A pair of Tits of the Bearded variety....

RedRobin

RedRobin

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Robin
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^ #1



^ #2



^ #3



^ #4

All with very minimal cropping - Wildlife is often either too far away or too close! More info on Flickr [click image].

There was just one pair. At Lodmoor, Dorset recently.

All comments/discussion welcome

:)
 
Lovely set Robin, I shall expect you to find them again when we meet up! :D
 
Good set Robin
 
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dinners said:
Fine set Robin

The last would be my pick
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....Thanks, Phil :)

That last pic #4 was a lot of hard work - The bird came very close for my 400mm lens (minimum focal distance is ~12ft) and I couldn't step back. She was swaying and turning her head mostly the other way looking for her mate. Also I was on her shady side and I wanted to include the top of the reed in the breeze - Only the vertical sides have been cropped to go from 3 x 2 to 5 x 4. It was all very tight and I gunned about 8 shots handheld to get this one.

I'm pleased with it though and would have been disappointed if I had failed as I 'saw' the shot before taking it. The shape of the reed top and bird's balance on it is what attracted me to go for it.
 
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These are excellent, in my opinion they will be appreciated most by folks who have made similar captures.
The exposures, colours and fine detail are all top notch, anyone who's tried knows achieving results of this quality are far from easy.
Cheers
Tony
 
A really nice set of images Robin, with some lovely contrejior (I think that's how you spell it:)) lighting and good compositions.(y)

George.
 
G.K.Jnr. said:
A really nice set of images Robin, with some lovely contrejior (I think that's how you spell it:)) lighting and good compositions.(y)

George.
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....Thanks, George! It's "éclairé à contre-jour" French for lit by backlight, so you were very close. "Contre-jour" literally translates to "against the day" - Those Frenchies always did have a different perspective on things :D

I had no choice about the shots being backlit but sometimes it can produce some good results and so I'm never afraid of it.
 
What a great set of a fabulous bird. If I had to choose, the 1st and 3rd steal the show for me........nice.
 
RedRobin said:
....Thanks, Phil :)

That last pic #4 was a lot of hard work - The bird came very close for my 400mm lens (minimum focal distance is ~12ft) and I couldn't step back. She was swaying and turning her head mostly the other way looking for her mate. Also I was on her shady side and I wanted to include the top of the reed in the breeze - Only the vertical sides have been cropped to go from 3 x 2 to 5 x 4. It was all very tight and I gunned about 8 shots handheld to get this one.

I'm pleased with it though and would have been disappointed if I had failed as I 'saw' the shot before taking it. The shape of the reed top and bird's balance on it is what attracted me to go for it.
Click to expand...

Good read Robin.

Often we see a shot or post a shot without hearing any offering or insight into the effort or planning behind getting the image.
 
flavio said:
These are excellent, in my opinion they will be appreciated most by folks who have made similar captures.
The exposures, colours and fine detail are all top notch, anyone who's tried knows achieving results of this quality are far from easy.
Cheers
Tony
Click to expand...

....Coming from you that's very high praise indeed :). I have seen the high standard of lots of your photography and enjoyed it.
 
Just a thought; I wonder if your white balance is a bit out?

The edge to the wing in the males should be white, rather than the pale blue it appears on my monitor, and the grey on the head should be more neutral. Could be my monitor, I suppose.......

What amazing-looking birds they are.
 
jerry12953 said:
Just a thought; I wonder if your white balance is a bit out?

The edge to the wing in the males should be white, rather than the pale blue it appears on my monitor, and the grey on the head should be more neutral. Could be my monitor, I suppose.......

What amazing-looking birds they are.
Click to expand...

....Thanks, Jeremy - I'll look into the WB. My camera is set to AWB but I might have spoilt that in post-processing. It was tricky PP perhaps due to being backlit.
 
Lovely set of images.
#3 just get's my preference, brighter eye and good detail and colour in the plumage
 
Rustydon said:
Another vote for number 3, Robin (y) - best of a cracking set. It has the sharpest detail and best pose/composition in my opinion (but maybe a very slight blue/purple colour cast :thinking:)

Russ
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....Yes, Jeremy @jerry12953 also pointed that out. I have tried to fine tune the White Balance temperature but losing the blueness compromises the rest of the colours and makes overall effect much worse. So I'm not sure how to correct it.
 
not in any way perfect - but white recovered - but still looks bluish on here but white in CS6

I also reduced the clarity a little

what lens did you use Robin, the 400 f5.6?

Robin.png.jpg
 
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BillN_33 said:
not in any way perfect - but white recovered - but still looks bluish on here but white in CS6

I also reduced the clarity a little

what lens did you use Robin, the 400 f5.6?
Click to expand...


....Yes, the Canon 400mm F/5.6 L

Thanks but I'm afraid I prefer the 'brightness' of my original image in spite of its blue tendency. :)
 
Superb images, the backlighting on the first one is exceptional. They look fine on my screen.
 
Lovely clear images.....:)
 
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