Bar-tailed Godwit

[Manta]

Some more birdies from today. 70-300G lens + ISO mistakenly left on 500 = soft shots!

Your thoughts welcome, as always.

[Nicole]

Agree it is a little soft. I like the comp with the 4 birds and the colours. The little wave is nice too. This is what I am hoping to see when i'm up at Xmas. I'm jealous!

[Manta]

Agree it is a little soft. I like the comp with the 4 birds and the colours. The little wave is nice too. This is what I am hoping to see when i'm up at Xmas. I'm jealous!

How can you tell it's waving to you Nicole?? Must be one of those bird-watcher talents!

Thanks for replying - hope to catch up with you when you visit.

[avkomp]

a little soft but none the less a nice shot with the 4 birdies in it.

I need to get out after the birds again. I am waiting til daylight savings so I dont have to get up at 4am.

Steve

[Killakoala]

Looks great, a very nice image and look at the size of those beaks!!!!!!! I'm glad i'm not a mollusc.

[meicw]

Nice capture. Great family portrait Love the colours. Who cares if its a little soft. It's the pic that matters.

Regards
Meicw

[Manta]

Thank you Steve 1: 4.00am is the best time of the day!! (Can you guess who's done too much shift work in his time? )

Cheers, Killa: They'd certainly do some damage. Pretty good for root canal work too, I'd imagine...

Thanks Meicw: Naturally we all like to get the best possible exposure but sometimes you have to settle for what you end up with.

[blacknstormy]

Simon - love this shot !!! Beautiful composition with the combination of 2;2. Damian loves this shot as well !!

You are right about the 2 birds at the back - bar tailed godwits. The 2 at the front are not godwits though.....

The front two are ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres) - either non-breeding adults or juveniles.

Was going to say something today at work, but wanted to come home and check first. Not great on waders, so had to check.....

Congrats (I'd wish I could take a shot like this)
Rel

[Manta]

Yeah, I wasn't sure at the time about the turnstones but I agree with your identification Narelle. They'll just have to put up with the indignity of not being credited!

[Manta]

I'm a stickler for detail....changed the image title to include the poor little turnstones.

[Glen]

Simon, I thought you made that name up Nice capture

[Manta]

Simon, I thought you made that name up Nice capture

C'mon Glen...would I be so flippant??

If I was going to name them, they'd probably be called something like the Stick-legged Gawkhawk and the Fluff-Breasted Nut Scratcher, but I would never do such a thing.

Thanks for you comments!

[Dargan]

So your a twitcher Simon? Godwit Turnstone, even Dickens would be proud of a name like that. It's a lovely capture.

[E1Shane]

I think it a great composition and colours are very good.
Why is 500iso soft (not being a D70 user) or is it that you wanted higher iso to get faster shutter?.
Being a OlyE1 user we dont belive in anything above 400iso

[Manta]

So your a twitcher Simon? Godwit Turnstone, even Dickens would be proud of a name like that. It's a lovely capture.

Not quite a twitcher Dargan but developing an interest. I'd like to get more shots of raptors but we don't have a lot around here apart from the occasional Osprey, Sea Eagle or Brahminy Kite down along the waterline.

[Manta]

I think it a great composition and colours are very good.
Why is 500iso soft (not being a D70 user) or is it that you wanted higher iso to get faster shutter?.
Being a OlyE1 user we dont belive in anything above 400iso

Hi E1Shane. I had inadvertantly left my camera set to ISO500 after some recent night photography, otherwise it would have been on it's usual 200. While ISO doesn't necessarily mean 'soft' it can introduce digital noise that will reduce the overall clarity of the image. However, the softness of this particular shot is probably caused not by ISO but by the inherent softness of the 70-300mm G lens at the long end.

[the foto fanatic]

I like the image, Simon. I guess the softness might exclude it from a Nature Comp 1st place, but other than that, you have a pic to be proud of.

Are you developing your David Attenborough voice to go with your nature photography skills?

[Manta]

I like the image, Simon. I guess the softness might exclude it from a Nature Comp 1st place, but other than that, you have a pic to be proud of.

Thanks Trevor.

Are you developing your David Attenborough voice to go with your nature photography skills?

Absolutely...and I'm buying a complete wardrobe of long-sleeved blue shirts as well!

[kinetic]

Nice shots (as usual). I do like the birdies pink beaks. (Inane comments I know, but I really can't offer you anything constructive here ).

[Manta]

.. but I really can't offer you anything constructive here ).

I think you just did. Thanks K.

[blacknstormy]

Please, please please use your David Attenborough voice at our next training day

[the foto fanatic]

Please, please please use your David Attenborough voice at our next training day

I think a video recording for broadcast on the forum would be appropriate.

Would you please arrange, Rel?

[Manta]

You're on.....

[kipper]

Manta, you have heaps of raptors according to my ID book. I guess you just need to know where to find them.

[Slider]

Nice one Simon. I think I need to get down to the water

[Manta]

You're right Darryl and I know where they are, it's just finding the time to really study their habits. Also, not having the lens reach to make some worthwhile images is a bit of a drawback as well.

[mudder]

Hey I really like this, it's not often when you can catch a family portrait shot like this of animals in the wild, well done...

Tempted to clone out what looks like a blurry bird(?) down on the bottom right and what looks like a photographers thumb in the bottom left, only joshin' about the thumb, dunno what it is, maybe a pale rock or something...

[Manta]

Hey I really like this, it's not often when you can catch a family portrait shot like this of animals in the wild, well done...

Tempted to clone out what looks like a blurry bird(?) down on the bottom right and what looks like a photographers thumb in the bottom left, only joshin' about the thumb, dunno what it is, maybe a pale rock or something...

Hey Andrew. I originally thought it was a family portrait too but then realised it was two different species. BlacknStormy confirmed this and I then altered the original image title.

"Blurry bird" is actually a branch sticking up that I cloned out where it crossed the tail of the little bird on the left. I obviously didn't go far enough with the cloning to get rid of the whole stick!

Pale rock is just that - not my thumb.