Eastern Bluebirds

[EdV]

I spent a little time this morning in one of our local state parks. There wasn't much happening until we reached this one area of brush piles and a few small brushy trees. There we came across about a half dozen Bluebirds - a very nice touch for this cold Easter morning replete with snow flurries.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Hope you enjoy the images.

I assure you that the first two are different shots of the same bird. They look almost identical.





More often than not I was getting shots through the brush like this.



And while this isn't the best of shots, it is Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird on top of their new digs.

[cfcRebel]

Nice attempts Ed. They are so hard to get a decent shot. Very shy bird. Well, at least the ones in my area.

[EdV]

Originally Posted by cfcRebel

Nice attempts Ed. They are so hard to get a decent shot. Very shy bird. Well, at least the ones in my area.

As I looked through the photos that I took today, I realized that in most of them the Bluebird ended up facing away from me. Argh!!

And they certainly don't stay put for very long. So I find myself shooting first and checking settings later. So to that end, I often just leave the Av at 5.6 and if the shutter speed looks reasonable, I shoot.

For the male and female shot, I think I should have kicked the Av up to at least 8. And I could have kicked the ISO up a bit (I shot at 100) and got a little faster shutter speed.

I still think my biggest problem is that I get overanxious when I come across a bird that I want to photograph - particularly if it is a small "hyperactive" one.

[cfcRebel]

Originally Posted by EdV

I still think my biggest problem is that I get overanxious when I come across a bird that I want to photograph - particularly if it is a small "hyperactive" one.

Nothing's wrong with that. I do that too.
That's why i set all my ISO, f stop, metering first while warming up my car before heading out.

[stefeb]

Great shots.

[canonloader]

Nice shots. I've yet to see any here.

[EdV]

Thanks Fee, Steve, Mitch. I think these images are ok - good but not great and great is what I am after. I like the color in the first two but I wish the bird was turned around. I also wish the image was a tad sharper. All the branches detract from #3. And as I said, I should have stopped down on #4. Knowing what to do after the fact and doing it before the fact are two different things. I will keep plugging.

Fee, I also tend to set Av, ISO, WB and so on when I turn the camera on. Problem is I often forget to change when conditions dictate. And when I do change, I sometimes forget to change back until its too late. Like I said, I get caught up in the the moment and get overanxious.