Hersch wrote:
Another great set of images Harsha. You have a very nice shot of a Pied Kingfisher on your website as well. It would be hard for me to pick out a favorite here. Not sure what the first Eagle is. Feathers don't seem to come all the way down the leg and the head is shaped differently than the Tawny. The Saddlebill is a female and it looks sort of like a dragonfly just ahead of her.
I see you are a cyclist too which is also one my hobbies. I will be photographing the Team time trials at the Tour De Georgia in April. What do you ride?
Hi Grant
I am not a serious biker. I rode 2000 miles last year. That was my first Ragbrai and it was a blast. I had my DSLR on the back of the bike for all 400 miles. Have you done the Ragbrai. Highly recommend it. After few bloody marys next 50 miles come fairly easy.
Harsha
Elessar wrote:
Very nice. I really like the pose of the crowned crane you captured in #2. We saw quite a few crowned cranes, but they were usually too busy eating to do much strutting.
Jay
Jay
I got lucky. This crane landed in front of your vehicle and start feeding.
Harsha
Outstanding captures Harsha. Must be a thrilling experience in Africa. Wish I could visit such a place someday. Thanks for sharing these top notch work of yours.
Jude
jstephens62 wrote:
I am pretty sure the mystery bird is an immature Bateleur Eagle. The is a close-up immage on Wikepedia that shows detail of the bill and face that very closely match your bird.
Can you offer tips of who you went with, equipment to take etc? We went two years ago, I took a Nikon 8800, got interested in photography after I came back and now would like to go back with a Canon 30D (which I own) and a 500 F4 (which I don't). What technique did you use for your bird shots??
I have a brief description of our group in this link. https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/628461/0. It may be in the third page of the link. If you have specific question please email me.
30D and 500/f4 will be perfect combo for bird photography.
Here are few suggestions
Make sure you have Likeminded people in your group.. If the other passengers in the vehicle are not interested in Bird photography you have a lost cause. There are so many things to photograph over there and so little time.
Educate the guide what you want and what is your expectation for the trip. They are not used to the needs of ohotographers. Educate them how to approach the bird without flushing them. Drivers like to drive fast and come to a quick stop when they see something. This might work for big game but not for birds. Educate them about the direction of light and how y to position the vehicle in relation to the light. Prepare to spend lots of time working the bird waiting for that behavior shot. If the Background is not perfect move the vehicle. You paid for the vehicle and the guide and how you use them is up to you.
Limit the number of people in the vehicle. Have one whole row for yourself. This allows you to photograph from both side of the vehicle and have room for your gear. I had three beanbags. One for each side of the roof and one for the window.
In East Africa you shoot from open roof tops. Beanbag is the answer. If you are like me and never shot from a beanbag practice before you go on the trip. Go to your local park and practice..
Longer the lens closer you can get to the bird. Minimum focal length is 400mm and longer is better. Use a flash extender with the long lens. IS or VR helps but not necessary.
Use a wider aperture as possible to get a pleasing background. Have your shadow directed at the subject so the sun is behind you. Try the opposite as well so you get a backlit subject when appropriate.
I hope this helps.
I have one suggestion, the Lilac Roller is my favorite except for purple hi lite in the eye, do a selection around the eye, Increase the black channel to get rid of the purple or clone it out, I think it will improve that image a lot.
Steve
Thanks for the suggestion Steve. I liked the result.
Harsha
anthony whitmo wrote:
Shot 1 , 5 , and 7 are my pics. Very well done > Excellent detail and sharpness
Shot 1 is Killer > I love these guys !! Such an interesting bird
Outstanding. Ed
Excellent work!