Hare on the move

Dave Semmens

Dave Semmens

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Was lucky enough to find a few Hares playing out in a field. Spent lots of time watching and some time taking photos :)

Will have to go back at some point as I missed the shots when they chased each other at full speed - they corner like they are on rails and it is a sight to see.

Luckily this one decided to move at a slower pace.

Hare on the move by Dave Semmens, on Flickr

Dave.
 
Love hares but as you say, they can move ... nicely fitting in frame :)
 
That's a great shot Dave, with good composition. As you say they sure can get moving when they want to.(y)

George.
 
What a cracking shot Dave, well framed and focus seems spot on. I don't think I've ever seen a hare in the wild.
 
jakeblu said:
What a cracking shot Dave, well framed and focus seems spot on. I don't think I've ever seen a hare in the wild.
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Thanks Steve - don't see them much here - I am sure we have them but just not found them yet.

Luckily there are a lot of them near where we go on holiday in Lincolnshire. I get as many shots as possible in that week :)

Would love to go back in March when they get all frisky ;)

Dave.
 
Hi Dave,a wonderful picture !! Had a look at your flickr too some stunning images(loved the hare video). Dave I'm learning the ropes with this wildlife photo lark,but have been watching our natives since childhhood. Had a wonderful encounter with some hares yesterday,they seem to be dong very well of late around here,which is a joy. Thanks for posting this it's given me a cracking image to refer to while evaluating what we nabbed. pic wise. A second thank you because seeing your image made me want to go to our little spot a bit further away than I have to really and we got very lucky,it's not everyday one has 6, 7 or maybe 8 hares on 3 sides and they are relatively speaking undisturbed by our presence.

Ha they are so much fun to watch and yup nailing one at full speed is a pipe dream for me at the mo. The site we were at yesterday they must see folks regularly as they knew we were there but while still wary were not really bothered, by us. What got me was that they constantly were stretching,even though for the most part they were completely relaxed eating or basking in the evening sun. It made me think that even though the situation was serene, they are always ready to turn from a bumbling clown whose ears and back legs are too big,to that speed merchant we adore with that breath taking acceleration and as you say,that can corner on a sixpence.

So thanks a bunch mate,I'm in no way there yet with my imaging capabilities,I know it and am and more than a bit frustrated by my inability to capitalise on the situations I find myself in. But we had a fab time in part because of you,sure I've been tracking them a while around here,but seeing your image made me think lets go there for the crack and boy did we have a crack with them

thanks muchly mate:)

Stu
 
Wow - thanks for the kind words Stu - much appreciated :)

Glad You felt inspired to get out and give it a go. There are many things worse than been surrounded by nature for a few hours and it sounds like you had a great time.

I am no expert and still make plenty of mistakes - got within 5 yards of a Kingfisher last week and was that giddy that I blew the highlights massively. Had plenty of time but never checked an image once on the back of the camera until it was too late. Been back 3 times and spent over 12 hours waiting but she has not come back to give me a second chance :(

I am hoping to get close to the Hares in March - that would be a sight to see ;)

Good luck with it - let me know if I can be of any help.

Dave.
 
Ahh bro hmm there was me thinking i'm the only one that makes these howlers,yup keep pushing mate you WILL get your chance,good things always come if one keeps pushing hard enough. We've always done this Dave and I've used slr's for years,but never really seriously tried to capture all these wonderful things i'm gifted to see.It's an utter joy to be out there you are so right. The march hares are something special Dave,I've seen it once in real detail with time on my hands.That said the classic boxing shot can be had at other times of the year,shaz watched a brief spat yesterday,I'd mouched off to a single loan possible male while she was watching the others,him being a bit closer presented my first target.So I missed the fun completely.

Dave thanks for the kind offer of help!! I sort of have a plan:my next port of call is a body upgrade,I feel I need something that can grab focus and hold it a bit quicker for these moving beasties than my little 550d. There is so much to learn Dave,but mainly I'm just hammering the practice trying to grind it out get the muscle memory up to mount the camera spot on and instantly time after time just the base techniques really. I don't expect to get there anytime soon with what I really want,but the big thing for me is the sheer joy of being out there sharing all this with my lass . I need to be much more consistent Dave,it will come with practice.But i'm sure I'll be asking for help often in my quests. It's completely possible that what you outlined with your kingfisher will be a big failing of mine for a long time to come mate,I get to wrapped up in the moment:whistle: I'm having to really disciplin myself to keep checking exposure and adjusting to the light. In some cases I still haven't aquired the skillset to accurately get exposure right for example dark bird against the sky I am still not up to speed on judging depth of field relative to a given distance Dave,it's these real basic core skills I'm trying to learn and hammer into myself at this time. If I can get this base stuff honed now and be diligent on it I hope it will stand me in good stead later,I guess we'll see as time goes by.

Anyway cool speaking mate,sorry for rambling on your thread,i'm hopeless for that and again thanks for sharing such a cracking picture

good luck with that kingfisher,it's always hard messing up when fate gives one a chance(I know that bit it's the bit I'm good at) but you'll get her ;)

take care

Stu
 
Sounds like you have the Mrs involved too which is great - much easier to buy new kit :) although you may have to buy it twice (his and hers) ;)

There are lots of good wildlife photographers on here so post away and get feedback - I am not up on the Canon cameras as I use Nikon. I have heard good things about the 7D mk2. It just depends what you want to spend.

I have found I get better results waiting for wildlife than going after it. Just sitting in a hedge can get you great results - probably best to do it in a location that you know contains wildlife though :)

I have a few more Hare shots to process - will get them up on Flickr when I get chance - not as good as the one above though :(

Dave.
 
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Pretty much always have Dave,she's my childhood sweetheart,still with this bumbling old fool(amazing really why?). I've been showing her our country's fauna for say 30plus years,it was my thing as a kid and she loved it too. One of my prize moments is putting her in front of Brock's set with the wind in her face,back to a tree. As dusk closed in I so clearly remember that moment when I caught movement,all I could make out was a stripey nose staring at a lass with a chershire cat grin(I could just make out white no more) at a range of say a couple or three feet. Getting close and finding something to take pics of is rarely of concern, folks call it field craft now I guess. Dave,let's just say I'm blessed to have been given that skill set,it's getting the image that I covert that i'll so freely admit is where I don't measure up. I'm a picky old git Dave i'm not after mediocre,not with this,rarely so actually. So yup she's backing me on this one,but although she would never recognise this herself she has a seriously artistic eye,she's going to start with my 550 and we'll see what she needs from there. But yup we have nature running through us the goal is to show what we see. So basically I have options,I do concur waiting in the right spot is a cool game plan,but I'm a sneaking XXXX when I want to be,so stalking will never be ruled out;)

Dave i've posted here about my choice for the new body and have received huge kindness,yup the 7Dii is one of two cameras after a world of reading i'm honed in on. The other is the 1Div i'm probably going to be going for the iv,too much to elaborate on here,the choice is very very tight.

I guess that is what we are both striving for,me eons behind you ,is not just one image that grabs one's inner self but a whole lot that it is almost impossible to separate. Ha mate I'm light years away it's cool,it makes me want to try harder,but I want to just have that skill set where I nail that one chance,ahh ya gotta dream huh!! :rolleyes:

I'd love to see the others mate really would, I don't know if it's usual when shooting wildlife to have that one pic that just grabs like your above shot, does me.It IS completely conceivable when catching a moment that this moment could be the deciding factor,ie something special is happening but beyond that the simple things are bothering me

take care kiddo,still think you'll nail her;)(kingy)

Stu.
 
Here are a few thoughts Stu - things popped into my head while reading your reply - so just sticking them down here. Now these are my thoughts and other people may think the total opposite :)

Camera choice (Mk4 v 7D mk2) - For wildlife I would choose the 7d Mk2 (if I was buying Canon). The main reason for that is that it allows you to add exposure compensation. Nikon cameras have had this feature for years and it is one of the reasons I moved over to Nikon. Now the newer Canons have it as well. This feature makes using auto ISO in manual mode useful. I won't go into the ins and outs here but for me it is invaluable for wildlife photography. As far as I am aware the Mk4 does not have it but the newer 7D mk2 does.

Staying put v stalking - I have had good results with both, but some of my best shots have come from waiting. Waiting allows use of my tripod and for me to choose the location / background and my position relative to where I expect the subject to appear. I still like a mooch with the camera though - even if the lens does seem to be getting heavier every time I go out :)

I have only been into photography for just over a year but like yourself I have spent a lot of time around nature with various hobbies in the past. I would think that most people struggle on both finding good subjects and then getting good images. At least you can find the subjects :) I am sure the rest will come if you keep at it. I do not consider myself to be anything special but I am very picky about my images - it drives the wife crazy when I delete some of them. I see photos everyday that inspire me to do better - both on here and on the WWW.

Dave.
 
Hiya Dave, ahh mate thanks for taking the time ,i'm very grateful for your thoughts really am!! I'm also grateful that you have stuck replies here it's your stunning Hare picture's thread which i'm derailing,so know that I appreciate this

The 7Dii was my initial choice,i read the specs way back,spent way too many hours reading up on focus issues IQ and god knows what else. I've seen a fair few folks that are seriously talented and have sold a iv and then bought a ii and then not been completely happy and gone back. These are knowledgeable guys Dave and i'm utterly not. So what is bothering me is I need to trust my new body,it worries me that I would naturally blame myself and would have to go to some lengths to really believe it was a body issue not me being a problem. A member here has let me try out a iv Dave I really like the feel of it,it's over twice as heavy as my 550D which concerned me,but it feels right,I hopefully will purchase this exact body shortly. I know it works the guy takes some awesome pictures with it,(he's got a chance of a 1DX otherwise I don't think he would part with it), This barring my learning curve with the new body , will remove my foremost concern outlined above . It feels right Dave no small thing with a camera.

Dave I completely take on board your point about exposure compensation and auto iso,although I haven't used this facility I can see how damn useful it would be for wildlife togs.....We predict a given need for a set apature and shutter speed,the camera uses the iso plus exposure compensation to give us correct exposure even for a dark bif against a bright sky. I in some ways would also like the dense sensor more pixels on subject and new tech is ever moving forwards it's no easy choice Dave ,but i've got the chance of a proven body,built like a tank which is swaying me. So I'm pretty much set now,although again I need to say cheers for the words mate. Dave I can't really loose,either body will be a significant upgrade and if the pics are crap,i'll have to own that,which I'm completely cool with.

I'm going to try and get some of my hare pics up shortly,I'd love you to be ruthless with them like your own, I haven't offered anything up for critique really yet. I get the same thing from Shaz,nah you can't delete that. Dave ,it's interesting I'm not yet a photographer,,but as of yet I'm not completely ingrained in pin sharp focus, rules of composition, etc .Many of the things togs hold dear. So I find it deeply interesting how a layman likes a "somewhat blurry" for example image,that togs would call awful. In some ways I also muse what is being lost as many images are very similar.

I appreciate the thoughts on stalking vs waiting,that adds up,while i'm here pondering and musing could one be too premeditated while playing the waiting game? Dave I would be guilty of trying to capture a specific shot,lets say hare's for example,I want to capture similar to your self the boxing...... the balls to the wall head down speed merchant.Do these preconceived ideas get in the way of us being creative? Is that point mute because we grab what's given ,even though we wanted X? No real need to answer that Dave just me being me,ha one does get time to ponder such things in a hide huh,lmao
David, you have done very well for a year, ha, put some graft in hey mate:cool:,good for you buddy!!

take care

Stu
 
Sounds like you have done more research than most before opting for the Mkiv so I am sure you will be fine with it. The 1D cameras are fantastic and the 1.3 crop will help with wildlife.

To be fair I met a photographer in Norfolk a few months ago - he makes some money from stock photography and was telling me that his 1D 4 was back at Canon having a problem fixed (general wear and tear) He had bought the 7D mk2 so he could keep taking photos while the other was in for repair. He wasn't getting on with the 7d mk2 and couldn't wait for his 1D to return.

I can't remember his reasons but he was going to sell the 7D as soon as the 1D returned.

Will keep an eye out for your images :)

Dave.
 
Dave Semmens said:
Sounds like you have done more research than most before opting for the Mkiv so I am sure you will be fine with it. The 1D cameras are fantastic and the 1.3 crop will help with wildlife.

To be fair I met a photographer in Norfolk a few months ago - he makes some money from stock photography and was telling me that his 1D 4 was back at Canon having a problem fixed (general wear and tear) He had bought the 7D mk2 so he could keep taking photos while the other was in for repair. He wasn't getting on with the 7d mk2 and couldn't wait for his 1D to return.

I can't remember his reasons but he was going to sell the 7D as soon as the 1D returned.

Will keep an eye out for your images :)

Dave.
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Yes too bloody much Dave,and many helpful guys have helped me make this choice,they have my huge thanks. But then, it's a big deal to me. I have to say this is a really hard choice mate and in no way do I want the mark ii knocked,I just need that stability at this time. I fee that the 7Dii is capable of exceptional images they are posted it's fact Really I want the best bits of both and to combine them,ha you'll say I have mate it's called a nikon,lmao:p. Hopefully i'll soon have a new camera to grow into and maybe just maybe one day I'll be worthy of her,leastways I can't wait to try. God, that thing is quick to focus,ha you caught up with me and clocked a couple of SEO's Dave, quickly this bumpkin worked out a flight pattern I had to pre empt where the bird might be and focus there just to give myself a chance ,i'm not going to knock my body either,she's done me proud,but just as a simple guy I don't think she really has the power to drive these big lumps of glass,I think the iv will and then it's down to me.

Dave thanks for the kindness across the board,really appreciate it mate,

Stu
 
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