[PIC_THREAD] Wildlife, Animals, Birds, Zoo

Rojin · 11 Sep 2014 at 23:00

Nice tie

I've got a Helios knocking around that I really should use more.

BruceLee · 11 Sep 2014 at 23:02

Haha yeah hes always got his tongue out, I like to photograph him when he's got a longer coat but he does get hot when its not clipped, also he can't see a damn thing so I end up having to get the tennis balls for him.
For the price I love the Helios, nice portrait lens I think at that length.

mrgubby · 12 Sep 2014 at 09:46

mrcpickering said:
well this thread has become very cute lol

An old shot from my first kit (300D + Tamron 28-300) might help balance it a bit

Phal · 13 Sep 2014 at 20:18

Some more Dragonflies before winter turns up!

1 -

Red on a twig by Phal44, on Flickr

2 -

Black and White Dragon by Phal44, on Flickr

3 -

Kinky Dragons by Phal44, on Flickr

4 -

The classic 'Hold a twig' pose by Phal44, on Flickr

Phal · 21 Sep 2014 at 22:30

I see seabirds on the seashore

1-

Angel Wings by Phal44, on Flickr

2-

Incoming 2 by Phal44, on Flickr

3-

Tough Landing Spot 2 by Phal44, on Flickr

4-

Fabulous Cormorant by Phal44, on Flickr

5-

Sandpiper Walking Away by Phal44, on Flickr

6-

Keeping An Eye On Me by Phal44, on Flickr

413x · 21 Sep 2014 at 22:55

Oyster catchers are very cute!

Phal · 21 Sep 2014 at 23:16

They also sound like a squeaky dog toy lol :/

413x · 22 Sep 2014 at 00:16

Our dog looking cheeky

Io In the grass by Al4x, on Flickr

And · 22 Sep 2014 at 07:18

Noisycatchers

Phal said:
They also sound like a squeaky dog toy lol :/

Phal · 22 Sep 2014 at 07:34

And said:
Noisycatchers

I work quite close to a river and there's some that nest on a neighbouring roof. You can tell when they're flying off somewhere or when they come back lol

And · 22 Sep 2014 at 08:32

Aye, they are rather vocal. I don't go looking for waders/seabirds but I see a lot of oystercatchers on Mull.

Phal · 22 Sep 2014 at 10:01

Apparently my Sandpipers are actually Turnstones! Another fail for the RSPB bird identifier lol

And · 23 Sep 2014 at 10:10

Collins Bird Guide, by Lars Svensson, is one of the best books for ids. All illustrations rather than photos.

Phal said:
Apparently my Sandpipers are actually Turnstones! Another fail for the RSPB bird identifier lol

Phal · 23 Sep 2014 at 18:16

And said:
Collins Bird Guide, by Lars Svensson, is one of the best books for ids. All illustrations rather than photos.

Yeah there's undoubtedly better ways to ID birds but truth be told, I'm too lazy to look them up unless I keep seeing them and eventually curiosity gets the better of me lol

Why look things up when there's a load of other people out there that will do it for you?

WoZZeR · 23 Sep 2014 at 20:40

There were a few of those little Darter thingies sitting on a fence today, for a change I managed to get a couple of sharpish shots with my Close Up Lens:

Phal · 23 Sep 2014 at 20:58

It's nice when they sit still for ya

WoZZeR · 23 Sep 2014 at 22:29

Yeah, I currently use my old 75-300 for them so as I get within range the blighters usually fly off.

I did get a corker the other week, not as sharp but I love the cartoon smile:

Your 2 dragonflies mating is very sharp, I took loads of piccies the other day but few were as sharp:

Although I did see a Grass Snake pottering over the other side of the stream:

Phal · 23 Sep 2014 at 23:02

Yeah the lens definitely helps

Dragonflies are tricky because they're often quite skittish but occasionally you can find them when they're cold or if they're busy hunting rather than patrolling their spots.

If they're cold then you can get up to them with the sharpest lens you have and snap away. If they're hunting then they might tolerate you whilst they look for their snacks but the rest of the time I find they don't sit still for long and they often sit in spots you can't get to easily :/

The first few you've posted are pretty sharp

The second lot seem to be taken with less light and higher ISO so you'll lose some sharpness there.

You can also use extension tubes even with longer lenses to get a bit more magnification.

WoZZeR · 24 Sep 2014 at 10:54

Thanks for the feedback.

My 75-300 is at times shocking, CA is a big issue on some subjects and it is at its sharpest at 150mm or so.

I've rented a 70-200 F4L for this weekend, I'm thinking of buying one and using it with extension tubes for butterflies, dragonflies etc and without as a walkabout lens. Hopefully the optics will be better.

Edit: Minimum focusing distance is 1.5m or so on the 75-300 and 1.2m on the 70-200 F4L, so not a lot in it really.

Phal · 24 Sep 2014 at 12:31

WoZZeR said:
Thanks for the feedback.

My 75-300 is at times shocking, CA is a big issue on some subjects and it is at its sharpest at 150mm or so.

I've rented a 70-200 F4L for this weekend, I'm thinking of buying one and using it with extension tubes for butterflies, dragonflies etc and without as a walkabout lens. Hopefully the optics will be better.

Edit: Minimum focusing distance is 1.5m or so on the 75-300 and 1.2m on the 70-200 F4L, so not a lot in it really.

Yeah as sharp as my 70-200mm F4L was, it wasn't great for small stuff. My 200-400mm is surprisingly good since it's a 2m minimum focus even at 560mm and I can also put in an extension tube or a 1.4x extender for zoomses.

I've seen people get very good results with reversed lenses so that's definitely worth a look but if you still want distance then I'm not sure how that fares.