Wren

G

gary43

Messages
2,679
Edit My Images
Yes
Finally from me for today. Below is a wren shot from a week ago.

5H3A1293_zpskvyh43t8.jpg
 
Nice pose with good feather detail ... you might want to flag up the duplicate post for deletion :)
 
Hi Lea

Many thanks for the comment. I was just lucky !

The screen grab below gives the settings inset. This was taken with a Canon 7D2 plus x1.4II plus 400f4DO (mk1) combination.

Thanks again.

Gary

wren2_zpsu7perm6j.jpg
 
Thanks gramps for the comments. The mods have been informed of my duplication error.
 
Thanks for posting the settings Gary, much appreciated. The one I'm after taking a piccy of tends to stay in the undergrowth and only pops out into the open very briefly. You've encouraged me to try a bit harder and with more patience hehe :)
 
Hi Lea

All my photography is done whilst walking the dog so I am very bad at luring birds but I would be tempted to feed your local wren to see if you can get him closer/more accustomed to you. Good luck and I hope to see some great shots from you very soon.

Regards

Gary
 
Superb photo capturing all the typical characteristics.

wishmaster said:
The one I'm after taking a piccy of tends to stay in the undergrowth and only pops out into the open very briefly. You've encouraged me to try a bit harder and with more patience hehe :)
Click to expand...

....Tell me about it!! A Wren lives in my garden and I have been trying without success to photograph it for 18 months!

However, the trick is to notice where they are and then have lots and lots and lots of patience and shoot very quickly!
 
Hi Robin

Thanks for the kind comment. As mentioned, I was just lucky to catch this chap whilst out and about. They are super-elusive around here normally as well.

Good luck with shooting yours as well !

Regards

Gary
 
gary43 said:
Hi Robin

Thanks for the kind comment. As mentioned, I was just lucky to catch this chap whilst out and about. They are super-elusive around here normally as well.

Good luck with shooting yours as well !

Regards

Gary
Click to expand...

....After 18 months of 'Wren frustration' I have bagged 4 different Wrens this month! Some shots better than others and I'll start a thread when I have processed them all.

I bet that Canon 400mm DO of yours is a joy! It looks as if adding the 1.4x doesn't restrict your DO lens to F/8 as it does with my 7D2 + 100-400mm II + 1.4x III.
 
Hi Robin

Very pleased with the 400DO. I am though toyng with getting either a 100-400II or a Sigma 150-600C as a travel lens. I think I will go with the Sigma based on the thoughts of a mate of mine who has tried both.

F5.6 is a bonus. That said, the 7D2 seems quite good at reasonably high iso's so you can get decent shutter speeds even at f8 in ok light conditions.

Look forward to seeing the wren shots.

Gary
 
gary43 said:
Hi Robin

Very pleased with the 400DO. I am though toyng with getting either a 100-400II or a Sigma 150-600C as a travel lens. I think I will go with the Sigma based on the thoughts of a mate of mine who has tried both.
Click to expand...


....There are other review comparisons on the hyperinterwebbynet but Tony & Chelsea Northrup are unbiassed :

 
gary43 said:
Hi Lea

All my photography is done whilst walking the dog so I am very bad at luring birds but I would be tempted to feed your local wren to see if you can get him closer/more accustomed to you. Good luck and I hope to see some great shots from you very soon.

Regards

Gary
Click to expand...
Hi Gary,

Funnily enough, I just bought some wild bird food and went for the one with the tiniest seeds in the hope the wren will like them. I'm hoping that will help me get close enough for even a half decent shot or two :)

Cheers,
Lea
 
RedRobin said:
....Tell me about it!! A Wren lives in my garden and I have been trying without success to photograph it for 18 months!

However, the trick is to notice where they are and then have lots and lots and lots of patience and shoot very quickly!
Click to expand...
I tried for many hours to get a good shot with my D3100, but my technique sadly lacking. I also have an FZ1000 which focuses virtually instantly and so I'm a bit more confident that will make up for my poor skills :p
 
Just a comment Gary which is not a criticism

Wrens are very small delicate birds and your image does not really bring this out.

The "heavy" bg does not do the image any favours ..... and I am not sure that this image works with such a bg which is too dominant and distracting, IMHO the background is "messy"

Maybe just adding a little more space would help, and cloning out the big branch in the bottom LH corner and a little more in the RHS half way up. Then boost the brightness in the bg to emphasise the bird

just IMHO
 
Last edited:
Excellent shot,Gary. I took one of a wren last week on holiday in Cornwall that was so bad I wanted to know why and asked in Feedback so I now know a good shot can be had of this tiny bird .It looks like Lea had the same problems as I did with my wren shot which, needless to say, hasn't appeared in this main forum.

Bill….As you responded to my question in Feedback regarding my awful wren shot, which along with other responses I really appreciated,what you've said here just re-iterates how difficult this tiny bird is to get and in the ideal setting,not only because of it's diminutive size but as mentioned in a couple of responses above, its elusiveness and to get it as good as this one is a real achievement. Obviously, these little fellas..or gals..lol..aren't ones for sitting around in an ideal spot for photos to be taken and you've just got to take it as it is.The best spot would be on a fence post with a field behind it..lol. and I do appreciate that your comments are well intentioned and as you say,not a criticism and ordinarily most wouldn't disagree with your observations but with this bird it's clear to me that it's a case of opportunity whenever/wherever it presents itself.I don't know if the result of the naming of a national bird question has been resolved but the wren was up there at the top as I recall but not much point if it rarely makes an appearance..we'd be better with one that at least people get to see rather than just hear and wonder where the heck it is.It's scientific name is 'cave dweller' which probably accounts for this elusive behaviour in the open.The only time people of old saw one was on the now defunct farthing coin..lol.
 
JohnC6 said:
Excellent shot,Gary. I took one of a wren last week on holiday in Cornwall that was so bad I wanted to know why and asked in Feedback so I now know a good shot can be had of this tiny bird .It looks like Lea had the same problems as I did with my wren shot which, needless to say, hasn't appeared in this main forum.

Bill….As you responded to my question in Feedback regarding my awful wren shot, which along with other responses I really appreciated,what you've said here just re-iterates how difficult this tiny bird is to get and in the ideal setting,not only because of it's diminutive size but as mentioned in a couple of responses above, its elusiveness and to get it as good as this one is a real achievement. Obviously, these little fellas..or gals..lol..aren't ones for sitting around in an ideal spot for photos to be taken and you've just got to take it as it is.The best spot would be on a fence post with a field behind it..lol. and I do appreciate that your comments are well intentioned and as you say,not a criticism and ordinarily most wouldn't disagree with your observations but with this bird it's clear to me that it's a case of opportunity whenever/wherever it presents itself.I don't know if the result of the naming of a national bird question has been resolved but the wren was up there at the top as I recall but not much point if it rarely makes an appearance..we'd be better with one that at least people get to see rather than just hear and wonder where the heck it is.It's scientific name is 'cave dweller' which probably accounts for this elusive behaviour in the open.The only time people of old saw one was on the now defunct farthing coin..lol.
Click to expand...

Here we go again

I have posted my views and suggestions on how the (composition) of the image could be improved in two simple ways:

1). a smaller crop could be used, i.e. more space around the bird ....... to bring out the scale and size of the bird ........ less than 5 secs to achieve and consider, maybe better, maybe not

2). The subject of the image, the bird, could be made to be more prominent if the background is improved .......... quite simple in PP ...... less than a few minutes to achieve and consider, maybe better, maybe not

I would have thought that these comments would be more useful to the OP than saying that "I like the image" or "how nice it is " or "that they are good shots" ...... what does anyone get from that?

I have not commented on the technical aspects of the image

I have NOT said that it is a bad shot ....... I have NOT commented on how easy or difficult the wren is to shoot or indeed the fieldcraft needed to get near and find such a bird

There are many birds that are difficult to shoot ..... e.g. Goldcrest and Firecrest that are smaller and more twitchy than the wren and there are also much bigger birds that are difficult to find........ but it does not mean that they are scarce or difficult to photograph

My comments were suggestions on how the existing image could be improved ........ not how to find and take a better image of a Wren

The image is posted in the Critique section and that is what I provided .........NOT criticism or skill or luck needed to take such an image.

(not sure what you mean when you said "As you responded to my question in Feedback regarding my awful wren shot" ....... did you post an image of a wren? - all I have done is respond to the image posted in #1 not to anyones comments ......... ??)
 
Last edited:
BillN_33 said:
I would have thought that these comments would be more useful to the OP than saying that "I like the image" or "how nice it is " or "that they are good shots" ...... what does anyone get from that?
Click to expand...
Satisfaction of knowing people appreciate you posting your photos? If not criticism, it's nice to know someone perhaps enjoyed it as much as you did taking the pic. At least, that's what it's all about for me.

To be honest, I would happily post more than a simple 'wow' or 'fab shot' if I thought for a moment my comments had merit or I the technical knowhow to actually judge what makes or doesn't a good piccy. I'll leave that to the experts on the forum. I'm still very much a novice with fairly entry level kit in comparison to many here and so will carry on with my mundane comments :D For me, it remains a beautiful piccy of one of my fave birds and one which I'd dearly love to get a comparable photo of.
 
Last edited:
wishmaster said:
Satisfaction of knowing people appreciate you posting your photos? If not criticism, it's nice to know someone perhaps enjoyed it as much as you did taking the pic. At least, that's what it's all about for me.

To be honest, I would happily post more than a simple 'wow' or 'fab shot' if I thought for a moment my comments had merit or I the technical knowhow to actually judge what makes or doesn't a good piccy. I'll leave that to the experts on the forum. I'm still very much a novice with fairly entry level kit in comparison to many here and so will carry on with my mundane comments :D For me, it remains a beautiful piccy of one of my fave birds and one which I'd dearly love to get a comparable photo of.
Click to expand...

I am happy for you to do so ........ that is not my point .............. I am not an "expert" ......... but I feel it useful to critique an image in this section after being a member for just over a year when I started taking bird images with a more serious intent, I have improved considerably in a year due to being a part of the forum and I genuinely felt that it would be good to give something back, I sometimes realise that maybe I'm wrong ......... both types of comments are necessary as is the truth

Anyway we, (I) am going OT ...... so comments on the image are needed for the OP
 
Last edited:
JohnC6 said:
It's scientific name is 'cave dweller' which probably accounts for this elusive behaviour in the open.The only time people of old saw one was on the now defunct farthing coin..lol.
Click to expand...

Which is why i'm always amazed to learn that the Wren is Britain's most common bird.

I see them flitting around my feeders but usually on the ground.

I think you've caught this one nicely and It's nice to see one higher up, looking down.
 
Hi Robin

Thanks for the linky to the lens shootout. I looked at this a bit ago and it seems that all lenses reviewed perform similarly. I like the build quality and compact size of the 100-400 mk2 but the native 600mm and price ofthe Sigma.

Will decide soon which way to go !


Hi BillN_33

Many thanks for the constructive comments. I really appreciate you taking the time for such an excellent critique. OOI, my preferred style is to crop REALLY tight and preferably to have interesting light to see the detail of the bird. I prefer such an image rather than the more familiar uniformly-exposed, environmental image.


Hi John & Lea

Thanks for the comments above. They too are really appreciated.

Regards to all.

Gary
 
Cheers Phil

The wren is indeed surprisingly common but also very flitty and tricky to image IMHO. I too like the angle.

Regards

Gary
 
gary43 said:
OOI, my preferred style is to crop REALLY tight and preferably to have interesting light to see the detail of the bird. I prefer such an image rather than the more familiar uniformly-exposed, environmental image.
Click to expand...

....Sometimes, and especially often with elusive birds like Wrens, we don't have much choice about how a shot presents itself but I think it's also very much acceptable for a photographer to adopt their own style and if that means tight crops, then that's cool as far as I'm concerned - There's not really any absolute right or wrong in my not so humble opinion :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top