[Des]

Golden Whistlers are widely distributed and their lovely rich song is a familiar refrain of the Australian bush, but they are heard far more often than seen. Always a delight to see them at our place. KP + DA 55-300 PLM.

The male has gorgeous looks to match his vocals.




The female seems drab by comparison, but she is a charmer. Her plumage has lovely subtle colours.

[OrchidJulie]

Golden Whistlers are widely distributed and their lovely rich song is a familiar refrain of the Australian bush, but they are heard far more often than seen. Always a delight to see them at our place. KP + DA 55-300 PLM.

The male has gorgeous looks to match his vocals.




The female seems drab by comparison, but she is a charmer. Her plumage has lovely subtle colours.

Beautiful birds, excellent images, TFS!

[Mbaez]

Golden Whistlers are widely distributed and their lovely rich song is a familiar refrain of the Australian bush, but they are heard far more often than seen. Always a delight to see them at our place. KP + DA 55-300 PLM.

The male has gorgeous looks to match his vocals.




The female seems drab by comparison, but she is a charmer. Her plumage has lovely subtle colours.

That yellow bird is so pretty, and the lady too!
Great job takings those shots, and in post processing. The pictures look really sharp.

[Des]

Beautiful birds, excellent images, TFS!

That yellow bird is so pretty, and the lady too!Great job takings those shots, and in post processing. The pictures look really sharp.

Many thanks to each of you.

When I compare shots from say 5-6 years ago, I am getting consistently better results. I've been reflecting on why. It's a number of things:
- Hardware: the KP + 55-300 PLM is a much better combination than the K-30 + DA-L 55-300 I had then: better AF, better sensor, better high ISO (meaning more scope with shutter/aperture settings), better metering, no AA filter.
- Technique: I am concentrating more on basics like stance, breathing, AF point selection, etc. And getting close, of course. (Getting to know your birds helps.)
- Selection: I have become more ruthless in culling images. Shooting bursts helps occasionally but you have to pick out just the best ones - and accept that they might all be throwaways.
- Processing: This helps a lot. The software is a lot better and I have got more practised at it. (I use DxO PhotoLab, which I like a lot, but the same would be true with any program. The key is to understand what you can do with what you have.) The Nik Collection is great for adding something extra. (I now use the paid version but the old Google version is similar and still available free from DxO.) Just watching a couple of videos on YouTube about processing was really helpful.
I don't say this to blow my trumpet, just to offer some suggestions. There are things within the reach of all of us to get better images.

[rod_grant]

Many thanks to each of you.

When I compare shots from say 5-6 years ago, I am getting consistently better results. I've been reflecting on why. It's a number of things:
- Hardware: the KP + 55-300 PLM is a much better combination than the K-30 + DA-L 55-300 I had then: better AF, better sensor, better high ISO (meaning more scope with shutter/aperture settings), better metering, no AA filter.
- Technique: I am concentrating more on basics like stance, breathing, AF point selection, etc. And getting close, of course. (Getting to know your birds helps.)
- Selection: I have become more ruthless in culling images. Shooting bursts helps occasionally but you have to pick out just the best ones - and accept that they might all be throwaways.
- Processing: This helps a lot. The software is a lot better and I have got more practised at it. (I use DxO PhotoLab, which I like a lot, but the same would be true with any program. The key is to understand what you can do with what you have.) The Nik Collection is great for adding something extra. (I now use the paid version but the old Google version is similar and still available free from DxO.) Just watching a couple of videos on YouTube about processing was really helpful.
I don't say this to blow my trumpet, just to offer some suggestions. There are things within the reach of all of us to get better images.

Almost “digital photography 101”, Des

[Des]

Almost “digital photography 101”, Des

Thanks Rod. The hardware and software keeps getting better - we need to improve at the same rate! Each leap in quality of gear (from K100D Super to K-30 to K-3) has shown up focus errors, subject movement, etc, more clearly - while offering more rewards (and better tools) for getting it right. A lot of photos in my "Favourites" folder from 2013 I would not even keep now.

I know I keep banging on about the Nik Collection but Color Efex and Silver Efex really can add the finishing touch. Color Efex just looks like a huge set of "filters", most of which seem gimmicky, but I have picked out five to use on wildlife shots (with a light touch): Detail Extractor, Tonal Contrast, Pro Contrast, Brilliance/Warmth and Darken/Lighten Centre. The last one I particularly like - it gives an effect I can't get with PL (even using creative vignetting and local adjustments). I process in PL and export to the relevant Nik program (as a tif), make the adjustments in CE or whatever, then save. Then export to jpg from PL. Sounds more complicated than it is. Well worth it.

[Thagomizer]

Cross posted with the Mirror Lens thread.

Here are more shots taken with the MTO 10/1000 on KP, 800 ISO.

Cooper's Hawk. This is the male.



100%






100%









100%




Not too bad, if I do say so myself. It's definitely a lens you take for specific work, rather than on spec.

---

Last edited by Thagomizer; 05-15-2021 at 10:30 PM.

[rod_grant]

This was from early 2020.

I love that!

[KC0PET]

I love that!

Thanks!

[normhead]

We had quite the spring at the feeder here, usually we have one infusion, this year we had 5.

K-1 or K-3
Tamron 300 and 1.7x AF adapter or DA 55-300 PLM.

Back when there was snow, we had Pine Grosbeaks, 6 of them. Most years we are lucky I we see even one or two.

Male


Female


Juncos, at least 40 or 50 of them stayed for a month. They didn't leave until the 150 Grackles arrived.


We had at least 100-200 Redpolls earlier in the year.


Grackle, not from the flock but one who has carved out a out a nesting area.


The only sparrow I've htographed so far this year is a Chipping Sparrow. We've seen the White Throated, the American Tree Sparrows and Fox Sparrow but I've spent little time in the blind and didn't get images.


this weak it's been all about finches.
Probably 50-80 Purple Finches
Male


Female


We have currently 6 Evening Grosbeaks
Male


Female


And 6 Rose Breasted Grosbeaks

Female


There are another 6 Goldfinches.


One point we had 40-50 Pine Siskins, now down to maybe one or two.


And of course The year rounders.
Hairy and Downey woodpeckers


White and Red breasted nuthatches


Chickadees, although we don't see much of them. They are busy at thier nest holes this time of year.


And of course these guys...




Missing from the photographs... 4 raven come everyday, but they are really hard to photgraph. The spruce grouses, they come late in the evening when the light is poor, Robyns, Hermit Thrushes, Oven Birds one Brown Headed Black bird who hung out with the grackles, same with the Red Winged Blackbirds. Yellow Bellied sap suckers. Everyone that's coming through is either here now or has already been.

[OrchidJulie]

Grackle, not from the flock but one who has carved out a out a nesting area.


.

Wow, Norm, that's an amazing collection of birds at your feeder! Incredible! I'm curious about the grackle -- we get them visiting in winter, but I have never seen one with plumage like that... was that a trick of the light, a change in seasonal color, or what?

[normhead]

Wow, Norm, that's an amazing collection of birds at your feeder! Incredible! I'm curious about the grackle -- we get them visiting in winter, but I have never seen one with plumage like that... was that a trick of the light, a change in seasonal color, or what?

When the light is right their feathers shine iridescent. I actually have some better ones , also of ravens.

Here's grackle with the light on him near perfect. He'd actually appear to be black with the light at a different angle.


As for the birds we are in a major light corridor, we see many of those birds twice a year. Also, the food expense, I put out 6 pitchers of food a day. I put out 4.5 black oil sunflower seeds, one half corn, half mixed seed for the sparrows and ground feeders (crows sparrows, grouses, grackles, blue jays, and a half picture of shelled peanuts, shelled sunflower seeds and a mixed nut with currents etc.

This guy is even better.


Having this many birds doesn't come cheap. My guess is over $100 a month. Easy. Probably approaching $150.

[Thagomizer]

Here's the female Cooper's Hawk, trying to enjoy the meal of a slower, less agile bird, while doing her best to avoid the local papparazzo, who is armed with a DA 55-300 on KP.





Both images are fairly heavily cropped.

[Mbaez]

We had quite the spring at the feeder here, usually we have one infusion, this year we had 5.

K-1 or K-3
Tamron 300 and 1.7x AF adapter or DA 55-300 PLM.

Back when there was snow, we had Pine Grosbeaks, 6 of them. Most years we are lucky I we see even one or two.

Male


Female


Juncos, at least 40 or 50 of them stayed for a month. They didn't leave until the 150 Grackles arrived.


We had at least 100-200 Redpolls earlier in the year.


Grackle, not from the flock but one who has carved out a out a nesting area.


The only sparrow I've htographed so far this year is a Chipping Sparrow. We've seen the White Throated, the American Tree Sparrows and Fox Sparrow but I've spent little time in the blind and didn't get images.


this weak it's been all about finches.
Probably 50-80 Purple Finches
Male


Female


We have currently 6 Evening Grosbeaks
Male


Female


And 6 Rose Breasted Grosbeaks

Female


There are another 6 Goldfinches.


One point we had 40-50 Pine Siskins, now down to maybe one or two.


And of course The year rounders.
Hairy and Downey woodpeckers


White and Red breasted nuthatches


Chickadees, although we don't see much of them. They are busy at thier nest holes this time of year.


And of course these guys...




Missing from the photographs... 4 raven come everyday, but they are really hard to photgraph. The spruce grouses, they come late in the evening when the light is poor, Robyns, Hermit Thrushes, Oven Birds one Brown Headed Black bird who hung out with the grackles, same with the Red Winged Blackbirds. Yellow Bellied sap suckers. Everyone that's coming through is either here now or has already been.

What a great collection normhead! Now I know the name of more birds
Thanks for sharing.

[dbs]

Hi Norm
Hows the shoulder now.
The food / seed brings in the birds and you get to photograph them , seems like a fair trade.


Dave