The chickadees are going to rent the bird house--it's official! I've been playing with motion and capturing birds more crisply (see my other album and my failed Eastern Towhee attempts) when in motion. This is totally an experiment (took ISO up to the max, shutter speed at max, and aperture at most open). Good news, better capture of bird when s/he jets out of the house; bad news, photo is very grainy (not a sunny day either). I'm going to keep playing with my chickadees in flight, but not until I get back from Florida! Oh, and yes, I'm aware that my editing has made the photo too dark--I'm not a good editor, admittedly.
Questions for the birders out there. Why is my chickadee taking the moss he grabs from the tree bark in the yard (found out my mosses have great recycling purposes for nature) OUT of the house, rather than IN the house?
Like a jet, but in a car (correction: white mini van--yes, I drive a "mom van"--ugh), I'm heading to Fernandina Beach, FL for a week with 4 squealy and most active girls. I just might have a break-down, but I'll post a photo or two either down there or when I get back! Oh, and yesterday, my photo of the Eastern Bluebird made the Popular Page (with its head cropped out, which is a little amusing). I really appreciate the support you have given me (and the lovely comments). I can't tell you enough how encouraging it is. I promise to keep telling you about all my happy accidents as I keep learning about my camera and keep chasing moving targets! Off to pack a bag, sunscreen, flip flops, and CAMERA! Come on good weather! :) Oh, and I apologize in advance if I don't give many comments this week--I'll try, but not much time I suspect! See you all in a week!
Fabulous capture of that speedy guy! Thanks for sharing your settings. It's really helpful to me since I am still feeling my way around manual. Have a great vacation. Looking forward to your great photos upon your return.
A week in Florida, that sounds like fun, I hope it's pleasure not work? Fantastic capture of flight, I know how lightening quick you have to be to catch them, unfortunately the light is sooo bad here at the mo that I just can't push the shutter speed up high enough and I don't like to have my ISO too high because of the noise, so I'm just gonna have to be patient. Enjoy your trip and keep up the good work, you are really onto something with your bird shots.
@jo13 Yes, it is Spring break for my kids. Unfortunately, it's a work week for me (I teach for a college in Nebraska "online" so where I go, work goes too!), but the girls are taking pals, and I'm hoping to have them go on their own a bit while I work or I'll just work into the night and wake up early. I've done it for a few years now!
This bird shot was all I had time for today, unfortunately (it was pretty grainy)--loads of laundry, house picking up, getting work gear all together--it's exhausting trying to leave! :)
@jo13 Also Jo, just an FYI, my two girls are on 365 and will be following you :) They love your photos. Just wanted you to know (one goes by Apple and the other goes by Yumi)--I'm not sure how this will all work out (I tend to be a mother hen with online stuff, but I told them they could follow you!).
@jo13 they'll be 11 and 13 soon--they got camera for xmas and want to try this out. I'm a little nervous having this so open, but we'll see how it goes.
Have a safe trip and try to stay "sane". : ) Definitely getting closer here ! Sometimes our equipment can't handle certain images. If I go over ISO 400 with mine, the image just gets too grainy, which means it's almost impossible to get the shutter speed needed to capture an image like this unless the lighting is perfect. Try 800 and 1600 on your camera and see what happens. ...... Don't know if you have a female on eggs in there yet, but if so, the removal of dirty matter ( I/e fecal sacks) from the nest is a common practice. : )
I love this photo! And I totally get it about the photos getting to grainy when I crank up the ISO, but you did nice editing for sure. Doesn't look noisy to me. Thanks for sharing your process. I'm a beginner and it helped me a bunch. Have fun on your trip!
This bird shot was all I had time for today, unfortunately (it was pretty grainy)--loads of laundry, house picking up, getting work gear all together--it's exhausting trying to leave! :)