Naked bird pictures

[glenwilson]

We have had sparrowhawks visit the garden many times before but they usually treat the garden as a MacDonald's drive through - fly in, grab lunch, and then fly off. However, this guy grabbed some lunch off the bird table, sat there eating it (only feathers were left) and then stayed in the garden for about three hours waiting for dessert! The weather was awful misty murky stuff so I can see why he wouldn't want to fly off anywhere.

Had to shoot through the two layers of glass in the window which is why they aren't as sharp as they could be and it was also quite dark too.

 

[Mr.X]

This will be the most clicked thread here, with the title "naked bird pictures" lmao....

 

[glenwilson]

Shame I don't get a £ or $ per click! I could have been naked whilst taking them!

 

[Steffos666]

lol very good pictures therefore that you were inside the house

pictures are a bit unsharp but stil brilliant ( i think only the last 2 are a bit unsharp rest looks ok^^)- we wouldnt have known the window glasses in between if you wouldnt have told it to us

 

[glenwilson]

I would still rather be able to take these photos than have none at all - maybe next time he visits I'll have the window open and no mist! I have spent quite a few days at all times of the year hoping that I'd get something like him land on that perch. A lot of the time with the camera on a tripod and nothing ever appeared!

Those of it sitting on the bird table were further away and also at an angle through the window so there was a fair bit of diffraction going on. You also get light reflecting off the windows which washes the colours out too. The mist wasn't helping either as that was softening everything. I tried manual focus and different lenses but it wasn't possible to get anything as sharp as I would like.

The camera was a Pentax K-5 mkII with either a Sigma 70-300mm f5.6 or a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8.

 

[Steffos666]

I would still rather be able to take these photos than have none at all - maybe next time he visits I'll have the window open and no mist! I have spent quite a few days at all times of the year hoping that I'd get something like him land on that perch. A lot of the time with the camera on a tripod and nothing ever appeared!

Those of it sitting on the bird table were further away and also at an angle through the window so there was a fair bit of diffraction going on. You also get light reflecting off the windows which washes the colours out too. The mist wasn't helping either as that was softening everything. I tried manual focus and different lenses but it wasn't possible to get anything as sharp as I would like.

The camera was a Pentax K-5 mkII with either a Sigma 70-300mm f5.6 or a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8.

i know what you mean but photographs of animals are the hardest ones

you have to be fast most and you still want to have a sharp foto maybe ill post some of mine in a few days

I love the second picture its great sharpness is good ^^ You really did the best for such a misty and rather dark day!

maybe youre lucky and next time he rests in the bright sun instead of waiting for the weather to get better who knows then we see the real colors of this bird

 

[glenwilson]

I would argue that people are harder to take. Had to do corporate headshots for a department of 500 once. Organising it was one thing but being careful not to emphasise big noses, sticky out ears, reducing the number of chins, and so on was pretty hard. Then you get the, er, less attractive generally people who are almost impossible to do anything with! Blokes tended to be more concerned about there hair being alright than women. There were a couple of people who no matter what effort you made looked like serial killers (suspect they had the potential to be one too).

One guy ALWAYS wore a Superman tee-shirt (I assumed he had more than one though given his personal hygiene skills it maybe was his only one) under his work shirt and was the ultimate in creepiness. No one liked being on the same team as him as there was "just something about him". He ordered a "Thai bride" and she stood him up!

 

[nao07]

nice photo of falcon ,thank you for making the picture and for the sharing ....

 

[Deleted member 432]

What wife of Glen thinks about that when he says "Hi im going out tonight, sneaking in bushes and taking pics of naked chicks..." :welsh:

 

[Teofild]

Nice shots glen thanks for sharing

 

[sgt_diamonddog]

They are nice as a togger myself i know how differcult taking these images are, shame it was misty but well done..

 

[glenwilson]

I have tried all sorts of tricks to get decent photos of the sparrowhawks that visit. They used to appear and a regular time of day so I set-up the camera on a tripod, pre focused on perch and waited, and waited and waited <repeat> - nothing. Set camera up and left it with a motion trigger. Nothing. So getting those photos (and about 200 others) of that bird was a start!

Thought togger was a derogatory terms for an Australian!

Like most things preparation contributes a lot. Photographing cars for a living means that you have to make sure that you take your camera (and a spare). Take the required lens (and spares). Ensure the battery is charged (and have plenty of spares). Make sure you have a memory card (and spares). Because you know that the customer is spending time preparing the cars and getting them in to position for you to photograph. Screwing up not only costs them money and won't get the pictures onto their web site and I won't get paid. So you prepare and check before going out.

You can prepare for wildlife photography but you are dependent on them showing up but opportunities can present themselves and that is when you take what you can get. Usually have a camera near the window just in case you get that rare bird or whatever appear in the garden. As the saying goes, the best camera is the one in your hand!

 

[glenwilson]

He was back again yesterday evening. Obviously thinks the other visitors to the garden are tasty.

 

[nao07]

very very nice picture ,,
... it is accustomed to your garden it looks like he expects you to take a picture ... lol

 

[lakaelo]

looks a bit like it is on dope lmao

 

[glenwilson]

Goldfinches are maybe the catnip of sparrowhawks? Does look as though he is a bit trippy.