[Kombisaurus]

... Place your tray-tables in the upright position and prepare for takeoff.



I had to meet someone in south Perth today, so I threw my camera in the car "just in case" there were some nice shots on the foreshore after the meeting.
Overall it was rainy and overcast and not very exciting, but there was a Darter sunning itself on the water's edge that was quite happy showing off for the camera. It was obviously quite used to being around people, and I thought I'd push my luck and see how close I could get. The shot above was taken from about 3m away with my latest "wildlife lens" - the EF 50mm f/1.8 prime!

The Darter is from the same family as a Cormorant, and amazingly after looking around the internet trying to identify this bird (I couldn't work out if it was a Cormorant or a Heron), the website that gave me the answer is one run by my next-door neighbour! http://www.birdsofperth.com
She does a fair bit of bird photography apparently (but I haven't seen any of her work apart from what is on her website), and she shoots with a 300D. I've been meaning to see if she'd be interested in joining shuttertalk.

But anyway. here are a couple more shots of the same Darter, but this time with a EF 70-200 f/4L.





As much as I have a big love for the 50mm prime generally, I think I'll stick to the 70-200 for the wildlife shots

[Toad]

Nice captures - particulalry #2.

I see what you mean about the difference in the 50mm prime and the 70-200.

There is a significant difference between #1 and #2 even though they have much the same magnigfication and viewing angle - the bokeh and the foreshortening are both superior in #2 (not that #1 is by any means a poor shot).

Great shots, K.

[guerito]

Brilliant! The bird is a beauty, and the title fits very well!

[Kombisaurus]

hehe.. I'm glad to know my 70-200 f/4 can actually do *something* better than the 50 f/1.8 Toad... At over 8 times the price it would want to be good for something, but I just keep finding more and more uses for the 50mm prime!
This doesn't seem to be one of the better uses for it though, except perhaps in rare cases when I'm after this kind of look.

I agree with your points about the bokeh and foreshortening.. while I love the pose of the bird in #1, I wish I had been standing further away and using the 70-200... not only better bokeh but also a more compressed background would have probably looked better. Ironically though, the only reason the bird struck this pose was because I was starting to get a bit too close and it was getting ready to fly off if I moved closer.

And the light in #1 also looks weird.. the whole thing looks a bit weird, like the image has been photoshopped together or the bird is standing in front of a flat billboard with a photo of Perth on it. In that sense it is kind of interesting just because it is a bit unique, but not much more than that. The 50mm f/1.8 is a strange beast I might go back to the raw and play with the levels and white balance some more, see what I can do. I do like the "city feel" of #1 though, and think it really lends itself to compare the bird with a plane. Perhaps this lens is a handy trick to keep up my sleeve if I'm after an unusual look for these kinds of shots.

The only reason I used the 50mm in the first place here was as an experiment. I'd already gotten all the pics I wanted with the 70-200 and was about to leave, and I thought I might as well give it a go while the bird was being cooperative.

[Petographer]

Great shots of a very cool looking bird. Looks like he's got fur. I gotta get me one of those 70-200mm L lenses.

[shuttertalk]

Great shots, Kombi. I love the blurred background in #1. #2 and #3 are great compositionally...

Such a striking subject as well... Well done!

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks guys

It does look like fur doesn't it Colin? Apparently these birds don't grease their feathers the way most other water birds do. This means their feathers don't trap air, so they get drenched to the bone as soon as they jump in the water. The positive side of this is that they are a lot heavier in the water so it is easier for them to dive and swim underwater, but they look funny when swimming on top of the water as they have a lot less bouyency than a duck or a swan and only their head and neck stick out of the water... they also get cold and so spend a lot of time drying themselves off, as my little friend was doing here.

Interesting stuff... I only discovered this after I got home and looked this bird up.

[Lak]

wow! the feather's look so crisp in #2! Were you shooting at Matilda Bay??

[wayney]

Very intresting Kombisaurus ... to me it's just a bird ;P

[Irma]

For any other reason I forgot to write my comment here yesterday.... I love your pictures Kombi, they are really lovely.

[Kombisaurus]

Sure was at Matilda Bay Lak

I was very happy with how sharp these shots turned out. #2 was hand-held with 1/250th second shutter speed (at 200mm x 1.6 crop factor = 320mm equiv), so I was expecting it to be a bit soft. Here's a 100% crop from the cleaned up image (which had some slight sharpening applied).



#3 was just as sharp as #2, and the version I posted above had been cropped very little - so there is loads of detail in the face and feathers.
I still got my fair share of soft shots, but I'm either getting luckier or a bit more steady when I shoot. I wouldn't have gotten these shots a month ago.

And Wayney... I can appreciate your point of view. My Dad and my neighbour are avid bird-watchers, and I never quite understood what was so good about it. I still think they are nuts, but I can see that chasing after a bird with a camera is very similar to hunting or fishing, just less destructive to the bird. Perhaps its human nature? Our hunting instincts coming out in other forms.
Whatever the reason, now that I've taken a few bird photos I find it a bit addictive!

And thanks Irma.. I think you're another one with the bird addiction aren't you?

[Lak]

:o I'm still not over how nicely those feathers turned out!

[Kombisaurus]

hehe Lak.. I guess the fact it was really overcast would have helped maximise the feather detail by giving nice even lighting and no harsh shadows on the bird. Clouds are just giant light diffusers really I guess.
All the dynamic range of the sensor could then be used to bring out the full tonal range and detail in the feathers instead of some of the feathers being in bright light while others in shadow.

I'm slowly learning to appreciate and take advantage of overcast days... and while it can be a bit tricky to make the most of them, a couple of my best shots have been on such days and turned out much better than expected for these reasons it seems (http://www.shuttertalk.com/gallery/displ...p?pos=-422).

But it also just seems like a really nice bird to photograph.