Wild A change from the norm..

Graham · 23 Feb 2015

Hi all, well i`m normally in the Macro section, anyhow, since starting taking photos with a DSLR I have become more and more liking all types of wildlife, big, medium or very small.
So on my way back from work 2-3 days a week I see this little Egret in a dyke along side the road so as its my day off I thought why not go and see if I can grab a few shots,
ok so not the best shot but its the sharpest for me and as its a bit flighty its the only shots I could get with the reeds in shot.
There was a much bigger one, not too sure if it was a white Heron (albino) if there is such a thing but that was impossible to get a shot of.

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Then there was this little chat, sorry I dont have a clue what it is (maybe a Willow warble) This is a fairly large crop, I saw a fair few about.
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And the cream was this Coypu, there was several of these about, not the best shot as I didnt think to take a better lens with me.
This chap/ess was enjoying the Ducks dinner (Bread)
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Thanks for looking and if you can help or tell me if I was right with the small bird or bigger heron/egret that I didnt get a shot of would be helpful.

Thanks

Big Rob · 23 Feb 2015

It would help if we knew where you took the photos Graham. The large white bird similar to a heron sounds like a Great white egret, the "cousin" to the Little egret you photographed.
You really need a much longer lens than you are using if you are going to get close up bird photos I'm afraid. What are you using at the moment?

Graham · 23 Feb 2015

Big Rob said:
It would help if we knew where you took the photos Graham. The large white bird similar to a heron sounds like a Great white egret, the "cousin" to the Little egret you photographed.
You really need a much longer lens than you are using if you are going to get close up bird photos I'm afraid. What are you using at the moment?

Hi Robin, haha I was using a macro lens

at the time, this would normally be ok for 10-15 meters away as was this case.
Sorry I forgot to put that I am in the South of France

After a little hunting on wiki, I see that the Great white egret was called the "Great white heron" in the olde days so thats sorted that.

Joeturner11 · 23 Feb 2015

First image is ruined by the lines infront of the bird and across the image IMHO, exposure wise I would say you need to go abit under still and overall IQ isn't the best, but the best of these images. Second image is firstly to small in the frame which couldn't be helped as you where using a macro lens as you said but too small to have any impact I'm afraid, but still the framing is very central which detracts also from the shot. The focus is also missed and focused on the reeds behind. The last image of the has missed the focus by the looks of it, (the image has back focused I would imagine) and again exposure is over. In all honestly none are worth keeping, I would either go back out with your lens and work on fieldcraft and get a hide setup or maybe worth investing in a longer lens.

Graham · 23 Feb 2015

Joeturner11 said:
First image is ruined by the lines infront of the bird and across the image IMHO, exposure wise I would say you need to go abit under still and overall IQ isn't the best, but the best of these images. Second image is firstly to small in the frame which couldn't be helped as you where using a macro lens as you said but too small to have any impact I'm afraid, but still the framing is very central which detracts also from the shot. The focus is also missed and focused on the reeds behind. The last image of the has missed the focus by the looks of it, (the image has back focused I would imagine) and again exposure is over. In all honestly none are worth keeping, I would either go back out with your lens and work on fieldcraft and get a hide setup or maybe worth investing in a longer lens.

Cheers Joe,
Tbh I had a 2x t/c on which imo didn't help with focus, maybe the quality isn't that good.
#1 its the reeds were in the way, nothing I could have done.
#2 it was a small chap so focus wasn't easy.
#3 shame on me not getting focus on this fat lump lol
Thanks for your input Joe.