Botanic Gardens again!! Some for C & C Please

LeoB

Hello Folks. Would greatly appreciate some c & c on these few. Was asked not to be a stranger to these parts but hope I dont annoy you. Thanks Leo

Dublin Zoo yesterday
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Rogerstown Estuary last summer

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Some lad from Boards in Botanic Gardens today ( Not me) I was the good looking one shivering against a tree!
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Handheld at the waterfall. My hands at this stage were to cold to set up tripod!!

bovril

Hi, thanks for posting.

Number 1 is a nice close up shot of the gull but it doesn't look as sharp as it could be. With close ups of birds like this the shot needs to be sharper. It also make the shot more appealing if you get a small catch light in the birds eye. If the bird's eye is sharp it makes all the difference. If this was taken with a DSLR it was possibly taken with too slow a shutter speed.

Great catch of the Grey Heron catching the fish. I can't tell from the shot but it either looks like it was taken with a P&S or maybe it was pushed too much. There looks to be some pixelation on the bird's back. With a shot like this it would look better if you had the bird larger in the frame. This can be hard at Rogerstown as the North hide where you can get closest to the birds has the sun in front of you for the most part of the day. Rogerstown is also fairly big with a lot of patience required for the birds to get close enough to you.

Edit: I clicked on the links to the two bird photos to check EXIF data. In both cases your shutter speed it too low for the focal length you were using. It's something I forget myself when I am using a long lens but you need to try and keep your shutter speed to (focal length * crop factor). E.g for you 300mm * 1.5 = 450 so your shutter speed needs to be around 1/450ish or faster or you will get camera shake.

LeoB

Bovril Thanks for such a prompt reply. Dont know why but each day I go to the Zoo or Botanic Gardens its freezing. I was shivering yesterday taking the shot in the Zoo. Had a few others which I will put on my fickr. As for the Bird at Rogerstown estuary I never have gone to the hide but go to the Rush side where you can walk about 2 kms from the Harbour at Rogerstown to Balallay Landfill. Just off the estuary quite a bit of land is preserved so plenty of birds to see.
I knew when the Heron dived I had missed a good opportunity I had slow lens and was a bit far away. I have a sequence of about 6 shots.
Thanks again for your comments. I will get to work on it before next Sunday!

LeoB

LeoB wrote: »

Bovril Thanks for such a prompt reply. Dont know why but each day I go to the Zoo or Botanic Gardens its freezing. I was shivering yesterday taking the shot in the Zoo. Had a few others which I will put on my fickr. As for the Bird at Rogerstown estuary I never have gone to the hide but go to the Rush side where you can walk about 2 kms from the Harbour at Rogerstown to Balallay Landfill. Just off the estuary quite a bit of land is preserved so plenty of birds to see.
I knew when the Heron dived I had missed a good opportunity I had slow lens and was a bit far away. I have a sequence of about 6 shots.
Thanks again for your comments. I will get to work on it before next Sunday!

Hi Bovril, put a few birds on my flickr. If ya get a cance will you have a peek and maybe give me a few tips. It was lovly at Rogerstown the other evening. Not cold as I usually find when I go out to the Estuary.
Thanks Leo Bissett

AnimalRights

Leo I do wear fingerless woolen gloves and a hoody, I never feel the cold.

Eirebear

AnimalRights wrote: »

Leo I do wear fingerless woolen gloves and a hoody, I never feel the cold.

Fingerless gloves are the best invention in the world, not only do they keep you warm yet accesible, they look cool too!

I bought a big heavy coat and fingerless gloves for Romania in the winter....i've already had to put the coat away because its too warm now...im dreading having to do the same with the gloves :pac:

Sorry, i digress.....

get those shutter speeds up Leo, its unfortunate that your shots are that little bit soft because the one of the Heron especially is a great shot...poor fish though!

I like the one of the stream..'tis nice.

LeoB

AnimalRights wrote: »

Leo I do wear fingerless woolen gloves and a hoody, I never feel the cold.

I am a postman, well I at least spend most of the day hopping in and out of my van in all weather and dont feel the cold, until I am out for strool with Camera. Anyway will ya have a look at my flickr,Leo Bissett, put a few up this evening. I think they are a little better than what is above.
Thanks Leo