Hello Nello, that has a nice ring to it I gonna think that the brown on the branch is much like Dave eluded to that is has become polished by the frequent visitations to it, the bark is gone and it looks like the feathers are contoured to the branch.
A very pretty Kingfisher it is! The black-winged stilt is a great shot, cool bird. The godwit has gorgeous markings, what a beak on that guy Have never seen or heard of a Smew, would like to see more of them if you get them working in your favor, loved the low angles on them, great efforts my friend
Thx Chad! 72chevelle454 wrote:
Nello, these are all fantastic photos. Nice job
Woow Greg I hope you get some shots of it...pls post if so! Kitehog wrote:
Nice Series #1 is my pic as Im stalking a belted kingfisher right now!
Greg
Dave maybe you're right. Also I just got the idea that maybe he's nesting on the river banks thus his feet get dirty&so does the branch Thx for taking time to comment. Dave In La wrote:
nice stuff Nell, very nice.
That color tint on the branch is where the kf has been rubbing its butt.....maybe!
Thx Anthony!
I hope to see more stuff from Iowa. you're off to an awesome start anthony whitmo wrote:
Nello great job. Faves are the KF, Smew, and godwit.
Kewl stuff
Anthony Chillin in Iowa for a few weeks. YEA BABY
Lou
The security in there is as tight as it can be. I know the procedures by now They ALWAYS take 1 piece at the time out of the safe
Plus you have to send a copy of your ID and passport via fax to them 2-3 days before the shoot (gives them time to check your background )
Actually we just had a MAJOR jewellery hit in mil. of €! They escaped through a hole in the wall
You can read this AMAZING robbery at Damiani's Milan showroom here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3433384.ece
Here's one of my fav. shots that I did last time (published in Dubai, HK and Italy magazines) http://www.pbase.com/nellotodica/image/95005948/original.jpg
Anyway, I should stop bragging
thx for stopping by Lou lbuscher wrote:
Very nice series Neillo and be sure you leave that jewlery photo session with empty pocktes
Lou
Thx Jude..now my goal is to get a Kingfisher shot free of busy bg..like the 1's you post here Jude Perera wrote:
Nice series Nello. You have done well in capturing the King and Black-winged Stilt. My favorites also the same. Congrats.
Jude
Glad you liked the Godwit Harsha I wasn't sure if I should post that shot since the pose it's not very "pretty" harshaj1 wrote:
Excellent series Nello. Great shot of the KF. I also like # 4 and 5.
Harsha
I actually thought about printing that list and cut the names off 1 at a time as I shoot. But then again i'm only at about 30 species so I think i'll wait until my Database grows bigger
Thx for the encouraging words Shasoc wrote:
A very fine variety of shots, Nello. Colors are beautifully rendered, and details are very nice. That kingfisher is a beauty, the Black-winged Stilt looks very elegant. Good angles in the other shots.
I looked at that list. Lots of birds! To bad there were no photos. May be this could be your next project.
Socrate
Ray & Susan thx for stopping by suemcc wrote:
Gorgeous colors in that first one!!
Susan
raymondjbarlow wrote:
fantastic Nello, thanks for posting these!
Terry. I have to step it up! Whenever I see the amazing shots people post here I feel like I have to Terry D wrote:
Heavy duty stuff here Nello... You are really steppin it up in every post. I'm gonna have to go back to shootin flowers...
Super shots!
Terry
Thx Claude..this shot is with the Tc attached if I remember correctly and 50% crop. He flew away when I tried getting closer! Claude wrote:
Great series, Nello! Congrats for the Kingfisher, they are so difficult to find and to approach!
Claude
That godwit has a beak as long as its body...I didn't notice the black part of its beak until I got home it just keeps on going
The male smew was the most cooperative bird in this trip..he didin't really seemed bothered, but the female was very shy! weird! Karl Witt wrote:
Hello Nello, that has a nice ring to it I gonna think that the brown on the branch is much like Dave eluded to that is has become polished by the frequent visitations to it, the bark is gone and it looks like the feathers are contoured to the branch.
A very pretty Kingfisher it is! The black-winged stilt is a great shot, cool bird. The godwit has gorgeous markings, what a beak on that guy Have never seen or heard of a Smew, would like to see more of them if you get them working in your favor, loved the low angles on them, great efforts my friend
Karl...Show more →
Yes the light is very harsh...we were around noon. It took me a long drive to get there+1 hour until I was actually shooting something. I guess next time i'll leave home really early in the morning
Thx for your comment! floris wrote:
Light seems a little harsh on most of them, but #1 is a truly great catch - it's tough to get near those guys!
Thx Doug...I see the kingfisher & the smew are top fav. in this series! Doug Bentlage wrote:
Super series Nello! Gotta go with 1 and 6 as favorites, as for the brown stuff....no comment!
Doug
May 17, 2008 at 05:10 AM
Herb Houghton Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Nice work Nello. I like the KF and the godwiit resting. The backlit stilt is a nice catch and thanks for sharing the smew, never seen that one before.
Herb
Cavallieri d'Italia for a Stilt? I think I'll start calling our Stilts Cavallieri d'Americano, sounds so much more...operatic. I love the ground-level perspectives on these, it really adds to the photos. I'd say my fave is the Godwit but oh, those Smews (I like saying that, too).
Thx for taking time to comment Rob. The smew is native to EurAsia so problably that's why it's kinda' new to many of you Weird bird, the guide says they prefer laying their eggs in the trees! a duck that lays eggs in trees..go figure Rob Tillyer wrote:
Like the new smew best. Or just saying it. Actually they are all really great. I just never heard of a smew. Thanks for posting.
Hey Verno thank you! glad to see you're back posting vernoinferno wrote:
Kingfisher and Stilt Nello,...............great! Verno
Jude
By "we" I intended, us people in Milan not "we" the jewellery robbers If I would be part of that I'd have a MarkIII + 600mm F4 IS as a birding combo Jude Perera wrote: Actually we just had a MAJOR jewellery hit in mil. of €! They escaped through a hole in the wall
Congrats on your safe robbery getaway. Hope you got your dividend right. I like your wristwatch image. Nicely done. Congrats.
Jude
Nello
I have just posted some KFs shots in the Canon forum as I was concernd about the lens (using a 100-400) which seemed soft. I just wondered what lens you were using and what sort of distance the KF was shot at?
Paul I was using the 70-300mm IS + Kenko Tc at F9. the bird was at about 5 meters if I can remember correctly. I think your shots got messed up by the IS on a tripod. The IS on the 100-400mm is the 1st generation IS (unlike my 70-300mm IS) so it does not "see" the tripod when mounted on, thus on a solid tripod it will try to detect movement causing erratic effects. I don't think the shots are back/front focused 'cause there's no detail nowhere in the picture! try IS off on tripod, or handheld ON at those shutter speeds (1/400s) and it should be much better. Also as suggested, always use native ISO's on critical shots (100,200,400,800). There are many high ISO test out there that proved that actually ISO 1000 on 40D is almost as bad as ISO 1600. it's just a ISO 800 pushed up artificially in-camera! I've used the 100-400mm IS many times, also i'll post next week a whole series shot w my friend's 100-400mm and it's a pretty darn' good lens (stay tuned for those).
Btw, stupid question but did you shoot Raw or those were just jpegs out of the camera. Also were they sharpened at all? pauld1958 wrote:
Nello
I have just posted some KFs shots in the Canon forum as I was concernd about the lens (using a 100-400) which seemed soft. I just wondered what lens you were using and what sort of distance the KF was shot at?
Great shots by the way.
Paul
Thanks for the reply and advice, I think I have got the idea about the IS. I thought the 800 ISO was better than the 1000! They are taken at about 25m - it is not possible to get closer - I just thought they might be sharper when cropped. They are shot in RAW no processing - just converted for the site.
Thx Maggie for the encouraging words Needed that
after this trip I feel like i've gotten a little better too, but not by much MaggieBee wrote:
Nello, this is your best set yet. Wonderful series, wonderful work. Yay you
Yep that smew sure is something Herb! I read that it's actually a crossbread between Mergansers and Goldeneyes
Glad you liked the KF and godwit Herb Houghton wrote:
Nice work Nello. I like the KF and the godwiit resting. The backlit stilt is a nice catch and thanks for sharing the smew, never seen that one before.
Herb
I gonna think that the brown on the branch is much like Dave eluded to that is has become polished by the frequent visitations to it, the bark is gone and it looks like the feathers are contoured to the branch.
Thx for taking time to comment.
Lou
