Swallows, Pelicans, Cormorants, Kites & Bush Thick Knees

[Dennis]

Hello,

Here are a few bird photos taken during recent trips to Moreton Island. The Swallow photos are incredibly difficult to shoot; in flight, they are virtually impossible to capture. For every one that has a bird, or partial bird in-frame, I probably have 50 shots of an empty blue sky.:sadeyes:

Whilst I was on the jetty trying to capture Cormorants in flight, one Swallow landed within 3 or 4 metres of me, perching on the railings where I managed to grab a few shots whilst he inspected my gear!

The Pelican in flight shots were captured from the Tangalooma Ferry as we motored out of the mouth of the Brisbane River early in the morning. The Pelicans were heading up river with the Sun behind them, making exposure difficult to judge.

The Whistling Kite was wheeling overhead as we were making our way to pick up our tickets for the return journey.

All in all, a couple of very memorable day trips. Thanks for looking.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

some great shots there Dennis, nice pelican :)

[multiweb]

Love #1 & #2. That bird almost looks like a butterfly.

[DavidU]

#4 ! a corker.

[rcheshire]

Magnificent Dennis. Constantly in awe of your work.

[jjjnettie]

Pelican!!!
Congrats on the swallow too.

[astroboy]

Excellent shots Dennis
You must have a lot of skill to get some of those in flight shots . I really like the cormorant shot but think ( if you don't mind my saying ) that it would be better not so tightly cropped and with a vertical composition to get more of that reflection.

Great work !
Zane

[iceman]

Fantastic shots, Dennis.

The last one is hilarious - reminds me of that eagle character off the muppets - can't remember his name :)

[multiweb]

Gonzo (the trumpeteer)

[iceman]

No not him. The big eagle.

[iceman]

This one top left.

[multiweb]

Ha ok... Sam the Eagle.

[Liz]

You Sesame Street boys!! :lol::lol:

Magnificent images Dennis, I am in awe of how sharp you can get these moving creatures. :shrug: Beautiful. :thumbsup:

[Dennis]

Thanks for stopping by and having a look at these gorgeous creatures.:)

Zane – thank you for your suggestion re the crop and yes – I agree, it is too cramped and would benefit from a portrait crop. However, what you see is virtually the full frame, as the Corm just got too close! The reflection was off the bottom of the frame as the Cormorant filled the 400mm field of view; one of those rare cases of too long a focal length!:lol:

Cheers

Dennis

[ving]

bleeding excellent work there dennis :D

[Derek Klepp]

Really like the 2nd Swallow shot.

[acropolite]

Swallow shots are awesome Dennis.:thumbsup:

[astroron]

Bloomin Marvalous Dennis:D
Enjoyed them all:)
Cheers:thumbsup:

[oosh]

Great images Dennis! My pick of the bunch is the one mid flight with its reflection in the water! I'm assuming this is with the 400L (or was it 300?) - very crisp.

[Octane]

I can see extended halos around some of the birds. Topaz?

#4 is win.

H

[suma126]

my pick is the last one but all are good. :thumbsup:

[spearo]

Great shots Dennis !
Very crisp and sharp.

Can I ask what camera/lens you use?
thanks
frank

[oosh]

I'm gonna guess it's a canon 7D with either a 300 or 400mm L.

[spearo]

Ok
Ill guess 5d MkII with a 400mmL as well (the crop on one of the birds suggetss it isnt the 100-400L.

cant wait to find out
:)
frank

[Jeffkop]

I could go out into the wild for a year and not come within a street of takin photo's as good as these ... Id LOVE to be able to ... and every time I try THESE are what my brain sees ... and when I look through the viewfinder ... THESE are what I see ... but something happens when I press the shutter release.

Very impressed and green with envy.

[Dennis]

Hello,

Thank you all for your nice words of appreciation and please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to any questions, I have been away on business for 4 days.


Hi Jason - all photos were taken with the Canon 7D; the Cormorant and reflection was with the 400mm F5.6L.


Thanks H – The halos are more than likely from my lazy masking efforts using CS5 Shadow/Highlight in attempts to pull some detail from the backlit birds.


Hi Frank – Camera was Canon 7D and the lenses were the 300mm F4L and 400mm F5.6L. The autofocus on the 400mm is lightning fast and makes the 300m appear quite slow, although it is still quite a responsive lens in itself.

Cheers

Dennis

[oosh]

I win Frank :D

[Dennis]

Hi Jeff

I know where you are coming from! It has taken me a few years of practice to be able to (more) consistently produce good photos.:)

When we go to say, Moreton Island for a day trip, I travel specifically for the purpose of taking bird in flight shots, so the outing is dedicated to just that. It usually involves walking for a couple of hours and then sitting at a location for 1 to 2 hours waiting for the right shot. Some days I come back with nothing but happy memories, although that in itself is sufficient.;)

The majority of the eye-catching shots are somewhat lucky. What I mean by that is that although I am progressively mastering my equipment, improving my technique, better understanding the birds and getting out there to take the photos, I have no control over when they appear, their behaviour or those magical moments when something special happens. On more than one occasion, I didn’t even know that I had captured a memorable shot until we arrived home and I saw some behaviour or pose only after I had uploaded the photos.:)

Whilst it does help to have good gear, I am somewhat hesitant to write that for fear of dampening someone’s enthusiasm if they happen not to own an “L” lens!

As long as you enjoy your efforts and the results as well as seeing improvement, then I’m sure you will become more satisfied.:thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Following up on Zane’s vertical composition comments, I had a play around with the “Content Aware Fill” function in CS5 to create some space above and below the Cormorant and then filled it with the background sea.

Basically, I increased the “Canvas Size” at the top and bottom of the frame, selected the new white space and then ran the “Content Aware Fill” function, which very nicely “created” some seascapes texture above the bird and below its reflection.

Now if only galaxy creation were this easy….;)

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

Nice. That's a pretty neat feature hey?

[Paddy]

Magnificent photos Dennis. Love the swallows in particular.

[StephenM]

Great stuff once again Dennis! Well done.

Cheers,
Stephen