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You spin me round!


You spin me round!
Photo Information
Copyright: Japie Venter (japie) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1814 W: 100 N: 1904] (5187)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-12-22
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 300D, Tamron 28-300XR, Digital ISO 400, Skylight
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/1600 seconds
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Birds of Southern Africa, Photos with titles of songs [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-01-02 3:33
Viewed: 1365
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 34
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Now these little ones had me panning till my head was spinning. I probably took about 100 shots and have these two to show. What I like here is that they were nesting and the mud can be seen in their beaks. This was taken in the Pilaansberg Nature Reserve.

More about the Greater Striped Swallow (Roberts: 526)

It is a large swallow with a pale orange-brown cap; and a finely streaked breast and belly. Size 18-20cm - Larger than a Cape Sparrow but smaller than a Laughing Dove. Afrikaans: Grootstreepswael

The bill is short and slender, and it has a very wide gape. The bill is black and the legs and feet are brown. This species has an orange-brown cap, which does not extend below the level of the eye, or cover the ear-coverts. The orange-brown areas are a paler colour than those on the Lesser Striped Swallow. The rump is also orange-brown and the rest of the upperparts are dark glossy blue-black.

The underparts are creamy white, with fine dark streaking, which extends from side of the face, the chin and breast to the lower belly and flanks. The outer tail feathers are quite long and dark.

The Greater Striped Swallow is a common summer migrant. It is usually seen in pairs or small groups, and is most often seen close to the nest sites on a house or culvert, or some other man-made structure.

The Greater Striped Swallow eats mainly aerial insects, but also some seeds.

The call is quite musical and mellow: It consists of a chuckling phrase of 2-3 introductory notes, followed by a deep, gargled trill: crip trap triiirrrr. It also has a mellow chissik callnote.

The Greater Striped Swallow breeds from August to March, and usually raises two broods per season. The nest is an enclosed bowl, suspended on the underside of a horizontal surface such as a fallen tree, roof of veranda, culvert or bridge. The nest has a long entrance tunnel and is built entirely from mud pellets and lined with grass and other fine.

I do have some shots of them actually sitting still and will post one of them tomorrow.

The camera settings:

Program Setting: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 154mm
F Stop: F/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1600sec
ISO: 400
Tripod: No
Flash: Diffused Off Camera ETTL.
Reflective Panel: No
Cable release: No
White Balance: AWB
willie, carper, LordPotty, Crypton, red45, milloup, netfalls, Callie, extramundi, gerhardt, Luc, sAner has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To sAner: Your wish is my commandjapie 2 04-04 16:55
To Robbrown: Robertsjapie 1 01-02 05:00
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Critiques [Translate]

Full marks for this great presentation Japie. very well done

I love the inflight movie japie ))) 2 good captures I hace tried to capture our swallows who are with you at the moment with no good results, so I know how difficult these were, well done.
? what is the (Roberts 529) bit

Wauw Japie what a capture,
Fantastic capture, I have try this before by a kingfisher shooting during is fly and the only thin I saw was a piece of colours, no sharpnes. Oke you could see that it was a kingfisher but that was al. This capture is magnificent, good held of sharpnes, good colours, really perfect shot, and note. Great job Japie

vraiment 2 superbes prises !
les couleurs de l'oiseau sont tres agreables, l'angle de prise de vue est remarquable notament sur le deuxieme ;)
nice done.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2828 W: 75 N: 8009] (26813)
  • [2005-01-02 5:10]

Wow! Amazing Japie! Perfect quality and what a moment. On right picture bird looks like prototype x-31 fighter :-)

We sometimes have a few swallows by our local lake, and I have spent quite a lot of time trying even to get one on the chip without it being just a colour smear. They're really swift and furious. Often my neck would feel like a corkscrew after trying to follow one with the camera ;-))
Therefore, I'd say that two good shots out of a hundred is no mean feat at all, well done!

Composition: ****
Sharpness: ***
Color: ****
DOF: ***
POV: ****

Bravo, you caught it perfectly, great colors.
TFS.

Very good japei.
Nice to see two inflights. The swallows are not easy to catch in the air.
Very good sharpness, colours and presentation.
Great note like always.
Very well done.

Wow, it must be fun trying to catch these small fast birds, well done, these shots are excellent.

  • Great 
  • Callie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1252 W: 106 N: 2659] (7493)
  • [2005-01-02 14:46]

I bow down very low, Sir!
You presented this nicely, and the mud makes the Bills clear. You must remember that my old eyes do NOT see as well as they used to!
I rally like the way you presented these two, and the note as well.
Mooi gedoen!
Ps, Dankie, jou mail vanaand gekry!

Congratulations for this post, Japie. This are two very nice shots very well offered, and documented with a good note. I specially like the right one, the pose is very interesting. A real pleasure to look at this. Thanks.

Firstly, please allow me to wish you all the best for 2005, Japie. I have been away for a while and missed some of your shots, I have a weeks vacation left and might drop off the radar again.

This is an exceptional post. The in-flight action is brilliant. Very detailed shots in both sets. Nice action captured. I am green... John Deere green!

Great in-flight shots here, you have done very well. swallows are very difficult to get in flight. I especially like the right hand image.

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3446 W: 144 N: 5883] (17434)
  • [2005-01-03 23:32]

Your patience paid off Japie. These are excellent considering they were rarely still. Thank you for sharing.

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2058 W: 315 N: 4404] (14713)
  • [2005-01-05 13:02]

Great shots, Japie!
No swallow here until spring ;-(
An excellent presentation: pictures and note.
Thanks

  • Great 
  • deud Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 500 W: 2 N: 466] (2123)
  • [2005-01-06 5:29]

very beautiful action pictures! so colorful and sharp. excellent work.

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1654 W: 79 N: 1456] (4742)
  • [2005-04-04 6:54]
  • [+]

I missed this post before but this is marvelous Japie! Extremely well done, especially the right picture. I would have loved to see that photo in 800*600 format. Colors are superb and the details are RAZORsharp. Bravo! TFS!

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