DSLR Photography Forum

Eekholt is the name of a wildlife park near Bad Segeberg. We've been there this morning and brought back some pictures. This is just to start the thread, the rest will go here as well so as not to open too many threads and confuse you guys...

Friends



They have a flight show there... Beautiful thing to watch, but a hell of a challenge for the autofocus. Mine actually failed the test, so there won't be many pictures of birds in flight here.

Owl

A Girl And A Bird

A birdie



Sorry because of the name, but the show was in German.

Here is the "birdie" flying proudly with it's prey (I think it's the same bird, and it is a kind of falcon)

Peacock

Amazing photos you two. Excellent job. I'm envious.

Thanks Colin!

Falcon Approach

Wow! Stupendous!
--Don

Showing just the beauty of the bird. As his feet were not beautiful I cut them off

Feeding The Animals



The girl was having so much fun feeding the animals!

More great shots. Irma, great to fill the frame that way. Well done!

Thanks Colin, I am very happy you like the pictures. I has very unhappy because I cut of the feet of the poor bird. But at the end I thought it was looking interesting. It's very nice you find it nice as well.

This will be the last one for today (at least from me)

Awesome! Keep'em coming.

Quote:Thanks Colin, I am very happy you like the pictures. I has very unhappy because I cut of the feet of the poor bird. But at the end I thought it was looking interesting. It's very nice you find it nice as well.

It hardly matters with this image. You compensated nicely by filling the frame. You did so with the perfect subject. I don't think anyone could dissagree with that.

Ok, so who's cutting and pasting photos from National Geographic?

Just kidding, fabulous job you two! The birds are so beautiful! And the photos are exceptional!

My favourites are "Friends", "Birdie" and "Owl"...

Nice shots guys! Keep em coming.

I Love the photo entitled "A Girl and a BIrd". Fantastic!

Nice shots, I too prefer the shot of the Eagle owl on the girls arm.

Sensational photos guys.. keep them coming!

Its stuff like this that inspires me to get off my lazy bum and go outside and take some photos of my own.

And what is it about birds and photography? Really?

Why is it I spent the first 30 years of my life not caring about birds much at all (they are just rodents with wings), but now I'm into photography whever I see one I instinctively reach for my camera and love seeing photos of them?! It makes no sense! Can somebody explain it to me please?
I actually have some bird photos from last week I haven't posted yet, but they are pretty ordinary compared to these fellas, so I might just save the bandwidth and go find something else to shoot

You know Adrian, I think that photography does that to all of us. It opens up a whole new perspective on things and how we view them. I totally agree with not taking notice with many things but once interested in photography the subtle things in life come out.

Yes! Seeing something - no matter what - while carrying a camera, I take it in in an entirely different way. I try different viewpoints, look at the details, try to find the hidden beauty, and then go back to the big picture. I try to see contrast, highlights and shadows. I watch out for disturbances, and I slowly learn to wait a little for the perfect moment. I think I can safely say that taking pictures changed my life. For the better, so far.

And, by the way, thanks for your generous comments!

Yes, thanks for your comments. It was really a pleasure to go shooting with this guy called Guerito He got nice pictures, and I learned a lot. We went today to the lake we got some nice pictures, we will post them probably during the week.

I've noticed that same distinct change in how I view the world since getting interested in photography, and I think it is probably more valuable than the images that are the end result of the photography itself. Its almost as if I've developed a new sense of vision, and is quite profound.
I walk around noticing things I never have before - and almost all of them I find fascinating and quite beautiful. I have a much greater appreciation for the area around where I live now, and a much greater desire to travel more.

I don't need to be carrying a camera to appreciate this, and I quite deliberately look for shots without a camera and put my mind through the same decisions as if I had one with me.

I remember reading once about a race-car driver who wrote that he used to walk everywhere as if he were racing a car. When doing any walking during his daily life, he'd take every corner as if he were racing at full speed, trying to enter the corner perfectly, pick the ideal racing line through it and then maximise his exit. He wouldn't need to walk any faster than normal, but just imagine he was doing it all in slow motion. I tried it and it worked! Not only did it help my driving (I used to race radio controlled cars), but it also made walking more fun! And it is so subtle that nobody even notices you doing it. It's all in your mind.
A few months ago I decided to apply the same principle to photography and start taking "mental photos" all the time, even when I didn't have my camera with me. It not only helps me practice and develops that sense of visual appreciation, but ensures I always have a list of interesting places to go back to and interesting scenes already figured out to shoot when I have a real camera handy.

I must be following these forums with my eyes half shut!
How come I have only just noticed these great pics? :/