Misc Nature Photo's Thread

[2wheelsagain]

First topic message reminder :

Since yesterdays off topic hijacking of re-cycled's ride thread, Gus and I have been challenging each other via PM to post our best nature photo.

I'm sure he wont mind if anyone else joins in. There's some good snappers amongst us.
No prizes. Just share your best work.

Rules;
I think we'll limit it to one pic each per day
Anything to do with nature.
No photoshopping except for basic adjustments.
If you're a professional you should declare it in the post.
Max 1000 pixels wide.
Description optional.

Here's the big G's effort today. Taken at home today.


Here's mine. Taken at Walhalla last year


Come on, join in

[Hammy]

Nice colours and soft tones. Love the cloud formation and the masts in the westgate shot.

[2wheelsagain]

Here is my last bee shot (probably) until I get my macro lens.


Chris I only take my small point and shoot pocket Casio (aluminium casing) away to fires with me.
I take your point but I need something light and pocket size

[Hammy]

Nice comp' 2WA. Thats a big lookin' Bee !

[Hammy]

This one is helping to pollinate my SweetCorn.

[lliquidlen]

Both great shots Chris and Hammy. Question, were either of you using on board flashes?

[Hammy]

Both great shots Chris and Hammy. Question, were either of you using on board flashes?

Not on the Bee shot LLiquidlen but I did with the Hover fly . Sigma EM 140 Ring flash.

[2wheelsagain]

Both great shots Chris and Hammy. Question, were either of you using on board flashes?

Not on the Bee shot LLiquidlen but I did with the Hover fly . Sigma EM 140 Ring flash.

Not on mine either.
Aperture priority f8 setting sun on that side of the yard probably about 1/200 400 iso 18 - 55mm Nikon @55mm

[lliquidlen]

A Swamp Harrier hunting cygnets at the Edithvale Wetlands on a Canon 1DMKIII with 400 f/5.6 + 1.4X Converter @ 560mm, f/8, 1/2500 Sec

[2wheelsagain]

Were you perched in a tree for that shot Chris?
The elevation angle is perfect. I might need to put in for a transfer

[Baz]

i'm speechless ..

[lliquidlen]

No Chris just on a spotting platform and the Harrier was troubling a pair of cygnets fairly close to the water and would have got one except for this gutsy Plover which attacked him and he ran for cover,



Same Harrier turning in for the kill before being attacked by the Plover.

[2wheelsagain]

Brilliant. Bloody show off!

[Kaupy1962]

Exactly. Bloody unreal mate. Almost like you're flying along side of it.

[lliquidlen]

Welcome Swallow Mum feeding offspring

[Kaupy1962]

Cows on an extremely steep hill

[img][/img]

[lliquidlen]

You shit stirrer Kaupy, I went and got my reading glasses to try and find the f*@king cows, don't do that to old farts. you make us worry about failing eyesight.

[Kaupy1962]

Sorry mate, but when I first looked up that hill I thought, "Nah, that can't be cows up there" That hill, even though it doesn't look it in the pic, is almost 80 degrees. I reckon at 49 there's no way that I could climb it without dropping dead.

[Hammy]

Great BIF shots Chris. I wish now I went for the 400 instead of the 300 IS f4. w 1.4 tc. Oh well. I love the cows too.

[lliquidlen]

Kaupy is a Bathtub.

Hammy the 400 is a great lens but the 300 f/4IS L is a much more versatile lens IS, close focus, and you could always look for a second hand 400 to back it up but remember the 1.4X Con. slows down the focus on the 400 just as much as the 300, maybe even more so as the 400 is a f/5.6 with the 1.4 f/8 and the only reason I had auto-focus is the 1DMKIII is a $6500 Pro Camera that will AF at f/8.

[2wheelsagain]

Kaupy is a Bathtub.

Hammy the 400 is a great lens but the 300 f/4IS L is a much more versatile lens IS, close focus, and you could always look for a second hand 400 to back it up but remember the 1.4X Con. slows down the focus on the 400 just as much as the 300, maybe even more so as the 400 is a f/5.6 with the 1.4 f/8 and the only reason I had auto-focus is the 1DMKIII is a $6500 Pro Camera that will AF at f/8.

That post will impress the pants off Gus

[2wheelsagain]

I took 400 photos while I was "at work" yesterday.
These are some of the results. Still struggling with the 55-200mm lens

Yellow Billled & Royal Spoonbill



Waxlip Orchids


Smooth Parrot Pea

[lliquidlen]

Chris, you are being to hard on yourself and your equipment.

The image with the two Spoonbills has "Blown the whites" which means the whites are overexposed which removes detail from the birds, this is best addressed when converting from RAW to Jpeg but I have done what I could dealing with the Jpeg that you posted.



Had this been addressed in RAW conversion the results would have been much better.

Read this and tell me what you understand or not.

http://digitalbirdphotography.com/11.2.html

[2wheelsagain]

Thanks Chris.
It was shot in RAW and I adjusted as much as I dared using the Nikon PC software. Cropping and other adjustments were then done in Photoshop as a TIF. They were shot from 200m away so I was happy just to get a clear outcome. I'm starting to wonder if the D90 over exposes by a full stop. The shot was taken at early morning so light was soft etc.

We need a day out together with our cameras. And another on the bikes
I'll have a look at the link today at work if its slow. I need to do something because I'm getting pissed off especially with that lens.

Can I email you the 11mb NEF (Nikon Raw) so you can see what the original was like?

Thanks again.

[lliquidlen]

Yes Email away.

Don't get too pissed off, cameras are only a tool that requires a lot of input by us, looking at your Histogram will tell you a lot about the image, much more than looking at it on the screen at the back of the camera, if the lines on your histogram are tall on the right of it you have probably over exposed the image or parts of it and that is NOT the lens.

The good news is that almost ALL good photographers do it but DON'T post their blown images and in PS there is a "Recovery slider" that does exactly that and on most cameras you can set them to show the "blown highlights"

Check these.

http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00XBMh

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D90/D90A3.HTM

http://www.redbubble.com/groups/nikon-dslr-users-group/forums/2933/topics/128854-blown-highlights-setting

Remember the situation may make it almost impossible to get the perfect image and that is when a good photographer will simply not take the image, I disagree with this as it is hard to learn from an image not taken and another problem is taking images beyond the effective range of the lens and this is when you adopt the "Arthur Morris" answer by almost always using a 800mm Lens + 1.4X Converter, but then he is paid by Canon.

http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2009/03/12/the-bosque-post-nanpa-ipt-report/

[Kaupy1962]

Ok call me thick. What do you mean I'm a Bathtub

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