Rekindle that spirit

[Jeff]

Has been quite a while since I last contributed to this forum. A rest I have taken and a rest I have enjoyed. One thing for sure is that the sunbirds are here to stay for a long long time.

Olive-backed. The colors near its throat is most tricky to capture without under/over exposing the highlights. Browsing through my past collections, I found this shot that have been forgotton. Great to see the beautiful blue feathers on its throat and chest areas.

May be a little dark on ur screen, cause just changed a processing platform and unsure how it looks like on windows.



Jeff

[Hya]

it's beautiful! What kind of lens and settings should one use to achieve this?

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Hya it's beautiful! What kind of lens and settings should one use to achieve this?

Thanks.

For sunbirds, I would recommend a 300 - 400 prime lens. Aperture has to be maintained at F8.0 to achieve a decent Depth of Focus (DOF). Try to keep the shutter above 1/125s, but that doesn't translate into a fixed shutter or aperture combination! Use a tripod if you are serious shooter and wants no compromise. Remember to use some flash to fill the harsh shadows. Always keep ur subject at eye-level. Avoid butt-shot.

Do note that when shooting head-on, its beak and eyes must be in reasonable DOF, thus the small aperture.

This shot was exposed at F8.0, ?s, ISO 400, Flash at -2 eV on tripod. Time was late afternoon.

[Hya]

Thanks for the tips.

But, usually it's difficult to go near the birds and at eye-level, is even tougher... what type of flash would help?

I've spotted a pair of kingfishers, a heron and a white-brown egret look-alike bird at Marina City Park last Thursday... but, they flew away when I zoom in on them...

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Hya Thanks for the tips. But, usually it's difficult to go near the birds and at eye-level, is even tougher... what type of flash would help? I've spotted a pair of kingfishers, a heron and a white-brown egret look-alike bird at Marina City Park last Thursday... but, they flew away when I zoom in on them...

I suppose u zoomed with ur feet. B4 u do that, take some time to read up on ur subjects and understand their behavior from afar. Arthur Morris has a good book entitled "The Art of bird Photography". It should answer most of your questions.

[Hya]

I'll go find that book. Thanks!