Absolutely beautiful shots Reckless...... great exposures and stunning subjects ....love the red rump and the darter but they are all so beautiful. I have forgotten...what gear do you use?
Thanks all, I've up dated from the coolpix to a 7D cannon with a 100-400 cannon tele lens. Very impressed with the gear. Get so much more satisfaction with my pic's. Makes birding even more enjoyable.
Birdie, been thinking of getting a flash and beamer for the cloudy days. Are they complicated to use and make it a bit complicated to cart around. I read one of your posts, i think the Catbird, and read you used a flash. Was that an external.
Sorry Reckless...you'd need to ask Sparrow or Windhover.... my gear is strictly out of the box amateur with the built in flash and likely to stay that way for a long time :'(
The lfash units aren't that bug though and I don't think the beamer is either..... not considering you are prepared to carry around the 100 -400!!!
Suprissingly i find it more stable and easier to use. I've read up on them, and they sound like they are make things a bit more complicated with settings. Cheers Birdie.
reckless buy the best canon flash you can afford to get the most out of a beamer,as for the beamer itself it attaches to the front of the flash using a Velcro strap and is simple to use,there like anything else read up on there use and follow the instructions, you can get them on ebay US, best $50 i ever spent.
thanks Owen1,
I've been searching for a Hardhead to get a good pic but hav'nt come across one since i've had the new camera.
Pic 1 is a Australasian Shoveler then Pacific black and a Grey teal. I will post one when i catch up with them, but like you said, very hard to get close to.
I can imagine what fun it would be to test out your new equipment. Your results are looking great so far. I am thinking about using a more powerful flash as well to prevent blurry shots in gloomy conditions. I have only seen Hardheads recently and they were in a flock.
There was another post on BIBY not long ago where the external flashes and the beamer were discussed. I was inspired so last week i bought a Nikon SB-700 flash. One of their mid range models which also supports high speed sync which I thought would be important.
I have two problems from the little testing I have done so far though.
I don't like the results on birds. When I take a photo of a bird, the eyes of the bird end up looking like plastic balls and don't look natural.
Second, I am struggling for range when I have the flash set to HSS. I still don't have the beamer, but I was taking a photo of a leaf at about 3m from me at sunset and my flash still did not seem to have the power to properly expose it. I thought at 3m it should be able to do it but it definitely was not. I was shooting at 1/400s. In the end I ended up having to raise the ISO to get the exposure right.
So I am not sure that using a flash/beamer is as easy as all you guys seem to make it out to be. I am totally new at flash photography though so it could well be that I am doing it completely wrong. I will be trying to dig up more info on the net. If you have any links that explains how to use an external flash/beamer combo please let me know. I have found articles that mention it but none that explain how to setup the flash and camera properly, ie settings etc. Especially for a Nikon system
What a great series of shots, reckless. I love the Shoveler pic - I can never seem to get close to this species. Please remind us from what part of the world these were taken. Thanks for sharing.
. @OwenIf you're after a pair of Hardheads, there was a very frindly pair that made the Newport Lakes (western 'burbs of Melb)their home last year. Check Birdline for any reports of them. I took a few shots at about 220mm with my 100-400mm, which shows you how tame they were!.
Thanks all, loving all the feed back.
GeorgeP, i am from Cranbourne Vic. The pic's were taken at the Waterways which is a small estate near Edithvale.
Abeleski you can try and google Secrets of digital bird photography. It's by William Majors. He has a great site where you can read up on any thing to do with bird photography. I've read about the flashes and beamers and it sounds like it can get a bit confussing..
great area only a stones throw from Edithvale wetlands,there's a few smaller lakes and swamps in the same area,my wife and i were feeding ducks at the one off royal rd last year there was a pair of shovelers among them
try the red rumped parrot again.
It must just be a bit big reckless - but gorgeous shots!
try this one.
All top shots, i love the one of the darter and the red rump looks amazing !
Absolutely beautiful shots Reckless...... great exposures and stunning subjects ....love the red rump and the darter but they are all so beautiful. I have forgotten...what gear do you use?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Thanks all, I've up dated from the coolpix to a 7D cannon with a 100-400 cannon tele lens. Very impressed with the gear. Get so much more satisfaction with my pic's. Makes birding even more enjoyable.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh :'}
I knew it! It was so noticeable in your shots....now I am insanely jealous once again :')
Well done and congrats to you
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Birdie, been thinking of getting a flash and beamer for the cloudy days. Are they complicated to use and make it a bit complicated to cart around. I read one of your posts, i think the Catbird, and read you used a flash. Was that an external.
Sorry Reckless...you'd need to ask Sparrow or Windhover.... my gear is strictly out of the box amateur with the built in flash and likely to stay that way for a long time :'(
The lfash units aren't that bug though and I don't think the beamer is either..... not considering you are prepared to carry around the 100 -400!!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Suprissingly i find it more stable and easier to use. I've read up on them, and they sound like they are make things a bit more complicated with settings. Cheers Birdie.
reckless buy the best canon flash you can afford to get the most out of a beamer,as for the beamer itself it attaches to the front of the flash using a Velcro strap and is simple to use,there like anything else read up on there use and follow the instructions, you can get them on ebay US, best $50 i ever spent.
Gorgeous pics!!!
Thanx for all the nice feed back.
Sparrow i will deffinately look in to it, and read up on all the instruction info. Cheers
Great stuff. Good range and I love the hardhead shot. They are so hard to get close too. The red rump is also very good.
Cheers, Owen.
thanks Owen1,
I've been searching for a Hardhead to get a good pic but hav'nt come across one since i've had the new camera.
Pic 1 is a Australasian Shoveler then Pacific black and a Grey teal. I will post one when i catch up with them, but like you said, very hard to get close to.
I can imagine what fun it would be to test out your new equipment. Your results are looking great so far. I am thinking about using a more powerful flash as well to prevent blurry shots in gloomy conditions. I have only seen Hardheads recently and they were in a flock.
Cheers, Owen.
There was another post on BIBY not long ago where the external flashes and the beamer were discussed. I was inspired so last week i bought a Nikon SB-700 flash. One of their mid range models which also supports high speed sync which I thought would be important.
I have two problems from the little testing I have done so far though.
I don't like the results on birds. When I take a photo of a bird, the eyes of the bird end up looking like plastic balls and don't look natural.
Second, I am struggling for range when I have the flash set to HSS. I still don't have the beamer, but I was taking a photo of a leaf at about 3m from me at sunset and my flash still did not seem to have the power to properly expose it. I thought at 3m it should be able to do it but it definitely was not. I was shooting at 1/400s. In the end I ended up having to raise the ISO to get the exposure right.
So I am not sure that using a flash/beamer is as easy as all you guys seem to make it out to be. I am totally new at flash photography though so it could well be that I am doing it completely wrong. I will be trying to dig up more info on the net. If you have any links that explains how to use an external flash/beamer combo please let me know. I have found articles that mention it but none that explain how to setup the flash and camera properly, ie settings etc. Especially for a Nikon system
Sorry, I carried on a bit.
I was born to live and I live to die.
Alex, I think Akos would be the best to ask on that stuff but I did find this forum discussion among others ....have you read it?
http://photo.net/nature-photography-forum/00LxE8
Sunshine Coast Queensland
What a great series of shots, reckless. I love the Shoveler pic - I can never seem to get close to this species. Please remind us from what part of the world these were taken. Thanks for sharing.
.
@OwenIf you're after a pair of Hardheads, there was a very frindly pair that made the Newport Lakes (western 'burbs of Melb)their home last year. Check Birdline for any reports of them. I took a few shots at about 220mm with my 100-400mm, which shows you how tame they were!.
.
Cheers,
.
George
Cheers,
George
Melbourne, VIC
Thanks all, loving all the feed back.
GeorgeP, i am from Cranbourne Vic. The pic's were taken at the Waterways which is a small estate near Edithvale.
Abeleski you can try and google Secrets of digital bird photography. It's by William Majors. He has a great site where you can read up on any thing to do with bird photography. I've read about the flashes and beamers and it sounds like it can get a bit confussing..
Thanks for the info reckless. We have driven past the place on many occasions but never once thought to drive in. I might go down there tomorrow.
Cheers,
George
Melbourne, VIC
great area only a stones throw from Edithvale wetlands,there's a few smaller lakes and swamps in the same area,my wife and i were feeding ducks at the one off royal rd last year there was a pair of shovelers among them