A few more from a trip to the Scottish highlands last week.
Philip Price (a local wildlife photographer) and I wandered around the shores of Loch Awe, about 20 min east of Oban. We spent a couple hours looking for warblers and wrens. Lovely country, amazing scenery, and, of course, great whiskey. I believe most of these species breed here; we were a bit early for that, but they were all singing. Much more fun (but more challenging) than sitting in a hide, and partially made up for the fact that I missed most of the North American migrants (who were migrating through North Alabama at the time, spending most of their time in 30 ft canopies, well beyond the reach of a big lens). I believe most of these are pretty common in the UK, but they were all new for me.
Comments/criticisms/advice all greatly appreciated; thanks for looking.
Greg
Mrs. Chaffinch
Mrs. Chaffinch again (to make up for the absence of Mr.)
Wren (aka Eurasian Wren); supposedly ubiquitous but I only saw one
Great job on these, Greg. Looks like you didn't have much light to work with, but you handled the exposure very well. Detail look sharp and you were able to get a great isolation of the subjects
2, 4 and 5 are my favorites
Socrate
Lovely set Greg. The chaffinch is sure puffed up! You are right about the whiskey. And up Oban way, on the Isle of Islay, they make the best. Oban brand is pretty good too.
Much more fun (but more challenging) than sitting in a hide Yes indeed some skill is required there, not just sit and wait, that's hardly wildlife photography!
Excellent work on these Greg, nicely focused, sharp shots. For C&C, the thing I see in all of these is that the critical focus is not the eye of these birds. If in fact it is then maybe you MA is off a tad but as I see it the closest part of the bird to the camera is where the focus is That or my old eyes just plain suck
You sure came back from across the pond with some killer images, I'm jealous
Shasoc wrote:
Great job on these, Greg. Looks like you didn't have much light to work with, but you handled the exposure very well. Detail look sharp and you were able to get a great isolation of the subjects
2, 4 and 5 are my favorites
Socrate
Appreciate it, Socrate. I was pushing it with the chaffinch (iso 3200), but she let me get pretty close. Light for the others was OK, but they were more skittish. But there's something fun about chasing little birds with a big lens!
KCollett wrote:
Lovely set Greg. The chaffinch is sure puffed up! You are right about the whiskey. And up Oban way, on the Isle of Islay, they make the best. Oban brand is pretty good too.
Thanks, Ken. Sadly, I did not get to try any Islay, although I did enjoy a few (well, several) fingers of Oban!
David Leask wrote:
Lovely shots Greg. I'm glad you managed to get some of our beautiful wee birds
David
Thanks, David. Wee is right! I also have a couple frames of a Goldcrest, but that one was so wee (and so fast) that I'll have to go back and have another try.
