Moppie
12th of September 2004 (Sun), 05:55
Yip.
These guys got so close I had to try out the Macro mode on my A80 for the first time ever.
They were however very well behaved, apprently feeding them does make them more open to posing.
The pics were taken on Aucklands North Shore at Lake Pupuke, an old volcanic crater with some parks around the edges.
Last time I was there feeding ducks, geese and swans I would have been 6 or 7, and I do remember getting a few bites. Iv been back several times since, but never with bag of bread. For some reason the duck population was much much smaller than I seem to remember, I only saw 1 or 2, and none came close enough to photograph.
I had hoped to get some of the birds on the lake, or with the lake in background, unforunatly the sun was right over the lake, so I was shooting with it to my back. I tried a few, and got some nice shots of the birds, however the sky was blown out behind them, making for a very plain background. Certianly not post worthy :)
Anyway, pics with a black frame have had some extensive post processing, either removing a street light from the background, or changes to saturation and levels, or all of the above, as well as some cropping. The ones with out a frame have only had some minnor cropping. And all have had a unsharp filter applied after they were resized.
The black swans were by far the best behaved, I tried several times to get one strechting its wings front on, but this was the best I managed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0409retouched.jpg
This guy was asking to be photographed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0416retouched.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0441retouched.jpg
The Geese were there in numbers to, and they didnt like the swans. Peeking at them a few times if they got to close. The swans would even leave a piece of bread alone if the geese were heading for it first.
However, they have much cleaner feathers, and IMO make much more entertaining subjects.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0419retouched.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0444retouched.jpg
And finnaly one of NZ's most iconic yet hard to capture native birds.
The Pukeko.
They are the craziest birds to watch in real life, they are almost flightless, and have a very unique walk/run.
They are still very common in the wild, seen mostly around marsh land they also love the drains at the side of the road and are most often seening running accross it, or trying to (and sometimes failing).
They are usualy impossible to get close to, forunatly this guy must have been living here for a while, and was quite approachable. They love bread, but won't eat it dry. This guy has just dipped his in the lake, maybe next time Ill take him some tamato sauce :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0425retouched.jpg
I went out looking for some nice elegant pics of black swans on the lake, and look what I got instead!
And yes, the flip out LCD was very useful. 8)
These guys got so close I had to try out the Macro mode on my A80 for the first time ever.
They were however very well behaved, apprently feeding them does make them more open to posing.
The pics were taken on Aucklands North Shore at Lake Pupuke, an old volcanic crater with some parks around the edges.
Last time I was there feeding ducks, geese and swans I would have been 6 or 7, and I do remember getting a few bites. Iv been back several times since, but never with bag of bread. For some reason the duck population was much much smaller than I seem to remember, I only saw 1 or 2, and none came close enough to photograph.
I had hoped to get some of the birds on the lake, or with the lake in background, unforunatly the sun was right over the lake, so I was shooting with it to my back. I tried a few, and got some nice shots of the birds, however the sky was blown out behind them, making for a very plain background. Certianly not post worthy :)
Anyway, pics with a black frame have had some extensive post processing, either removing a street light from the background, or changes to saturation and levels, or all of the above, as well as some cropping. The ones with out a frame have only had some minnor cropping. And all have had a unsharp filter applied after they were resized.
The black swans were by far the best behaved, I tried several times to get one strechting its wings front on, but this was the best I managed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0409retouched.jpg
This guy was asking to be photographed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0416retouched.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0441retouched.jpg
The Geese were there in numbers to, and they didnt like the swans. Peeking at them a few times if they got to close. The swans would even leave a piece of bread alone if the geese were heading for it first.
However, they have much cleaner feathers, and IMO make much more entertaining subjects.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0419retouched.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0444retouched.jpg
And finnaly one of NZ's most iconic yet hard to capture native birds.
The Pukeko.
They are the craziest birds to watch in real life, they are almost flightless, and have a very unique walk/run.
They are still very common in the wild, seen mostly around marsh land they also love the drains at the side of the road and are most often seening running accross it, or trying to (and sometimes failing).
They are usualy impossible to get close to, forunatly this guy must have been living here for a while, and was quite approachable. They love bread, but won't eat it dry. This guy has just dipped his in the lake, maybe next time Ill take him some tamato sauce :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/Moppie/IMG_0425retouched.jpg
I went out looking for some nice elegant pics of black swans on the lake, and look what I got instead!
And yes, the flip out LCD was very useful. 8)