Another overcast day, but it was dry (if somewhat muddy underfoot) and mild enough to get me out at lunchtime. Instead of staying to the paths I ended up following a kestrel into the fields but without managing anything remotely usable in the way of a photo. I also caught a glimpse of a green woodpecker, but didn't even manage an unusable shot!
The time wasn't entirely wasted though. Given the dull weather I attempted a few shots of more cooperative birds with flash. The results are in the January Birds album, but here's a sample.
The first is of a robin. I saw this when I was heading back to work. It was flitting in and out of the hedges and I only managed one usable shot.
Slightly easier were the magpies. There are more of them around, and they were generally roosting and fluffing themselves up to keep warm. There are three shots in the album.
The star of the show was a male blackbird. For some reason I tend not to get on with these birds. Or rather, they don't get on with me. Supposedly bold, they generally fly off as soon as I line up the camera. Or else they dive under bushes. I've got a large collection of blurred or obscured shots of them. This one decided to cooperate with me and I was able to take a number of shots, four of which I've uploaded.
It's the first time I've made a concerted attempt to use flash while photographing birds. They were all taken with the camera in 'manual' mode and I varied the shutter and aperture somewhat experimentally. Most of the shots were with a moderate shutter speed (1/125-1/200) and at around f/8-f/10. I kept the ISO setting at 400.
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF70-300mm 4.5-5.6 DO IS lens and Canon 430EX flash unit.
chthoniid
4 Jan 2008I've taken to using a flash in NZ bush, colours and detail look better- I just have to get something in focus! Your blackbird looks very detailed.
I'm surprised that the birds aren't bothered by the flash as much as I expected. perhaps they are used to sudden flashes anyway- sunlight reflecting off water as they fly past- that sort of thing.
Words
4 Jan 2008Yes, I'm really happy with the colours. On a day like today I usually get very little usable. There's either too much noise in the shot or not enough speed. But I was surprised how well they tolerated the flash. My previous attempts (admittedly from slightly further way than these shots) have caused them to take to the wing. Maybe I was close enough for them not to care. The sunlight on water theory is good!
CedarFox
5 Jan 2008Looks like your new flash is working out well :up:
About the robin, what kind is it? The only one I really know about is the American Robin.
Flying Red Fox Blog
5 Jan 2008Nice sharp shots there especially the blackbird and robin:D The Magpie looks a bit under the weather lol:P
Flash is better in poor light conditions and i guess its a game with luck on whether they will sit long enough for the flash to fire. Some brds i try to take pics of fly away as soon as i point the camera at them!
SittingFox
5 Jan 2008Nice fluffed up magpie! 🙂 Blackbirds are odd creatures and rather unpredictable. They're not at all shy here but I don't often get pictures of them because they're usually lurking in the shade.
ALLY_G
5 Jan 2008Another series of great photos. What a wonderful shot of the magpie. :up: :up:
Words
5 Jan 2008Elke, thanks. 🙂
Words
5 Jan 2008Mark, thanks. The blackbird is my best shot of one to date. The flash really brought out the feathers. I know what you mean about birds taking flight at the first sign of a camera. There's all sorts of kit you can get to camouflage the camera! That's a bit excessive for me, though I do tend to try and creep up on them by working ever so slowly in a very straight line!
Words
5 Jan 2008Eric, that's a standard 'proper' robin. It's the American one that's the imposter 😉 It's most commonly seen on Christmas cards against snowy backgrounds. :whistle: Andy gave an explanation a while ago. As it happens, the British variant also gets classified as a thrush (family turdidae) and juveniles are easy to mistake for young blackbirds (same family). They are generally very tame and will hop around in gardens looking for anything revealed by the disturbed soil. Gardeners get to know them really well. Much loved over here!
Words
5 Jan 2008Adele, I've not often seen magpies fluff up like that. They're usually so sleek. It was a nice opportunity to see another side of them.
CedarFox
6 Jan 2008That's some interesting info, thanks 🙂
Words
6 Jan 2008You're welcome 🙂