Post your Bird Portraits

usually i have it sitting on the floor already, or long ways in the seat so it doesnt want to roll. was in a hurry that morning, and it rolled right off.

I have a cardboard box with bubble wrap on the floor right behind the passengers seat. I can grab it in about 1 second if I need it.

I generally keep my stuff in a bag so it doesn't roll around.

But I commonly ride with the camera & lens shotgun next to me. I've had it roll off a few times, thankfully there is padded stuff, bags, etc, on the floor board, so when it does slide off, it's just a soft landing. This stuff really is tough though. My little EOS-M has fallen out of the truck onto concrete several times now in parking lots and barely took a scratch, works perfect, slid off my seat a few times into things, works fine. The 7D is much better made. And the lenses I dare say are even tougher than the cameras.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/CaPH​PW

Just today a Blue Heron sets off in front of me and landing 10 meters further in a tree on a branch in a magical composition down the ponds. (sunrise moment)
I was changing lenses (8-16 mm to 50-150 mm) as quit as i could not spoiling the moment, the Heron just stayed there. Once ready to shoot
a runner passes by grrrrrrrrr.

To funny, see we all do it. I don't even go into town for milk with out my camera

MalVeauX wrote in post #18128063

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/M48w​5u IMG_3522 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/MaPd​1w IMG_3520 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/M48b​xJ IMG_3528 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/M47z​rG IMG_3537 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/M46K​PCIMG_3539 by Martin Wise, on Flickr

++++

Here's how I did the lighting and my feeder & blind: LINK

Very best,

Malveaux that is an awesome set up, awesome write up with awesome pictorial--and even better images! I'm tinkering with flash because I have to; looks like you do
because you love it but you are certainly in grad school whereas I'm in kindergarten I think if I could borrow anything from you it's the idea of the very portable lightweight
pvc blind design. I've made many similar for archery targets--even have the 'snippers' for cutting pvc quickly/easily.
Thanks for sharing so much.

Well I got off work this morning beginning my off week; slow unusual night in the hospital so I wasn't completely worn out-got home and sat 50 feet away from this guy. Half
his body was in lgiht and the other half in shade. Handheld, no beamer, no flash but I'd always wanted this pose or something close--problem is I only get to see 'hatches 3 times
a month at best-so luck was with me or it's clean living

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Mb29​L1

thats a nice upside down nuthatch.


Oh! this is exciting, SEVERAL red breated nuthatches have been seen in my area this past week. here's to hoping!!

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #18128149
Malveaux that is an awesome set up, awesome write up with awesome pictorial--and even better images! I'm tinkering with flash because I have to; looks like you do
because you love it but you are certainly in grad school whereas I'm in kindergarten I think if I could borrow anything from you it's the idea of the very portable lightweight
pvc blind design. I've made many similar for archery targets--even have the 'snippers' for cutting pvc quickly/easily.
Thanks for sharing so much.

I keep it all portable. I actually just applied what I do for portrait lighting outdoors to the birds. I didn't need a modifier this big, but I went with a large one so that I could cover more area since I'm not guaranteed a spot for the birds to always land. Even though it was within 5 feet of them or so, you can see the catchlights are still rather small despite being a 47" and so close, but their eyes are so small. I may try it again without a modifier with a couple of bare flashes just to see how that looks by comparison, since it will be a lot less obvious to the birds with a huge modifier like that. The flash definitely spooked them a bit. I went with speedlites instead of my strobes which are also portable, just to make it very reproducible if anyone wants to try their hand to some speedlites.

Regardless of anything, my favorite and most critically useful tool, ever, for birding is a blind.

Very best,

not nearly as good as martin's chickadee's but i think the camera and lens are fine

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Lh3n​8T

Birds are very hard to photograph.

I've never been able to get into the flash for birds, I know some really like it, I shoot everything without. I have a blind but for the birds in my yard I need nothing.

You guys are fast edit with the second image !!

juvenile Cooper's Hawk

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/M6UF​5v

Well, all this talk about cameras dropping must have jinxed me ! Mine fell off the top of my tripod today, from full height, onto pavement.
I think my 7dii is ok, but my Sigma 150-600 is definitely not ok. Already on its way to Sigma for hopeful repair.