Starting Bluebird thread Number 3

Well, the other was getting a bit long, so here we go again.

Let's start with pictures of the BB's diving. First the male. I am a little slow on the upload since my inlaws' modem is not as fast as mine at home.

One more male

Now the female

Here, this one is more of a dive.

Wow, wonderful pics Dave!!!

Awesome Dave!!

Wow!! You really are kind to share these with us. Thank you!

Looks like they had been washed and hung out to dry!! LOL! Great action shots!

Fantastic pictures!!!

Wonderful as the first one. lol Thanks Dave.

Thanks. I'm at it again. Here are two taken a few minutes ago, showing a male bluebird as he arrives at a perch.

A split-second later.

Not to be outdone, here is the female, in the same position, just a few minutes later.

Very pretty pics!

INCOMING!! In the words of Bugs Bunny, Good thing he has air brakes.

Dave,

Wonderful pics! Some of them look like they're 'dive booming'! LOL

You captured them in motion perfectly!

Marilyn

When an artist ...... like you....... captures in photography such beauty you make hearts leap with joy. These "windows" that you create..... can bring over others to marvels of nature and "see" into the lives of other creatures that we share this planet with.

Thank you

David

Thanks David. Digital photography, combined with computers and the ability to share on the Internet. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?

With appologies to Michael L Smith, here's my latest "mad" bluebird, taken in the snow just before dark tonight

A couple of snowflakes

What a beautiful journey you have here Dave! I just love your Mad Bluebird!!

Rose

Love the newest pics! I especially love the mad, cold bluebird! Awesome flight photos as well.

I've got serious camera envy... but even if I had the camera, I'd have to develop the talent! Thanks for sharing.

I know this one is similar to the last one, but I like the snow.

Oh thats so nice w/ the snow!

Here's the female from earlier in the day

ha ha. that one with the snow is like one of those round fat ceramic birds. cute cute cute!

Can you see the snowflake?

Oh yes the lower one; neat!!!

oooo… I have zoom envy now.

Zoom envy for sure...blue envy for sure and I just turned green. I love those snowflakes!

Truly amazing pictures. I'm curious about how many shots do you have to take before getting a really good one -- I find my best is almost 20-1 ratio. Sometimes I come back with nothing.

It would depend on the kind of shots we're talking about. For example, if it is just a bird sitting still, like the snow shots above, I probably I can get a keeper almost every time. My problem in those cases is, since I normally shoot in rapid fire mode, I often end up with a hundred nearly identical pictures. Of course, among them I may find one where the bird sneezes, or blinks, or has an in focus snow flake on its back, which is the kind of shot I like.

If we are talking about in flight shots, my success rate is much lower and depends on a couple of other factors. If I am 30 feet away or more, I can again stop them in flight with a high rate of success. Probably 70 to 80 percent. In these cases I like to pick out the shots where the light is right or the wings are in a flattering position. If the bird is as close as 10 feet, the chance of wing blur is higher and since the bird moves when you least expect it, it often moves out of the frame before the camera fires. I must have 100 or more shots that are near perfect but for the fact that all or part of the bird's beak is out of the picture.

Here's one from this morning, which is similar to the ones from yesterday. As you can see, this is a "pose" I try for.

Dave

Say, not to hijack the bluebird thread, but I saw your Pbase images on hummingbirds. I love the series with the red daylily. What is your success rate on those fast buggers?

With hummers it is ALL luck. If they sit still,or hover in the same spot for a few seconds, and if I am 20 feet or so away from them, I can generally stop them. But, after a while, that's pretty boring. Did you see the ones where they were fighting mid air? or the one where he was yawning and you can see his huge tongue? Those, to me, were more interesting. Incidentally, the hummer is not often drawn to thhe daylily. I think in this case he was looking for a drink. Did you see the dew drops on the petals of the daylily? For those who may not have seen it, here is a crop of one of the shots you're talking about.

Dave

While I was looking for the above daylily picture I ran across another unusual shot, taken in the rain last year. Since he can't wipe the water out of his eyes, he does this.

I liked these… is this the "fighting?"

http://www.pbase.com/uncledave/image/85210846

Yes, or at least it's a confrontation. The perched bird was not worried enough to even fly up to meet the challenge, but just rocked back. He eventually chased the challenger away. The ruby-throated hummers are very territorial. The season usually starts with the adult male taking up a position where he can protect the food source, whether it be the nectar of flowers or, in this case, the sugar water in the feeders we put out for them. In a short time one of the males who hatch in this year's nesting, grows and becomes bold enough that he challenges Papa repeatedly until he runs him off and then he begins defending the feeder.

Here is a better example of a challenge.

Dave, beautiful pictures. How many different lenses do you use?
Thanks,
Carol

Hello Flowette

For birding I use three, but most of the time, just two. I keep a 300mm f/2.8 mounted on the 40D and a 400mm f/4 DO mounted on the Mark III. The third lens is a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom that I have mounted on a 20D.

For flowers I have a 50mm macro and a 100mm macro, and for inside stuff where I can't use flash, like weddings, I have an 85mm f/1.2 that I have mounted on a 5D. I have a 16-35mm f/2.8 zoom that I use with that setup too. All cameras and lenses are Canon.

Dave

Wow and again I say, Wow.

I've been on the camera forum reading about cameras and lenses all afternoon!