh harrier floats about our local RSPB site but hes a sneaky git.

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Great sharpness and bokeh!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Gorgeous colors and lovely bokeh Mark - that 1.4x keeps things nice and sharp then?

 

[Jim Kuo]

i used a canon 50d with the 300mm F4 L and a 1.4x converter it just about gets you close enough for the more common stuff but the species i really want to capture could do with an extra couple of hundred mm at least
for example while i was photographing the usual suspects today when a sparrow hawk kept hovering around landing about 30 yards away at about 5 - 6ft off the ground in sparse bushes unfortunately 420mm just isn't enough to get a decent capture without serious cropping 600mm would have been ideal but unless i win the lottery it won't be happening any time soon

It sounds like you need some pretty serious kit to shoot birds. Wonderful shots, Mark!

 

[Mark Yates]

well if you want to get the best out of wildlife i think you do jim but i'l struggle on

the 1.4 extender does quite a reasonable job without too much loss chris so i don't mind using it
the 300mm F 4L are pin sharp to start so you can afford i little softening i havn't tried a 2x converter to see how they cope but i'd loose auto focus in less than ideal lighting so havn't gone down that road

thanks again for the replies

 

[Jim Kuo]

Does auto focus work with the extender on the F4 lens?

 

[Hamish Gill]

Lovely shots!
I've only tried photographing birds a couple of times ... the one thing that strikes me from the last time i tried is how the satisfaction of capturing the things doesnt come across in the images ... unless you have given it a go!
good to have another twitcher on board

 

[Mark Yates]

Does auto focus work with the extender on the F4 lens?

it does with the 1.4 extender because you only lose 1 stop bringing it to F5.6 but with the 2x extender you lose 2 stops making it F8 and if your using a canon 2x extender it will disable auto focus unless you mask off 3 of the pins to fool the camera
3rd party extenders however ( kenko etc.. ) still allow auto focus to function but it will just hunt like mad unless the light is perfect making it useless

i tend to look at bird photography the same way as i do with fishing Hamish you might shoot the same species a 1000 times but your never satisfied
there's always one more shot thats gonna be better or one more catch if your a fisherman

it can become quite addictive

 

[Hamish Gill]

My minimal experience tells me the exact same thing!
I shot a couple of birds whilst having a cup of coffee outside a cafe by a waterfall in Wales ... Took one photo, wanted to get a better one but the buggers kept moving and moving quickly ...
I guess it's quite an easy analogy for a lot of photography ... The elusive decisive moment and all that ...

 

[Hamish Gill]

Dug out my efforts from the above occasion

 

[Mark Yates]

nothing wrong with those Hamish considering it's not something you normally photograph there pretty good

 

[Glen Roberts]

Hamish the bird photographer??? Well I never!!!

Definitely nowt wrong with them Hamish, you should give it another go sometime and you might get hooked.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Cheers Both!
I might well do that Glen!
I think if I lived in the countryside or had a big garden it would be somthing I would try more for sure ...