Park photos Comments and Critique

Chris141h

Chris141h

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Chris
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Hi All,

These were taken earlier this morning in Preston Park in the north east of England, its only my 4 or 5th full go at bird photography so any help is welcome and any feedback good or bad is appreciated :)

Also can anyone help me ID Photos 2 and 3 please??

1. d4 by chris141h, on Flickr

2. d5 by chris141h, on Flickr

3. d6 by chris141h, on Flickr

4. d7 by chris141h, on Flickr

5. d8 by chris141h, on Flickr

6. d11 by chris141h, on Flickr


Also can anyone ID this as well please sorry its a poor picture.

d9 by chris141h, on Flickr
 
2 and 3 are Long Tailed Tits... last one looks like a Marsh Tit.
Images are too small to offer much critique unless someone clocks through to your Flickr... but not a bad set though.
 
Thanks for the ID didn't know what they were! ! It's been a while since I've put photos up and didn't know how to make them bigger any ideas?
 
You may want to try posting the pictures directly up by copying the url`s Chris,it saves people looking at the image and flitting backwards and forwards to leave any feedback.A full explanation can be found how to do that in the FAQ section.
 
Chris,

#1. its too busy,the subject gets lost with all of those twigs and branches and there is quite a bit of noise in the shot,maybe the light conditions were not too favourable? You would do better with 'a bird on a branch' type shot by setting up a feeding station (or visiting one already set up, an RSPB reserve is always a good bet for one) and use a single twig or branch in better light.
#2 &3. Both shots the whites have blown out and again they are too busy.Try to get them at a lower angle rather than looking up at them. Long tailed tits are not easy to photograph,they tend to be constantly moving.
#4 is the best shot of your set in my opinion, but by altering the composition by cropping the left side and giving the bird space to look into would improve it further,maybe a bit of sharpening too.
#5&6 are out of focus. In the last one, the background is too dark and the subject gets lost in it.

Don't give up, there are many tutorials on sites like youtube that wil help.

Nige
 
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Cheers nige the light was an issue on a few of the photos and i lost some of the better photos due to not changing settings etc which has annoyed me a bit. I think a lot of what you have said is mainly based around what's actually going on in the background to the image which is something i need to work on. I think I'll have a look at YouTube as you have earlier put and see if there is something i can pick up from that thanks :)
 
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I think Nige has done a good job of the C&C Chris and is pretty much what I would have said.Bird photography is not as easy as you may think,especially the smaller species that are constantly on the move or twitching about whilst even sat fairly still on a branch.Observation is the key to a lot of them as they all have a different habit.Not sure if you get many in your garden or not.if not then think about finding a spot in a local wood where you can set a feeder up,just sitting and watching you will notice the ones that dive straight in on the food,you will get those that will sit 20yrds away watching the feeders before making their move.Cetain species may well come down from that position and land a little closer again on a favoured branch.Some will wait untill certain other species have moved on before going in.All this will help you understand how to anticipate the exact moment to squeeze the shutter.Keep at it though as it looks like you are on track.
 
thanks tor the feedback rich the observation I did struggle with as they were quite lively yesterday and didn't stay still for long. I think the idea you have of observing the birds feeding is a good idea I think ill try and observe them in the garden as we get quite a few in and then also in a park just to see how they react as you say around other species which as you say should help instead of just firing the shutter!! Thanks a lot guys :D
 
Chris141h said:
thanks tor the feedback rich the observation I did struggle with as they were quite lively yesterday and didn't stay still for long. I think the idea you have of observing the birds feeding is a good idea I think ill try and observe them in the garden as we get quite a few in and then also in a park just to see how they react as you say around other species which as you say should help instead of just firing the shutter!! Thanks a lot guys :D
Click to expand...


If you can set something up in the garden Chris then all the better. I had a wooden 2"x2" steak in tyhe ground about 5ft away from the feeder,to that I fixed one of the heavy duty croccodile clips you can get from an auto shop.You can then place a twig or small branch a foot or so in length in it to act as a landing platform for them.Just make sure you set it all up so that there is maximum distance between that branch and the background.Try to avoid things such as fence panels brick walls etc in the background.Also when choosing a position that you will be shooting from,make sure the main source of light is coming from behind you,although first light if decent and late afternoon will give you less problems with harsh light.Don`t fill your feeders up to the brim,try and work out a set pattern that you can top them up if empty which coincides when you have a bit of time to photograph them.Also they will get used to seeing you when you top up the feeders, they will soon get used to a routine when it comes to feeding.If there are other people with feeders in your area then that will be part of their feeding pattern, some species will fly off from your feeder and come back within 10 -15 minutes whilst others such as the LTT`s around here will dissapear from my garden and will not come back for at least an hour.The more you get to know about them the easier it will be for you.
 
Cheers rich think I will definitely give it a go in the garden and see how they react, quite a few other gardens in the area feed them as well so they may disappear and then come back again in a regular time. Would you also put the feeder on the stake that you put in the ground or would you put it next to the stake but trying to avoid getting the fence etc in the background?
 
I would be tempted to have the feeder on a seperate pole.This type is cheap enough and can be found in most stores such as Wilkinsons etc.Also allows for a couple of different bird foods as well as a mealworm tray.
 
Thanks rich going to see what I can get set up and have a good go with a few different varieties of food. Ill post some more images when I've got it set up :)
 
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