The view to enjoy while having a cuppa beside the river at Heritage Park, Kitchener.
...and when walking the bushland tracks nearby, the sounds of Black Cockatoos could be heard. Every now and then, a glimpse of several flying through the tall gum trees. Eventually got lucky to find two had taken refuge up in the old gum tree.
while I needed a low f-stop selection to let enough light in to see their darkened shapes against dark branches in the shadows; the light in the background causes havoc. Does this mean I should use a minus exposure setting as well?
I easily get confused, I'd think if I did that, then the whole photo would suffer? Clues? Those who are not so settings-combinations challenged? Then again, I hardly had time to try and perfect the settings - how long before they'd take flight again? Just keep snapping ... and hope.
oops, I think I stepped on a twig
Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from, RW & SK
One of my favourite birds! Their sound, size and slow flight always makes me think of Pterodactyls. They are hard enough to get close to with binoculars, so I think you should be proud of your photos! That last one in particular shows a lot of detail. I can't give any advice on cameras as I just use the automatic setting - my secret shame revealed! ;-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of this beautiful bird.
ReplyDeleteThe last picture is perfectly photographed, Carole.
Lots of details and perfect focus.
Greetings Irma.
Such a treat and they stayed still long enough to capture them beautifully .... I guess using settings for good depth of field wouldn't help in this situation because of the dark colour of your subject .... I'll be interested to see if you receive advice from some-one in the know.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful parrots, I've never seen one such with tail yellowish.
ReplyDeleteNice birds Carole....and i like that first shot with the lovely
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Joop
Great shots- I'm settings challenged myself, so I am not much help!
ReplyDeleteHi Carole Great to get those shots of these beautiful bird.Well done.
ReplyDeleteLove these guys!
ReplyDeleteI rely on semi-automatic settings as well. I have the aperture set to the smallest f-stop number the conditions allow (to get the depth of field tight on a still bird) and rely on my camera's spot metering (again tight on the bird) to work out the rest.
With black birds and mixed light the results will be variable but like you - I quickly hammer away and hope for the best!
This is a lovely pair of birds and I like your first photo with the wonderful reflection in the water.
ReplyDeleteBest regards, Synnöve
Hi Carole... You sound like me, if is there I just go for it, and hope for the best!!!! By the time I fumble with settings I have lost mt
ReplyDeletesubject!! : )
These are great, what a interesting ,and beautiful bird you captured well!!!
I love the first shot!!
Grace
What a great catch for you - and very good captures of them. I like the yellow on the underside of their tail feathers.
ReplyDeleteThat's a tricky one Carole. I think over expose the bird to allow for the background light and keep fingers crossed. As you say, hardly time to take a snap without fiddling with settings. You got a couple of very acceptable shots though of a nice looking bird.
ReplyDeletethey are SO cute! and their tail feathers are beautiful! thanks for sharing them (and i think your photos turned out great, considering!)
ReplyDeleteMore beautiful birds. You sure do have them there down under. I would suggest you experiment and try a stop over change. The background may get washed out some but your main subject would be lightened. A slightly longer exposure time would do the same too. Try it. It's not like you will be wasting film. There is a setting on the camera for bracket exposure too but I have not ever personally fiddled with that one myself but it may be a feature for you to use.
ReplyDeleteCarole, you see amazing birds there. I love these pretty Cockatoos. Wonderful sighting and photos. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeletegood response on these lovely cockatoos considering the lighting offsets that challenged me on the day. Pete S: I also use spot metering, which can also be a little problematic at full zoom extension. Just trying to keep that little cross-hair quite where I want it :) Sinbad and I (John): some good options offered, will work with that bracket exposure, and longer exposure time.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful... I have never seen these before and in fact didn't know we had them... We have red tailed ones here, but it is rare to see them.. and when I have, unfortunately I haven't had a camera with me.
ReplyDeleteGreat captures as usual.. I thoroughly enjoy what you share here.
Robyn
These are beautiful birds! I don't recall seeing photos of them before, but you have so many great birds in Australia.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you won't be able to get the exposure you want throughout the entire shot. You've got a dark subject against a bright background which is difficult. Always expose for your main subject. In this case, you would want to over expose to lighten up the birds. You could get more light by using a small f stop number. The small f stops mean a larger opening in your lens which lets in more light. You could also use longer exposure times, but that means slower shutter speeds. If your shutter speed gets too slow for the available light, you can end up with camera shake or blur instead of sharp images. You can also increase the ISO which lets you use faster shutter speeds. It can be a tricky balance to get enough light on your subject while still maintaining a fast enough shutter speed for sharp photos. This particular situation is not an easy one just because of the stark contrast between the dark birds and the light background. Concentrate on the main subject first even if the background gets blown out a bit.
thanks Brian K, for your settings suggestions. Your final sentence sums it all up too
ReplyDeleteStriking faces on these birds...nice capture Carole!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Jan
I love these images! The loving behavior makes this a special series.
ReplyDeleteYou've already received good advice on settings. You already knew what to do - keep clicking! Now, if you have the time, adjust the exposure and still keep clicking!
Your first shot makes me want to put my feet up and enjoy my coffee for a long time.....
In your last image, is that the second bird laying alongside the branch?
Wally: what a good pickup from you - I hadn't even noticed myself before you pointed out. The second cockatoo - which did fly away first, is still in that photograph, just.
ReplyDeletewow Ros' I'd love the chance to sit nearby and photograph the black cockatoos in your dead tree!
ReplyDelete