djm34: as promised more photos :)

in photography •  8 years ago  (edited)

Hi everyone, as promised in my last post, I share with you a few more photos mostly birds with a few insects All of them were taken in south of France in Camargue in large wet areas

The first ones were taken last week (was kinda lucky on this one), it is a short-toed snake eagle (Circaete Jean-le-blanc in french), which feeds mostly on reptile. This is probably one of the most impressive bird in the area.



Those two are bee eaters (and not a beekeeper lol ) and it is definitely the bird everyone is looking for (well... a bit like for beekeeper ;) ) end of spring/beginning of summer as it is one of the most colored bird in this part of the world

here a squacco heron, which is one of my preferred bird

and here a few insects, this is taken with the same lens but obviously from much closer :)

That's all for today, have a nice evening, djm34
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Wow your images are so crispy and the subjects incredible... amazing eye for the sky.

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

thanks, although it has a lot to do with lens and the autofocus. :) (but yes you become with time rather sensitive to every movements in the sky)

I would imagine you need to keep up with the subject as im sure they are quick autofocus is a must. You shooting Canon or Nikon?

I am shooting canon, actually the autofocus of the 80d is rather good

great focus on the eyes of the circaete

Birds just wonderful. Handsomely. Probably, it is difficult to catch the moment and not to frighten them, is not it? I always admire when I see pictures of wild animals and birds, such close and clearly.

must admit, I lost many shots because I was trying to get too close. It is actually rather difficult to know how close it is possible to get (and you have to assume that if you see the bird, the bird see you...).
Actually the best technique is to use a hide and camouflage and let the birds come. I did it one year and actually it did pay off (but the place is closed to public right now, might retry end of summer).

The ability to determine the best distance probably comes from experience - have already come to you, I think.
Hmm, well, then it turns out such an effective ambush on birds) However, it's probably pretty hard - to lie or sit still and wait. How long do you have to watch?

no it isn't easy, I did it only one summer (actually it was full afternoon wait under some plastic hide by 35°C pretty awful :) but it allows some very close shot of smaller birds...)

That's pretty heroic act - in such a hot weather) Super. I'll wait for your new photo.

crazy

amazing shots

again, nice photo @djm34

second photo impressive!

Wow @djm34! More incredible photos? Can you elaborate on what your equipment is? Not that I know much about photography, but I do have a DSLR and someday hope to learn how to properly use it.

I use a canon 80D and a sigma lens 150-600mm which is a rather long lens.
Actually I started with a more modest 70-300 and it is quite possible to get nice shot with that (it is also a lot lighter and much less expensive... the 150-600mm is still a considered as a budget lens though... can't afford the 12k$ canon lenses right now :) ). A 70-300mm lens if a good way to start.

Great detail, captivating. Thank you. I enjoy nature in stills

you welcome

That second picture is fascinating.
short-toed snake eagle
I can't even see any toes.

lol, I might have a couple of shot where we can see its toes

man, u srsly do amazing pictures :O

thanks :) well there is always a bit of luck...

Very nice photos there mate . i wanted to upload all my picture but unfortunely no motivation to keep me goin . no gain no pain :p

Awesome photos! Well done and keep them coming!!

lenses? camera? costs?

canon 80D + sigma 150-600 Contempory

Beautiful.

Very nice photos, thank for share with the community

Holy shit, amazing! That dragonfly looks sexy as fuck.

Wonderful composition and detail. Thanks for sharing.

I'd be interested to hear what you think about some of my wildlife photos from South Africa

https://steemit.com/big/@fatmanc1970/south-african-adventures-part-1-the-big-five

Very nice~!

The second Circaete Jean-le-blanc and the two Beekeepers photo are very nice. Did you do much manipulation with cropping or LR/Ps or a similar program? I assume so, since wildlife photography is very hard to frame perfectly in camera, but curious how much manipulation was needed to get them so wonderful.

yes most photos are cropped a bit (it is rather difficult to get a bird to fill the entire frame... ). Regarding photo retouching, I use LR but aside from cropping I don't do much, I mostly adjust lighting and a bit color saturation and that's it. Actually I try to keep it as minimal as possible.

I'm with you 100% on both counts. My wife and I love birds and I know first hand how difficult it can be to get a really nice shot in camera. In the old days you wanted to do all composition in the camera, but those days are LONG gone and especially with birds it's impossible to get all the elements of a great shot. Sometimes you have to machine-gun the subject and hope for the best.

Anyway, you know your craft much better than I do and I'm very pleased you've shared with us all here.

And minimal is really where it's at. The garish over-saturated filter obsessed Instagram pictures we see make me feel like a kid from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Just too damn sweet! Yuck.

Anyway, that's the taste people have, so be it.

Once again, great work and hope to see more!

How beautiful! Thank you !
#leylar-photo

Nice pictures.
Thanks for sharing.

Hey, really amazing pictures, I love your blog! :) Feel free to visit my profile and give me some up-votes for content you like too. Best regards from germany. Jonas Ahrens

thanks, will have a look

Great photos!