Bee Eater (Merops bullockoides)

Critiques [Translate]

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• twosixbw (205)
• [2006-04-03 3:34]

Hi
Its hard to get close to some birds though I find that a car is one of the best 'hides' you can use to get close...and patience is an essential requirement to bird photography!! :)

I use a Canon 300D with the Sigma 50-500 lens. This combined with the 300D's 1.6x field of view crop gives a useful 800mm lens which allows me to fill the viewfinder with the bird alot more frequently than I used to be able to with just a 300mm lens on a film SLR. You do have a 1.5x FOV crop so you get a decent 450mm lens but I find the extra 250mm make alot of difference.
As a support I have a manfrotto tripod though I usually use a bean-bag when in the car. I made them myself - just buy 1kg of rice and sew a bag round it leaving enough room to 'bed' the lens in for support...

I would crop an image only if the photo is sharp enough - if not then I would try and use the photo to show more of the habitat of the bird rather than trying to fill the frame with it. Otherwise I scrap the image and go out and shoot some more!! My main problem is camera shake when using a big telephoto lens - the beanbag helps eliminate this (and make sure the car engine is off too!!).

Hope this helps someone out there!!

TFS - pity you couldnt get closer as these are beautiful birds!!

Phil

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• Dee_eS (440)
• [2006-04-04 16:28]

Hi Dan,
'Shooting' birds from a car or a vehicle is not easy, especially when there are more people in that vehicle. Using a tripod or a monopod or even a beanbag isn't always possible. You could invest in a lens with vibration reduction (eg. Sigma 80-400 OS for Pentax), which gives you a certain amount of 'freedom'. As for this picture, you could try to enhance contrast and sharpness a tiny bit.
Groetjes
Daniel