1st attempt at Birds on Stick

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Kodiak Qc

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French Canadian living in Europe since 1989!
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… a very different experience, no baits.
In early morning sunlight.
One to three are pigeons but I don't know which one,
four are sparrows, and 5 I ignore as well.

D5282%20EDpp.jpg


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D5375%20EDpp.jpg


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Thanks Wez!
The Woodpigeon is really a big thing, surprising!

After 40 years, to start something new is somehow exciting!
 
What do you usually use your 600mm for then if not birds?
 
Nice 1st go Daniel, the Goldfinch looks to need a little adjustment to the highlights, probably due to strong sunlight?
 
htid said:
What do you usually use your 600mm for then if not birds?
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Lots of industrial work where one cannot walk freely.

Landscapes, cityscapes… anything that offers an un-
usual view of sceneries, places and often people.

In cold mountain ranges, where the air is crispier, on
oceans, lakes and rivers for damage assessments in
insurance claims (plenty of these!)

In geopolitical reports covering conflicts, displaced
people etc.

Cultural assignments, in / outdoor concerts and operas,
architecture… endless possibilities.

I came to birds only when I discovered the marsh near
by. It is a place I visit everyday almost as a decompressing
time out after a shooting day, before I get back to the studio.

This one is the fourth I bought as 2 others were destroyed
(being at the right place at the right time doing the right
thing but meeting the wrong people) and one was stolen.

Long lenses have always been an important part of my
arsenal as I discovered the need for this tool was great
and too few pros had them outside sports and wildlife
shooters. So this bird shooting is very new to me.

Question answered?
 
Last edited:
gramps said:
probably due to strong sunlight?
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Exactly! That's why I prefer slightly covered days as the clouds act
as a soft box and or diffusor and reflectors.

We know well the trap… increased luminosity will affect in a much
lesser measure the darker surfaces as it will push up the lighter one
to a ratio exceeding the 12 to 14 stops DR.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•

Lots of industrial work where one cannot walk freely.

Landscapes, cityscapes… anything that offers an un-
usual view of sceneries, places and often people.

In cold mountain ranges, where the air is crispier, on
oceans, lakes and rivers for damage assessments in
insurance claims (plenty of these!)

In geopolitical reports reporting on conflicts, displaced
people etc.

Cultural assignments, in / outdoor concerts and operas,
architecture… endless possibilities.

I came to birds only when I discovered the marsh near
by. It is a place I visit everyday almost as a decompressing
time out after a shooting day, before I get back to the studio.

This one is the fourth I bought as 2 others were destroyed
(being at the right place at the right time doing the right
thing but meeting the wrong people) and one stolen.

Long lenses have always been an important part of my
arsenal as I discovered the need for this tool was great
and too few pros had them outside sports and wildlife
shooters. So this bird shooting is very new to me.

Question answered?
Click to expand...

Indeed. I wouldn't have thought you'd want to be carrying that beast around to all those different places, but I'm sure you must be putting it to good use and are obviously enjoying relaxing and taking birds with it, which is great :)
 
htid said:
wouldn't have thought you'd want to be carrying that beast around to all those different places
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As a hockey player, the weight of the gear
was never a consideration. I had pretty cool
physical condition until a domestic accident
four years ago that cost me a lot more than
just my left knee.
 
...and the sparrows are female house sparrows (Passer domesticus), and the Goldfinch is female as well (the red on the face extends slightly behind the eye in the male) - The Wood Pigeons I don't know what sex they are, but theyare adults (the white mark on the neck appears after about 1 year old).
Nice work! :):clap:
 
I am not sure Daniel, but I still think the lens is slightly off focus - maybe front focusing

did you use it with a TC?

did you use single cell spot focusing?
 
Morning Daniel

I was also looking at the Goldfinch image

but even with this image I still I think the lens is not as it should be

I'll try to find a distance shot that I took with my 600mm as I believe that it is the same as yours, (the non VR version)

how far away were you and what were your settings
 
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Greetings Bill, the same Goldfinch at 100%


D5375%20EDApp.jpg
 
Kodiak Qc said:
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Greetings Bill, the same Goldfinch at 100%


D5375%20EDApp.jpg
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to me that is not quite right - the whites are not blown according to the histogram but the sun is affecting detail

but the image does not look quite in focus and at that distance DOF should not have a great affect

what do others think?
 
BillN_33 said:
what do others think?
Click to expand...

To me this image looks as though the focus is slightly in front of the bird, my experience is though that with birds having very fine feather it can be possible for the AF to be fooled and surrounding vegetation can take on better sharpness.
 
BillN_33 said:
according to the histogram
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In CO9, the highest value is at 252/255 on
the beak, very close to but not yet clipped.

These two areas, before and after the subject
appear to have the same sharpness…

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gramps said:
my experience is though that with birds having very fine feather it can be possible for the AF to be fooled
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Yes, I observed that too but it is a well documented
effect seen on some scales, feathers, some hair etc.

diffraction
the process by which a beam of light or other system
of waves is spread out as a result of passing across an
edge, typically accompanied by interference between
the wave forms produced. Oxford Dictionary of English.
 
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…not for CO9, Bill!
 
Kodiak Qc said:
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…not for CO9, Bill!
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cannot you just find a bird up to 10 away with a plain background and see what the focus is like

as you seemed to have asked about the focus of your 600mm before
 
BillN_33 said:
as you seemed to have asked about the focus of your 600mm before
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Yes but that was in relation with the TC17, remember?
The 600 gives me total satisfaction…

C1468%20EDpp.jpg
 
Looking at the 100% goldfinch, I wonder if the issue is not low micro-contrast. The bird is clearly sat in the middle of the field of focus, but there's not much detail to be seen in areas of similar tone and colour.

The sparrows look as though there's some movement during exposure, which is odd. I can't tell what shutter speed you used, but the branches around the birds appear not to suffer the same effect. I wonder if it could be an aspect of sharpening/structure in CO9?
 
ancient_mariner said:
The sparrows look as though there's some movement during exposure, which is odd. I can't tell what shutter speed you used, but the branches around the birds appear not to suffer the same effect. I wonder if it could be an aspect of sharpening/structure in CO9?
Click to expand...

1/500, ƒ8
I don't use sharpening ever and rarely structure… and not in this case, Tony.
Here, at 100%


D5333%20EDppAA.jpg
 
Interesting how there seems to be areas in the feathers that are a single tone without significant detail. Maybe the crop factor is just too much?
 
The sharpness issues are three fold in my opinion.

The first - and the major factor - is the size of the crop. If these are at 100% then the bird must be tiny on the original shots, no camera is going to give good IQ with that about of cropping.

Next, the shutter speed is too low. 1/500th may seem fast, but small birds are constantly twitching and moving. You need to get that speed up, even if it means pushing your ISO out of your comfort zone.

Lastly, here, it looks like there is some haze issues. Given the bright light and the heavy crop, it will really show up on fine details like feathers.

Mike
 
pooley said:
The sharpness issues are three fold in my opinion.

The first - and the major factor - is the size of the crop. If these are at 100% then the bird must be tiny on the original shots, no camera is going to give good IQ with that about of cropping.

Next, the shutter speed is too low. 1/500th may seem fast, but small birds are constantly twitching and moving. You need to get that speed up, even if it means pushing your ISO out of your comfort zone.

Lastly, here, it looks like there is some haze issues. Given the bright light and the heavy crop, it will really show up on fine details like feathers.

Mike
Click to expand...

+1

Saved me posting :)
 
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@ ancient_mariner, BillN_33, pooled, Dave Semmens

Gentlemen, here are the FF… and the answer!
The crop factor is the main issue.
No haze as it was not hot then and the air was clean
Yes, CF pro tripod and gimbal head, D800E + 600.


D5282%20EDppF.jpg


D5333%20EDppF.jpg


D5375%20EDppF.jpg



​
 
Kodiak Qc said:
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@ ancient_mariner, BillN_33, pooled, Dave Semmens

Gentlemen, here are the FF… and the answer!
The crop factor is the main issue.
No haze as it was not hot then and the air was clean
Yes, CF pro tripod and gimbal head, D800E + 600.


D5282%20EDppF.jpg


D5333%20EDppF.jpg


D5375%20EDppF.jpg



​
Click to expand...

There's your answer then!

I used to try and shoot like that but it just doesn't provide the details that you get from a frame-filler :)

Of course, sometimes you have to accept that this is all you can get though ;)
 
wezza13 said:
Of course, sometimes you have to accept that this is all you can get though
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Right! I was having dinner at the neighbours and
noticed that many unbaited spots were visited by
birds of all feathers and that the morning light, par-
tially covered, would be the right conditions…
didn't get the clouds though.

The distance was too great but I knew that getting
closer would give me a too low angle to shoot.

When the summer rush is over (I still have a full hour
plan until the end of August) there will be time to look
for more!
 
when the autumn and winter arrive I carry bird food in my pocket when out walking with the camera. If I spot a bird then I place some food on a post or something nearby. They almost always come into the food. I get a photo and the birds get food in the colder months. Just photograph them coming into the food - not actually on the food.
It is a win / win situation :)
 
Dave Semmens said:
photograph them coming into the food - not actually on the food.
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Yes, I like that…
The idea of shooting birds with the feeder or the
baite in the frame is not a very pleasing option!
 
There is something not quite right with the lens or your technique ......... the results seem to be very similar to others that you have taken with the same set up

you can still get reasonably sharpe ish shots at a distance and high ISO

I took this with a 300mm PF + 1,4TC at ISO 2000 and 1/640 @f5.6 - hand held from a boat ........... and I would regard this as normal and nothing special

test_1_17th.jpg


test_2_17th.jpg
 
Kodiak Qc said:
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…got an idea, Biil?
Click to expand...

as I have said a number of times just take a normal shot of a bird that is about 5 or 10 meters away - on a wall or in a garden and posted the shot will your settings - all the images that you have posted that play with light etc., etc., do not tell me anything about the lens, the TC or anything else
 
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