Bird Watching: Daily Bird Pics - Vol. #359, 0 by linthicum

linthicum wrote:
syndicate, the main benefit here is that you are practicing and getting more familiar with your camera's capabilities. If I knew everything, I would be a professional. However, here is some food for thought.

I have attached a link to "How to Photograph Birds". http://www.digicamhelp.com/how-to/nature/birds/

I did this because I noticed that your metering mode is set at "pattern" whereas I developed a consensus of opinion that one should use "Spot" metering when photographing birds. That by no means suggests that one can't get good pics of birds using other metering modes. There are a lot of other factors that enter into the issue. I don't know how far away you were from the birds/bush. But at an aperture of f/5.6 you have little depth of field. Taking a photo of a small bird in a bush at 250mm can be difficult using anything other than manual focus. That's why most photographers prefer at least a 400mm minimal lens. More lens is better in those situations unless you can get real close. Nonetheless, keep practicing, listen to others and read lots of photography articles by the pros.

duc, excellent shots. I haven't gotten a Black-crowned Night Heron this year. I keep looking.

tigerlily, nice shot of the Mountain Chickadee.

gardenpom, I like your female Painted Bunting best of all. Nice shots.

Hack, nice photos of a variety of yard birds. I usually wait until snow arrives to photograph the songbirds near my house.

nanny, I always like to see and hear the vocal Blue Jays. They become a colorful subject againt the white snow.

While photographing Bald Eagles, these Black Vultures were sitting about 20' to 30' behind me. would you turn your back on this group ?