lewins honey eater

[avkomp]

went on a picnic today looking for kingfishers.
and honey eaters and anything else stupid enough to get infront of the lens

heard kingfishers but didnt see any
and these honey eaters came around as the light was fairly poor.
even @ 400iso I could only manage 1/60 sec @f5.6. to make things worse they were in cover.
They never sit still for long either and you can see slight movement around the head on these guys:
doing what honey eaters do:



just hanging around:

possibly overflashed and a weird blueish tinge around faces.

comments still appreciated. dont be too cruel
Steve

[bindiblue]

Awesome shot,, I love it,, Very well done,

ohhhhhhhhhh when will i get sharp photos,

Suzanne

[Finch]

Steve,

That first Lewin's Honey-eater shot is beautiful.

It is very sharp and I love the fact that it is doing what they should be doing - eating honey!

Keep posting great bird shots

Cheers

Michael

[avkomp]

thanks michael, I spend a while trying to get these guys.

low light and never standing still. you could see them perfectly but with a leaf across the face etc etc.

the first one was probably the sharpest.
I took quite a few that I thought : nailed it, only to find out that the head wasnt sharp etc etc. low light isnt your friend doing these shots.

If you look at the second, you can see a small shadow above the bill where he moved his head slightly, I got lots like that. cursing the light the whole time.

Steve

[Finch]

Steve,

I know how you feel. Focusing on the eye of a tiny bird in a dark rainforest or similar can be more than a challenge at times. Looking at many of your bird postings, though, I must admit that you do end up with some real corkers (and sharp as a tack).

Cheers

Michael

[Oneputt]

Steve after trying (unsuccessfully) to capture some small birds flitting around rainforest undergrowth on the weekend, I know just how good these are.

[Manta]

Steve - have to agree on both points raised by the others here:
a) These little guys are extremely hard to nail and
b) You've done a fantastic job with these images.

I always look forward to you posting your shots. They're very inspirational.

[Oneputt]

Steve I would ne interested in the EXIF including the lens that you used.

[avkomp]

oneputt:

this was 80-400vr @400mm, 400iso 1/60s f5.6 hand held although I had a stable position and had my elbows resting on my knees. sb800 and better beamer.
flash @-1.66ev. I was less than 3metres from the tree where they were.
note that the beamer isnt necessary at this range, but because it concentrates the flash where you need it, faster follow up shots are available if required.

definitely too slow a shutter speed to guarantee sharp shots every time unless the subject was still, so I lost more than I got getting these guys.

I spent a couple of hours watching and waiting to get these. you could see them all the time but they rarely gave a chance of a shot because of leaves, sticks etc in the way.
Steve

[Oneputt]

Thanks Steve - you certainly earned them