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| Moderated by: chrisbet, | ||
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Robert
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I am in Wales right now, in blistering sun, so far... This morning I met up with Jeff (Blackfox) who showed me the Gronant dunes Little Tern colony. http://www.deeestuary.co.uk/news0609.htm Usually I have had zero success photographing birds in flight, and only limited success when they are sat on a perch 10ft from my lens! So I am delighted to report I got one half decent Tern pic. They are lively little birds flitting here and there, they hover over their nests with small sand eels then suddenly plummet down to the nest with the food for their partner who is sitting on eggs. This is a constant process. Looking through the 40 or so images I took they gradually improved as the session went on. The last but one was, in my opinion, half decent. D200 - 300mm f2.8 Manual focus at f5.6 Aperture priority. The first image is the whole frame untouched. Many thanks for an enjoyable morning Jeff. :thumbsup: Attachment: Orig Little Tern - 4356 copy.jpg (Downloaded 62 times) |
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Robert
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This is the Crop and after adjustments in Lightroom. Me thinks it needs re-adjusting? Attachment: Little Tern -4356.jpg (Downloaded 62 times) |
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jk
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Nice one Robert. I trust you havent adjusted exposure and that is straight out of camera +1.5EV compensation. Now you have to get closer to the birds nests without them attacking you. |
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jk
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Teehee. Posted at the same time. Was going to auggest a crop! Notice you can see the eye of the fish it is so sharp. |
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Robert
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Another attempt... Attachment: Little Tern -4354.jpg (Downloaded 61 times) |
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Robert
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Thanks JK, Yes its pretty sharp, there was another sharp one but the bird wasn't really presented well. I don't have Ps with me and I am struggling with Lr3 levels control. I have messed too much with the crop image, I will re-process it after dinner. Not being able to select the sky only is a pain. When I darken the sky the bird looses it's colour. |
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Robert
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Well I'm mystified... I checked back to Lr3 and the colour is OK, pretty reasonable anyway. I think it must have something to do with the forum image compression. Here is a screenshot of the image on Lr and the exact same image here on this forum. Taken on my MBP 13" :-( Attachment: Screen Shot 2012-05-27 at 18.29.41.jpg (Downloaded 59 times) |
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Robert
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Why has the forum ruined the colours when I posted the image but in the above screenshot it seems OK? |
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Squarerigger
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Well done robert. |
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TomOC
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Terrific shot, Robert Looks like LR does a good job on CA Tom |
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Robert
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Let's see if this has fixed it... Exactly the same image, screen grabbed from Lightroom, converted to a JPEG and uploaded. Attachment: Tern 2.jpg (Downloaded 54 times) |
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Robert
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So, either Lightroom introduced something which the forum software didn't like or there is some other explanation because the drastic loss of image fidelity came from uploading the Lr3 exported file. The last image is simply a screen-grab from the Lightroom 3 Slideshow.  This one came in OK, so what gives??? A wild Iris. Attachment: Little Tern -4358.jpg (Downloaded 54 times) |
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blackfox
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robert theres nothing wrong with your shot ,ALL mine bar one came out exactly the same ,i think its the fact it was midday ,the tide was out so getting reflected glare off that vast expanse of white sand and a very bright sky ,to even get that shot of yours was an achievement in itself .when i get back i am going to spot meter to see if that improves matters . JK these little terns are a protected species and the breeding area on the beach is fenced off and there are several wardens posted there to ensure no one enters 24 hours per day ,we had to view from outside the perimeter which meant we also had to shoot into the sun to get the pics at all .out of the couple of hundred i took i got one decent shot ,which i will post shortly |
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blackfox
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my best from the day Attachment: little tern .jpg (Downloaded 49 times) |
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blackfox
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and the only other worth posting Attachment: the flying sand-eel.jpg (Downloaded 49 times) |
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Robert
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Lovely photographs Jeff, they are both good in my opinion. Catching the fast moving Little Terns calls for lots of practice, not doubt the success rate will rise with regular visits. I think it's the same with most subjects particularly fast moving ones. |
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Robert
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blackfox wrote:robert theres nothing wrong with your shot Jeff, I am referring to post 2, the colour cast is terrible, post 11 is what it should look like. They are the exact same image. It's nothing to do with the exposure, it's either the forum software or the Lightroom export process, because the screen grab is fine. I will run some tests later. |
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blackfox
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heres another sub titled "roberts whelk " Attachment: the sands of wales 2.jpg (Downloaded 47 times) |
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Squarerigger
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Both of those Tern photos are really well done Jeff. I can not decide which one I favor. |
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Robert
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Squarerigger wrote:Both of those Tern photos are really well done Jeff. I can not decide which one I favor. The second one for me. More going on for me and the IQ is the same. The Sand Eel makes it for me. |
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blackfox
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heres one taken from the path beside the lake robert a couple of weeks ago ,hope it meets your expectations . Attachment: KESTREL 1. RODENT 0..jpg (Downloaded 55 times) |
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Robert
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Amazing Jeff, never seen one like that before. I can see why the RSPB are guarding the Terns 24 Hrs a day. |
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jk
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Great picture Jeff. I wont ask how many hours of waiting patiently. But well worth it. |
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blackfox
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spotted it hovering over dunes ,ran down path ,got underneath it 30 secs,bird flew off about 100 feet away dived in for vole ,15 secs ,flew off with vole ., i burst off a load of shots as it flies past ,10 secs .all over in less than a minute j.k.:hi: i will post one of last weeks pics tomorrow,where i spotted one landing on a wire and despite the wife saying it will fly off, i managed to get underneath it while it regurgitated its meal Attachment: glad i got that off my chest.jpg (Downloaded 44 times) |
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richw
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Robert wrote:blackfox wrote: Export the image in Lightroom and open in photoshop or iPhoto, that'll let you know if Lightroom is the problem. Might be an embedded color profile, Safari doesn't handle these, Firefox does. |
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Robert
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Thanks Rich, will look at that later, off to capture some flowers! |
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Constable
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I agree. The sand eel is brilliant. Not sure I can see the eye though. Ed |
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blackfox
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any better Attachment: rhapsody in blue.jpg (Downloaded 32 times) |
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Eric
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Robert wrote:Amazing Jeff, never seen one like that before. Back in the 1980s I spent several nights on the NNorfolk beach as a protection warden for the Little Terns that nest there. The reason for 24 hour in our case was two fold....first, egg collectors (they are prized trophies) don't work 9 til 5...quite the reverse! Second Little Terns make a scrape in the sand/shingle beach making their eggs almost indistinguishable from pebbles....til you step on one. But they are a stupid bird. They make the scrape below high water. So in Norfolk at least, twice a day for several days over the peak breeding time the high tide can wash out the nests....destroying the eggs. So we as wardens use to mark the scrapes, lift the eggs and keep them warm in our pockets tilll the tide receded enough to replace them. Mums came back blissfully unaware their offsprings had been in human pockets rather than under the cold North Sea. It's no wonder they are on the endangered list which such poor field craft! |
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Robert
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Interesting Eric, I had a chat with one of the wardens, he mentioned a similar strategy. The Little Terns seem unable to distinguish which areas are submerged by the higher tides and seem not to make any effort to keep to higher ground. The birds themselves seem to have difficulty finding their nests or scrapes, hovering for some seconds before plummeting down to the nest. On occasions they relaunch still with Sand Eel in beak to search again for the right nest. I can see they are contributing to their own demise. |
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Robert
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Some more images from Monday evening. Evening Snack D200 @ ISO400, 300mm f2.8 MF lens 1/640 Sec at f8 Attachment: Evening snack.jpg (Downloaded 25 times) |
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Robert
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Another... Landing gear down, flaps set, look out! D200 @ ISO400, 300mm f2.8 MF lens 1/640 Sec at f5.6 Attachment: Landing gear down flaps set.jpg (Downloaded 24 times) |
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Robert
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Another... Last flight of the day D200 @ ISO400, 300mm f2.8 MF lens 1/640 Sec at f5.6 Attachment: Last flight of the day.jpg (Downloaded 25 times) |
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Robert
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And finally... At the end of the photographers day D200 @ ISO400, 300mm f2.8 MF lens 1/640 Sec at f5.6 Attachment: The end of the photographers day.jpg (Downloaded 24 times) |
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blackfox
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your doing well there robert ,we will make a wildlifer of you yet  |
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Robert
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blackfox wrote:your doing well there robert ,we will make a wildlifer of you yet Thanks Jeff, I had more keepers on Monday but because I had upped the ISO on the D200 to ISO400 and the light was progressively worse, a lot of noise crept in which when removed some detail went with it, hence no close cropping. I am happy enough though, I think in this case I enjoyed seeing the little birds flying and being so close to them. At times I could have almost reached out and touched them. It's a great shame they are endangered, they are so beautiful, sleek and graceful flying in and out. I am indebted to Jeff for telling me about the colony, I would never have known about it otherwise. It is within easy walking distance of where I am staying. Btw Jeff, if you go down again, the wardens asked me to stay down at the sand shingle line because they felt it was putting some of the bird off, standing close to the fence, so I moved back, it made no difference to my keeper rate. One interesting thing I saw was one bird presumably a hen, playing hard to get, or she was ill? One bird brought her a small Sand Eel and offered it for a long time, maybe 20 minutes, then a second bird brought another Sand Eel for her. The hen wouldn't take it and kept backing off. Here is a photograph of the two birds flying in again with their offerings. The narrow DoF is plainly visible, the birds were about 100 feet away. D200 - Nikkor 300mm f2.8 MF - 1/640 Sec @ f8 ISO400 Attachment: Suitors.jpg (Downloaded 21 times) |
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blackfox
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good shot and info robert .noise is one of the things you learn to overcome with off the cuff wildlife shooting robert ,if as some do you can set up a hide and attract birds ,animals etc to you then you can dictate the picture criteria yourself ,if like myself and others you go to into there habitat to find them then you have to take conditions as they are ,this often involves shooting with your camera set up slightly wrong,rather than miss the shot. the other drawback with wild/wildlife is cropping is a ever present part of the equation so hence noise creeps in , i have a few different noise reduction plug ins to help this and get a fair degree of success with them .keeps me busy in my old age anyway |
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Iain
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Heres a Tern one for the collection. Attachment: Tern.jpg (Downloaded 16 times) |
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blackfox
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nice shot iain |
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Robert
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Iain wrote:Heres a Tern one for the collection. Yes, nice sharp image Iain, It's amazing how they manoeuvre, and the angles they achieve with their wings. |
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Squarerigger
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Great shot Iain. You gents keep this going, I am learning a great del just following your comments and pics. Great stuff here. |
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blackfox
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no problem with that ,as i might have said before i use a d7000 plus a 300mm-f4afs lens coupled most of the time to a 1.7tc i also have a 1.4tc ,this gives me in effect 3 prime lenses of 300mm ,420mm,and 500mm respectively .the real beauty of this set up though is its versatility as by simply moving the focus limiter switch i can turn it from a 500mm super tele into a hand holdable pseudo macro ,in fact i often get comments on FLICKR like super macro shot etc. anyway heres one of a hoverfly to demonstrate what i mean ,saves investing in a macro lens as i really have no interest in flys eyes or or spiders hairy legs etc . Attachment: mellow yellow.jpg (Downloaded 26 times) |
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Robert
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Have you tried the 300 with an extension tube? I quite often use a PK extension tube with the 300 2.8, it's very handy to capture small flowers at a distance. |
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blackfox
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rob theres loads of stuff i would like ,but the pension won't stretch that far ,got a fortnights hols coming up this month and a week in southern poland in october ,so funds are really tight  |
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Robert
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blackfox wrote:rob theres loads of stuff i would like ,but the pension won't stretch that far ,got a fortnights hols coming up this month and a week in southern poland in october, so funds are really tight  Will check out my stock... I may have some surplus, perhaps. A cheap old TC and knock out the glass would do. |
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| A small amount of member data is captured and held in an attempt to reduce spammers and to manage users. This site also uses cookies to ensure ease of use. In order to comply with new DPR regulations you are required to agree/disagree with this process. If you do not agree then please email the Admins using info@nikondsl.uk Thank you. |