p.1 #1 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Congratulations to michal.narozny for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 3 votes - View Previous Winners
Hello!
I have had a chance to witness few days of great crested grebes life. I went to the lake for about two weeks in a row. I think four or five times.
As you can see the pictures were shot in all kind of lighting conditions. Preserving whittes was sometimes a struggle. But the journey of photographing those birds was a great joy and fun!
I hope you will like my gallery!
All the pictures were resized by flickr to 2048 px at longer edge.
p.1 #2 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Excellent set of images!
The eye level angle is very effective. The light and color is excellent.
My favorite of the set is #22 (you seem to have them numbered on top).
Grebes are great subjects for photography.
p.1 #3 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Michael , these are absolutely spectacular !!!! Some of the best I have seen , with some very different and unique poses. Love the low level view . Extraordinary set.
By the way , welcome to the Forum. Hope to see more from you.
p.1 #5 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
First of all a big welcome here Michal
If you were concerned about preserving whites it is obvious that you mastered your goal, these are exquisite sir! It appears you were able to get quite close and with a low POV. Were you on shore or in a kayak or wading?
I would like to single a few out but I realized that I would be singling most everyone of them out So quite honestly just hitting the Vote button was easiest and most appropriate
Just stunning, mind sharing your gear too? Also as you may know, many camera systems have a 'preserve highlight' exposure setting that can be used or at least tried. Doesn't appear you need help though with the issue.
p.1 #7 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Beautiful series with exquisite lighting and exposure. I get the impression you were laying on you stomach on a paddleboard to get this perspective. Works really well!
p.1 #9 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Thank you All for kind words !
dclark wrote:
Excellent set of images!
The eye level angle is very effective. The light and color is excellent.
My favorite of the set is #22 (you seem to have them numbered on top).
Grebes are great subjects for photography.
Dave
Thank you Dave. When the male was gone fishing sometimes the female picked small insects from the water surface to feed the chicks a bit ... maybe to calm them down a bit ?
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birdied wrote:
Michael , these are absolutely spectacular !!!! Some of the best I have seen , with some very different and unique poses. Love the low level view . Extraordinary set.
By the way , welcome to the Forum. Hope to see more from you.
Birdie
Thank you Birdie! I really like to be at the right angle when taking pictures. It sometimes hurts my back, but not so long ago when I started this hobby I learnt that this is the key to take better pictures
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YEG-Photog wrote:
Top drawer set! Excellent work.
Thaks You! Much apprecieated
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Karl Witt wrote:
First of all a big welcome here Michal
If you were concerned about preserving whites it is obvious that you mastered your goal, these are exquisite sir! It appears you were able to get quite close and with a low POV. Were you on shore or in a kayak or wading?
I would like to single a few out but I realized that I would be singling most everyone of them out So quite honestly just hitting the Vote button was easiest and most appropriate
Just stunning, mind sharing your gear too? Also as you may know, many camera systems have a 'preserve highlight' exposure setting that can be used or at least tried. Doesn't appear you need help though with the issue.
Actually the pictures were taken either from shore (a groundpod + gimbal) or from a DIY inflatable floating hide I made over the winter.
Actually here I am standing by my construction. I am not sure it was the wisest idea to make it myself ... but I like to tinker and I had lots of fun making it! I also write an article about DIY float hides atm. It will take a while before it is completed. This is the second one I made in 1,5 years time. I am also modifing the hide to allow me to get even lower angles. I am a bit scared of drowning or wetting the setup tho.
My wife and I take pictures togher with Sony gear. We started taking pictures when we picked our first tele photo just when covid started in march 2020. So far going semi manual - manual shutter/aperture + auto iso with exposure compensation is the way I shoot. A9 (and any other camera camera) is so great with silent shooting option.
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hnilsson wrote:
I'm just gonna second what Karl said above - couldn't say it any better anyway. . Top notch.
Henrik
Thank you a lot Henrik!
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gerov wrote:
Beautiful series with exquisite lighting and exposure. I get the impression you were laying on you stomach on a paddleboard to get this perspective. Works really well!
Gero
Thanks Gero. Please check out the DIY floating hide picture above !
morris wrote:
Your photos are a joy to view Michal
Morris
Thank you Morris!
Last but not least - one picure I missed somehow but I really like.
p.1 #11 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
What an amazing set of images. Just a pure joy to view. Beautiful subject matter, beautiful light and colors, great IQ. Couldn't possibly be better. YGMV for sure !
Gary
p.1 #14 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Brian Woolf wrote:
Stunning and os so beautiful!
Brian
Thank you Brian
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sum1sgrampa wrote:
What an amazing set of images. Just a pure joy to view. Beautiful subject matter, beautiful light and colors, great IQ. Couldn't possibly be better. YGMV for sure !
Gary
Thanks Gary for kind words and vote!
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RobAmy wrote:
Thanks
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n.v.m. wrote:
just terrific. what more can i say.
Thank you
I am very happy you like the pictures, it is a great honour to have such a reception at the best photo forum !
p.1 #15 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Michal, these are a joy to watch. I am actually going to try and shoot loons sometime soon, hoping to do it at a low angle as well. Unfortunately not hide or DIY float, but we will try our best.
Welcome to the forum. Voted for sure.
p.1 #18 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
Wow, superb capture Michal!!
My first time seeing those waterfowls.
And the lighting ... oh boy.
And thank you for the hide photo setup with the information. Very interesting.
p.1 #20 · Great crested grebes - a short photo story of their family life
kdacharya wrote:
Michal, these are a joy to watch. I am actually going to try and shoot loons sometime soon, hoping to do it at a low angle as well. Unfortunately not hide or DIY float, but we will try our best.
Welcome to the forum. Voted for sure.
Thank you
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NaturRosi wrote:
Great light, colors and perspective. Like them!
Thanks, getting that low viewing angle is a key in good wildlife photography. Getting wet and dirty is a art of the story
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kmunroe wrote:
very nice indeed Michal
Thanks!
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Imagery wrote:
Wow, superb capture Michal!!
My first time seeing those waterfowls.
And the lighting ... oh boy.
And thank you for the hide photo setup with the information. Very interesting.
Great crested grebes are quite common in europe. Fishermen despise them, a bit less than cormorants tho. But I think that even the common species can be fun to shoot and deserve nice pictures.
Liek I said in the post before I write an article about floating hides. I am not a seasoned veteran of float hide photography but I have managed to make two in 1,5 years and DIY approach is what I want to write about
So quite honestly just hitting the Vote button was easiest and most appropriate 
. Top notch.