Sunday 30 September 2012

Kingfisher Update

I thought I would do a quick update on my Kingfisher project. Things have been going really well since my last post and I have been able to really push the photography forward and try for new and original images. 

The main reason the project has progressed so well, is due to the site its self. The river runs through the middle of a field which means there are very few over hanging trees. The banks are also only 2 foot tall. This situation means that I can get images quickly by placing a perch out in the the river. When she next does a fly by, she lands on it every time, without fail because there is little else to land on on this stretch of the river. 

I have tried wide angle images, by placing my camera on a tripod close to the perch and wiring the cable release back to me in the hide. I then waited for her to land in postion and then fired away. 
She was,  and still is, completely oblivious to the shutter, it has never effected her. I do however wait for her to settle on the perch for a few seconds before I fire the shutter. I usually do one or two, to remind her of the canon shutter noise, then its fine after that. 

Tamron 10-24mm @10mm full frame 

I love the wide angle images, I am just waiting for nice blue skies to capture them again. Or perhaps some misty winter mornings at sunrise. We will see!!! 

Sigma 120-300mm @120mm full frame

Simga 120-300 @300mm full frame

Sigma 120-300mm @300mm full frame

The following image is so far my favorite from the project. It was taken by pre setting up a 10mm wide angle, on an area I 'hoped' the bird would fly. after three hours in the hide, the bird flew back up river and I jumped out of the hide, I checked the camera and was very pleased with the image on screen. 

Its by no means perfect but its in the right direction. 

Tamron 10-24mm @10mm full frame 



4 comments:

  1. Wow, these are good. You have such patience and it is good to hear you are sympathetic to your subject too. I am thinking of drawing a few birds soon. Please may I use the second shot as a reference?

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  2. thank you so much, yes thats fine, and please send me a link to your final drawing if it goes onine? I would love to see it!

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  3. Very good images Sam, but I do like the wide angle on the first one, stands out for me.

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  4. Hi,

    Saw some of your posts in the wildlife photography critique group on facebook using the sigma 120-300mm OS. Your shots are looking really good with it! I'm going to the kalahari to study meerkats for a year and was thinking of getting this lens. I will probably rent it before I buy but I would love to know your opinions of it having used it for a while, especially interested in how it is to hand hold and how well it works with the 1.4x teleconverter.

    Thanks a lot.

    Check my website and flickr for my images:

    http://rhoskyns.wix.com/naturephoto

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bios1/

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