Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

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Lil Judd
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p.1 #1 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Well, back to birds I think....

Last week I had a H.S. (or in Swedish Gymnasium & it's got nothing to do with gymnastics...) friend come visit for 6 days from home. That's why I was gone for a week. Anyhow, she needed to learn her newly bought camera which she had taken on a trip to the Seychelles Islands. It had not gone well. It's her first dslr & things didn't turn out the way she wanted them to. But she bought it just before she left & didn't learn how to use it before leaving home. So she came here for 6 days which meant I had 6 days to get her going with the camera & well you know.....

Anyhow, result has been that I've been all over the place shooting with her & one day we went to Venice Beach in Los Angeles & had a delightful day. I was teaching her to use a long lens for the first time in her life & I was working with a travel lens to get to know it.

For a while on the beach I got my hands on what used to be my Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 lens. It now resides in Stockholm & is now working with a D80. Anyhow, I got to meet Sanderlings, very small & fast moving shore birds, for the first time & here are some shots from the day...

Equipment..... Nikon D300 with Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 zoom lens. ISO 400 further EXIFs are embedded in the shots....

Oh, some are cropped pano style because I like it better in those cases. These are small & fast birds & most shots are the full shot, some just trimmed pano style....

Hope you'll enjoy

Lil

# 1 - - I was told to get three or more doing the same thing.... Hows this

# 2 - - Run Run Run Run Run from that huge wave.....

# 3 - - More running

# 4 - - Tails in the air...

# 5 - - "Busy Work"

# 6 - - Anything down there

# 7 - - Alone....

# 8 - - Twins

# 9 - - More Busy Work

# 10 - - What are you doing with that thing

# 11 - - Summer colors....

# 12 - - I'm Grooving....

# 13 - - I can keep up!

# 14 - - Look Tippy Toes....

# 15 - - Hey, what's going on over there

May 12, 2008 at 07:29 AM

Jude Perera
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p.1 #2 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Very nice set Lil. My favorites are 7, 9 and 10.

Jude
Ps: I heard the Tamron 200-500 has slow AF. What do you think about it.

May 12, 2008 at 07:38 AM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #3 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Jude Perera wrote:
Very nice set Lil. My favorites are 7, 9 and 10.

Jude
Ps: I heard the Tamron 200-500 has slow AF. What do you think about it.

Thank you Jude,

it's Sanderlings overload, but they're rather amusing to me.

As for the Tamron. Compared to what

Is it as fast as a 50mm f/1.4 - - no..... but it's pretty fast. Maybe not compared to an f/2.8. But I've gotten BIF etc with it & a lot of the shots I've posted come from that lens. Here I'm catching Sanderlings & they're fast. So locking focus can't be that slow..... I have had no complaints with that lens. All I know is that I now miss it & wish it would come home again..... What is this problem I have with selling off lenses I have replaced....... Separation anxiety I guess.

Lil

May 12, 2008 at 07:59 AM

Jude Perera
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p.1 #4 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

All I know is that I now miss it & wish it would come home again..... What is this problem I have with selling off lenses I have replaced....... Separation anxiety I guess.

Lil

I know the reason Lil. Because your Sigmonster is too heavy. Ha ha ha.

Don’t tell us that we didn’t warn you.

Jude

May 12, 2008 at 08:14 AM

Nello Milanese
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p.1 #5 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Lovely series Lil !
Looks like you had a blast w this fast little buggers

Nothing better than a day at the beach in company.
I think #5 is the best of the bunch!

May 12, 2008 at 09:13 AM

Dave In La
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p.1 #6 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

ouch, that is some very harsh light on most and I must say that you have done really well Lil
The low angles are really good. I would have a hard time getting up from so low.
Don't have a fav, kind of like them all

May 12, 2008 at 11:35 AM

Josh S
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p.1 #7 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

6 and 13 for me

May 12, 2008 at 11:44 AM

Shasoc
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p.1 #8 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Lil, I'm having problems seeing your post. I only see 15 little red crosses. The same thing happened with your other post.
Anyway, since you mentioned Gymnasium I know very well what you are talking about. I went to the Italian Gymnasium School when I was a teen-ager. I don't know in Sweeden, but in Italy is what we call the first two years of high school. The remaining three years of high (secondary?) school are called Lyceum.

I will check your post later,
Socrate

Edited by Shasoc on May 12, 2008 at 10:01 AM GMT

Edited on May 12, 2008 at 04:01 PM

May 12, 2008 at 03:57 PM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #9 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Jude Perera wrote:
All I know is that I now miss it & wish it would come home again..... What is this problem I have with selling off lenses I have replaced....... Separation anxiety I guess.

Lil

I know the reason Lil. Because your Sigmonster is too heavy. Ha ha ha.

Don’t tell us that we didn’t warn you.

Jude

Good one Jude,

Problem is, I've had this reaction to other sold lenses so I don't think it's just the Tamron & heaven knows I wouldn't give up the Sigmonster for anything.

I have the 300mm f/4, super sharp & convenient & I get great sharpness even with the TC on it. I'll be fine.

Lil

May 12, 2008 at 04:00 PM

harshaj1
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p.1 #10 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Great series Lil. I like how you showed the habitat and then more close up of the birds. 9 and 11 are my favorites out of the lot.
Harsha

May 12, 2008 at 04:01 PM

Tim Kuhn
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p.1 #11 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Oh Lil, I know you had fun with these guys. I love take their pictures when they are around. I find myself so intent on them that when I finally decide I have had enough I realize that I'm waaaay down the beach from where I started. I see you have some one legged ones such as 13. I see a lot of them hopping down the beach, it doesn't seem to slow them down at all. Fun series, just what I needed to ease into a Monday at work.

Tim

May 12, 2008 at 04:04 PM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #12 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Nello Milanese wrote:
Lovely series Lil !
Looks like you had a blast w this fast little buggers

Nothing better than a day at the beach in company.
I think #5 is the best of the bunch!

Thank you Nello,

I told you I'm going back to bird posts.

They were a wonderful surprise. This is Venice Beach where so many "strange" people hang out & all the surfers. Over all the years I've gone down there, this is the first time I've run into these guys. Normally all I see is pigeons & gulls.

Thanks for taking a peek & commenting...

Lil

Dave In La wrote:
ouch, that is some very harsh light on most and I must say that you have done really well Lil
The low angles are really good. I would have a hard time getting up from so low.
Don't have a fav, kind of like them all

Hi Dave,

beach facing west & about 2 pm - - it's bright there to say the least. Pacific Ocean hitting with all the reflections big time. A polarizer would have been helpful, but I didn't ever get one for that lens..... We found them, but my friend had to make a dash for the facilities & I was left with equipment on the beach. Got the shots, she came back & we switched the lenses on the cameras & I made a rush away as well. She was left with the birds & equipment. Birds left after she'd gotten off a few frames. Shear luck I got anything.....

With these little guys it's important to go low or all I would have gotten was me looking down upon them. I'm not going to say my knees didn't give me a few comments.

Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for commenting...

Lil

Josh S wrote:
6 and 13 for me

Your pano-cropping agrees with me.

I started missing my old Canon 70-300mm IS the other day.... for no good reason really.... maybe it's sentimental or something lame like that.

Maybe your friend will bring you along to the Seychelles next time as a "photo assistant" - I'd take that job.

Hi Josh,

thanks for the picks. Glad you liked the pano crops. Sometimes I just feel that's what a shot calls for.

See, it might just be nostalgia or something......

Next time Mimmi's going to photograph polar bears. She's been to that Antarctic & photographed penguins, to the Galapagos, China, India, Africa several times on safari. That's what I can remember off hand like this. All with a P&S - - guess she'll just have to do it all over again & maybe I can tag along this time.

But then, she doesn't have a family past her old mother..... a little easier to travel on her terms...

Thanks for looking & commenting

Lil

Shasoc wrote:
Lil, I'm having problems seeing your post. I only see 15 little red crosses. The same thing happened with your other post.
Anyway, since you mentioned Gymnasium I know very well what you are talking about. I went to the Italian Gymnasium School when I was a teen-ager. I don't know in Sweeden, but in Italy is what we call the first two years of high school. The remaining three years of high (secondary?) school are called Lyceum.

I will check your post later,
Socrate

Edited by Shasoc on May 12, 2008 at 10:01 AM GMT

Hum.... I don't know what might be causing that Socrate. I now upload shot differently since I no longer get the add frame button . . . . . I use Zenfolio to store my shots.

Gymnasium can be 2, 3, or 4 years (at least when I went to school). Two years was for welders & cooks etc. Three years (standard) was for Humanistics, Social Sciences & Science, and four years was for technical with computers etc.

I took languages etc (Humanistics) and went for three years. That corresponds to 4 years of H.S. here. I went straight to the University of Stockholm out of Gymnasium so my Gymnasium years were from 16 to 19.

I hope you see them on the next try. If not, the whole series (with some other shots as well & a lot more of the Sanderlings) can be seen
here. That's for taking the time to let me know about the little red x's....

Thanks,

Lil

May 12, 2008 at 04:26 PM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #13 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

harshaj1 wrote:
Great series Lil. I like how you showed the habitat and then more close up of the birds. 9 and 11 are my favorites out of the lot.
Harsha

Thank you Harsha.

Glad you enjoy.

I think with these little guys it's important to show just how small they are on the beach against the waves. Not to mention how funny they look running from the waves & looking for food in the sand.

So glad you enjoyed...

Thanks for looking & commenting.

Lil

Tim Kuhn wrote:
Oh Lil, I know you had fun with these guys. I love take their pictures when they are around. I find myself so intent on them that when I finally decide I have had enough I realize that I'm waaaay down the beach from where I started. I see you have some one legged ones such as 13. I see a lot of them hopping down the beach, it doesn't seem to slow them down at all. Fun series, just what I needed to ease into a Monday at work.

Tim

Hi Tim,

I was in luck, they didn't run too far & that was important as I needed to stay put for my friend to locate me. This beach stretches far after all - - - or rather, it just continues in both directions & just changes name.

The little Sanderlings are very entertaining & it's easy to get caught up in them. I actually think there was only potentially one one legged... I found that some jumped around on one leg, yet I could from my angle see at times they had the second leg. On the shot with one running & one hopping - - that one put the second leg down later. Sometimes I got the feeling they just enjoyed hopping along.

Glad you enjoyed & that I eased up your Monday morning with these.

Lil

May 12, 2008 at 04:44 PM

PSquared63
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p.1 #14 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Very nice series, Lil. I really like the down-on-your-belly perspective of #1.

Peter

May 12, 2008 at 05:33 PM

Vivek
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p.1 #15 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Lil

Quite a few precious ones, but #8 is just great! Great capture...

-- V

May 12, 2008 at 06:42 PM

Lars Johnsson
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p.1 #16 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Very nice series Lil. # 1 and 7 are great. And I have always belived Gymnasium was the same as Gymnastic

May 12, 2008 at 09:47 PM

thehotel
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p.1 #17 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Them are some cool looking birds. You done did gooood. I hope your friend learned enough to be happy with her camera.

Wacky roger

May 12, 2008 at 09:51 PM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #18 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

PSquared63 wrote:
Very nice series, Lil. I really like the down-on-your-belly perspective of #1.

Peter

Thank you Peter. I find myself more & more flat on my stomach or hunched over on my knees....

Thanks for taking a look & commenting....

Lil

Vivek wrote:
Lil

Quite a few precious ones, but #8 is just great! Great capture...

-- V

Thank you Vivek - - very kind.

Thank you for taking a look & commenting

Lil

Lars Johnsson wrote:
Very nice series Lil. # 1 and 7 are great. And I have always belived Gymnasium was the same as Gymnastic

Tack så mycket Lars (translation thank you so very much Lars)

I'll tell my father about Gymnasium being for Gymnastics - - he'll love that. He was a gymnast after all.....

Thanks for taking a look & commenting

Lil

thehotel wrote:
Them are some cool looking birds. You done did gooood. I hope your friend learned enough to be happy with her camera.

Wacky roger

Hi Roger,

thank you - - you're so kind. She now loves her camera & having arrived with only one lens, she left with three. I on the other hand lost two lenses during her visit. No problem though.... I'm covered. Main thing in this is that I opened a whole new world to her & she is now so ready to go at it she's all giddy. Perfect, we're back to being teenagers again.

My daughter complained about me being so silly when my friend was here. What's she talking about.... I'm 19 years old......

Lil

May 12, 2008 at 10:03 PM

WesN
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p.1 #19 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Lil,

Nice series! #1 is my fav.

Wes N.

May 12, 2008 at 10:22 PM

Karl Witt
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p.1 #20 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Oh yes, walking the beach, life doesn't get much better especially when the shore birds abound

Got some fun shooting in here Lil, I love the color in the first and the '3-up tail shot'. #9 is a good shot, nice comp and pose, #13 cracks me up on the kangaroo hop, too bad on missing a limb

Couldn't tell is Ms tippy toes was showing off her heels are drying her nails

cute shot.
Sure glad you an Mimi had a great time together, hope your lessons are rewarding for both of you..........take care

Karl

May 12, 2008 at 10:37 PM

Shasoc
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p.1 #21 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Wow! These are great shots, Lil. The low angle really helps isolating the birds from the bg. Color, lighting and detail are very good, and framing and compo are really pleasing. 1, 8, 11, 13 are my favorites, but the whole set is very entertaining.
Socrate

May 12, 2008 at 11:23 PM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #22 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

WesN wrote:
Lil,

Nice series! #1 is my fav.

Wes N.

Thank you Wes

Lil

Karl Witt wrote:
Oh yes, walking the beach, life doesn't get much better especially when the shore birds abound

Got some fun shooting in here Lil, I love the color in the first and the '3-up tail shot'. #9 is a good shot, nice comp and pose, #13 cracks me up on the kangaroo hop, too bad on missing a limb

Couldn't tell is Ms tippy toes was showing off her heels are drying her nails

cute shot.
Sure glad you an Mimi had a great time together, hope your lessons are rewarding for both of you..........take care

Karl

Hi Karl,

Mimmi & I had a great time & I loved teaching her. She learns fast. One day of theory & then we both went at it. She'd ask questions etc & I'd answer. Just enough to get her going & experimenting. I firmly believe in experimenting with f/stops, lenses, composition, angles etc. Probably why I've ended up on the ground for so much of my wildlife shots.

So glad you enjoyed

Lil

Shasoc wrote:
Wow! These are great shots, Lil. The low angle really helps isolating the birds from the bg. Color, lighting and detail are very good, and framing and compo are really pleasing. 1, 8, 11, 13 are my favorites, but the whole set is very entertaining.
Socrate

I'm so glad you can see them now Socrate. You are so very kind in your comments. But I must admit to being thrilled with how they turned out. I had about 15-20minutes with them - - then they were gone.... Talk about luck!

Lil

May 13, 2008 at 12:27 AM

lbuscher
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p.1 #23 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

Nice series Lil and I agree with Dave about getting not down but the up part. I gotta get one of those angle things that go on the viewfinder. Nothing beats a bird or animal taken on its own level.
Lou

May 13, 2008 at 01:19 AM

raymondjbarlow
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p.1 #24 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

so cool, looks like such a great place to shoot, wonderful shots!

May 13, 2008 at 01:42 AM

Lil Judd
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p.1 #25 · Shorebirds at Venice Beach, CA. (15 shots folks....)

lbuscher wrote:
Nice series Lil and I agree with Dave about getting not down but the up part. I gotta get one of those angle things that go on the viewfinder. Nothing beats a bird or animal taken on its own level.
Lou

Thank you Lou,

I find myself having a fit if I can't get down low & on their level. I just can't stand it. One of my issues with Bolsa Chica as a matter of fact. Good thing about Bolsa Chica is that the birds are often so far away it isn't as obvious. Still, to me it upset me. I want to see the world from their perspective....

Glad you like...

Lil

raymondjbarlow wrote:
so cool, looks like such a great place to shoot, wonderful shots!

Hi Ray,

thanks for the sweet compliment. I've been going to Venice Beach off & on since 1983 - - this is the first time I've seen them. Just Gulls & Pigeons is what I've been used to seeing all the time. They were such a surprise. But a most appreciated one.

Glad you enjoyed....

Lil

May 13, 2008 at 02:32 AM


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