The weather continues to be what is euphemistically called 'miserable'. Overcast, with a fine drizzle. Since I wasn't keen on getting wet or muddy today, I headed for the small sheltered garden where there are always a good number of smaller birds. Mainly sparrows, but also a variety of tits, finches and occasional wagtails among others.
After a couple of test shots I decided to try the teleconverter again, using flash to combat camera shake and the poor light. My success rate was low. I took 140 shots. 77 were deleted as soon as I uploaded them to the PC as unusable. Of the remaining 63 worth at least looking at, there were maybe a dozen worth editing. At a stretch the success rate was about 10%. The main problems were camera shake, over exposure, under exposure (or flash not recycling in time), out of focus, or (more rarely) the bird moved a moment before I took the 'perfect' shot.
On the plus side, I'm really happy with the shots I did get.
There are a couple more from today in the January Birds album.
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens + kenko 1.4x TC
Vulpes vulpes
17 Jan 2008All great but I'll opt for the Blue Tit as my fav!
Words
17 Jan 2008I thought it might be!
gdare
17 Jan 2008That sparrow is my favourite. As always 🙂
Words
18 Jan 2008Good choice! It spent a lot of time tucked behind the branches, but eventually hopped into view.
Flying Red Fox Blog
18 Jan 2008Beautiful:heart: Its worth the wait and patience on getting the right shot, taking 140 to get 3 on here may sound mad but its what we have to do sometimes to get perfect shots like this isnt it.
Its the same i do with the planes, i may take around 200 and come out with 80 and then slash it in half with Paintshop Pro to get the best out of them, and one got photo of the day on the forum i go to.:D
SittingFox
18 Jan 2008Three cheers for the blue tit! :up:
I guess when you get your tripod (presuming you do end up with a portable one!) it will help a lot with camera shake.
Ukwildlife
18 Jan 2008Nice shots. I think my success rate in badly overcast conditions is even lower I once took over 70 photos without one usable as anything other than when shrunk down to a 200pixel wide shot!
Words
18 Jan 2008Neil, I've got one or two of those pretending to be foxes! But my biggest miss was this shot:
The one and only time I've seen one of these in the garden and I totally messed up!
Words
18 Jan 2008Adele, thanks! I'm still undecided between a monopod and tripod, but something is going to be essential. I need to go and spend a couple of hours at the camera shop at some point when I get the time. That's one bit of kit I really do need to try before I buy.
Words
18 Jan 2008Mark, absolutely right. With digital that's the joy. You can play around, take loads of shots and delete them later. Except I don't delete nearly enough. I have an awful lot of not very good photos, but these days I do delete the out of focus ones 😉
Words
19 Jan 2008I've no idea where the woodpecker showed up from. I've not had the remotest glimpse of one in the garden since that shot (in late August). I saw something on the feeder, grabbed the camera and forgot to check any of the settings. The shutter virtually crawled its way from open to closed. Interesting that one of the cougar's has been seen. Maybe on your next trip…
SittingFox
19 Jan 2008A juvenile woodie too! At least you got a picture; in other words, better than that raven-hunting cougar who so grimly eluded me last August (and I heard this evening that the other cougar, the one I tracked in the estuary and who kept avoiding the trail cam, has finally been spotted by someone!)
SittingFox
19 Jan 2008I won't be going back to Vancouver Island; even in a bad province for wildlife it takes the biscuit, particularly in its treatment of bears. However, there are other places to find cougars 😉 and in such places I might not fear so much for their safety, also…
musickna
20 Jan 2008Very nice shots indeed, Words. Your success rate is better than mine with the same lens! 🙂 IF I had the cash I would get a wider aperture long range telephoto, but I could buy a decent used car for the same money (not that I need one of those).
Words
20 Jan 2008Adele, it was quite shocking to read of the attitudes you encountered. I can appreciate you not relishing going back.
musickna
20 Jan 2008I'll have a chance a try out out something similar myself this summer – we're planning a trip to the west coast of Scotland. The weather might well be just the same! 🙂
Words
20 Jan 2008Richard, thanks. The cost of wide aperture long lenses is something else :faint: The set up I used here was massively less expensive, but it more limited. I tried it out today on the local gulls, and had more or less a zero hit rate. It's a combination for planned shooting I think.
Words
21 Jan 2008You'll get some great sightings up there! Take some waterproof clothes though 😉
volkuro
25 Jan 2008very nice blue tit picture.
Words
25 Jan 2008Thanks Louis!