Darkest Dorset: Blackbird & Starling (BORING!)

EDIT: Unfortunately all my original image links are now broken. My photographs are now hosted at Flickr and on my website. Links to both of these sites are in my signature section.

Apologies for any broken image links that are now showing in any of my threads or posts.

Thanks,

Mike

I really like the starling shot , he certainly looks unhappy having his photo taken while hes eating . Yeh thats the trouble over here in the uk just now bad light nearly all the time , im deleting loads of shots as well.

Ahh, someone from the same area! Thanks Woody. Those starlings are a bit fussy. You should see them hiding behind their towels when I'm trying to photograph them in the bird bath!

I'm glad you said that about the poor light recently because I'm getting a bit fed up with it. I have been waiting for literally weeks for some decent skies so I can do some landscapes. I don't know if I have missed any, but I haven't seen any inspiring skies for what seems like a couple of months.

Mike

They are not boring at all especially the starling very nice shot lovely colours.
I've been struggling with the light too but have been trying anyway but its surprising the difference it makes when the sun pokes its head out
Pete

Thanks Pete

The sun came out a couple of times, but it caught me by surprise and I overexposed a few shots! The backgrounds were okay, but the birds weren't!

Mike

Sounds like a Speedlight moment? Not bad shots anyway.

Thanks Mitch. What kind of range would I get from a typical flash? I wouldn't have thought of using flash because of the distance to the birds (up to about 20 feet away).

Mike

A 550 or 580ex will just barely reach 20 feet, but if you add a Better Beamer, it will reach it fine and do a darn good job of fill flash on either one of these shots. With the bare flash, and I have the 550ex, it's good to about 15-17 feet max. The 550ex is supposed to be slightly more powerful than the 580ex, but they don't make them any more. You can get one used occasionally. With the beamer, it is good for about 35 feet max, for fill flash. They actually do a pretty good job if you have the time to set up for the shot.

Okay, thanks. I didn't know about the Better Beamer. I've just looked it up and it looks like a handy piece of equipment.

Does the flash cause any problems with scaring the birds away? I have used flash whilst photographing my dog and he doesn't mind too much. When I approach him with the camera he just sighs and puts on some sunglasses.

Mike

I hate the flash, always have. When I see a camera with a flash, my eyes start to squint.

But I use flash a lot around the birds. They mostly don't seem to mind it, some jump the first time, some are scared off, depends on the bird I guess. Fill flash is a weak pipsqueak of a flash pulse though. It's not a full blown retina crisper, just enough to fill in the shadows in normal daylight, so maybe that helps.

I'll give that a try. I was wondering if birds can hear the ultrasonic motors used in lenses. I had a wagtail wandering about near where I was hiding and he kept stopping as if he was listening to something. I was tracking him with AI Servo, so thought he might be able to hear it.

Mike

Both great shots... Luv the detail on #2... Nicely done...

Thank you