KevinFRK 3d ago • 100%
Thanks, though here it's more "taking what I get" than deliberately setting up a cool angle!
Reading, UK, Canon R6 + 800mm It didn't seem at all sure of itself!
KevinFRK 6d ago • 100%
If it didn't face down, you'd be looking at a tree creeper :)
KevinFRK 3w ago • 100%
Oh they are indeed. Previous years I've seen them tucking into large thistle heads (so about head height) in sunshine which is an utter delight - alas, this years weather or something has denied me of that pleasure. The following is from 2022:
KevinFRK 3w ago • 100%
Yes indeed they were, but the nearest I had to an "ID" shot from that group was:
But that really lacks interest!
Just to go over the rules again... - Sit near the ground, not at the top of a mature Horse Chestnut Tree - Sit at the Front, not at the back of the tree - Choose a sunny day to come out to a shoot - Don't hide behind twigs - Don't hide your head - Don't fidget But do you Goldfinches listen? No you don't!
KevinFRK 3w ago • 100%
Nice shot, and interesting to see a Jackdaw with such odd feathers (given they "ought" to be black and a bit of a darker gray around the head). Also, was this taken inside a food court or similar?
Absolutely delighted to see the parents and brood of pretty much adults on a town park pond. I'd not seen any of them for a while, and feared for their safety. Reading, UK Canon R6 + 311mm (yay, zoom), f7.1, 1/1250s, ISO1250
Reading, UK What can I say? It creeps round trees, I rarely see it, and just look at those claws! Canon R6 + RF800mm, ISO10000 (c.f. creeps round trees!), 1/1250s, F9
KevinFRK 3w ago • 100%
Because you presumably post here to share something you think others might like/be informed/be enlightened by and this doesn't appear to be doing that at the moment. However, if not posting for that reason, I suppose I can go hunting for the Block User option.
KevinFRK 3w ago • 100%
While I share the question "Why?" I might hazard a guess that there's almost an echo of the colours of the Sainsbury's sign with the colours of the tarmac and its white and yellow lines, or even of the pale blue car and the sky - I could almost imagine a "I like it but I don't know why" mood.
But then, same poster as "11 miles to the city" two days ago.
KevinFRK 4w ago • 100%
Do you mean the nuthatch? If so, I've observed that they favour certain trees, and with patience you will possibly get lucky. I don't have that level of patience - one day, perhaps! But even then, as you say, to get the leaves framing the sky round the bird...
KevinFRK 4w ago • 100%
Yes, the first one is a sad statement, rather than technically great art.
BBC Report on the award, with some stunning (and some very sad, including the very first) photos shown. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4d92n5p4do
KevinFRK 4w ago • 100%
Photos of reflections can do wonderful things, as here!
KevinFRK 4w ago • 100%
First time I've had my camera with me when seeing them hover - I'm not complaining about the angle :)
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
I should have added that I'd tried that and got nothing - which surprised me as usually very good (though Sound ID can be a bit addictive)
Google suggests a Duclair Duck (and so an escapee) but I'm unconvinced. Seen on the Thames at Reading. Canon R6 + 800mm
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
And not entirely to my surprise, Windhover is even in the Oxford English Dictionary!
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
Try this one - still messed with, but gives more of the shadows
Which, just cropped out of the camera's RAW format (suffering from the classic dark bird against white sky issue with auto-ISO) was
An alternative name for a kestrel, and definitely what this one was doing! Reading, UK, Canon R6 + RF800mm, 1/2000s, F10, ISO1000, Exposure Bias +1 1/3 Must have knocked the dial as that should have been F9. For most of its hover, its head was in the shadow of its wing , making for less than perfect shots needing drastic post processing, e.g. ![](https://lemm.ee/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Flemmy.world%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F6c92b0f2-55ad-4a82-ab64-ccb251cb20f9.jpeg)
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
Since the swallows were back in roughly the same place, and same (decent) light today, I tried with 1/2000s - and got a couple of shots that were clear improvements. E.g.
So, Canon R6 + RF200-800mm lens at full length, F9, ISO 1250, Exposure bias on camera +1 step at the suggested 1/2000s
To give a sense of cropping/distance, that's 296 x 296 pixels from a camera whose full frame is 5472 x 3648
Trying for the photos hand held for twenty minutes or so (with rests) left me with extremely tired arms!
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
Oh! Thank you.
I'd assumed you were just using it's standard nickname (e.g. Jenny Wren or Robin Redbreast). I wonder whether it is named from it's cousin's English nickname. As an example of that, Robins were once just "Redbreasts", got nicknamed Robin, and somehow, the nickname became the standard way to name them. As you can perhaps tell, this derivation amuses me
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
This is actually the truly crazy (and heavy!) RF200-800mm, with F9 at 800mm (and they do one even madder at x4 the price or so).
Sadly, Canon don't let others use their RF interfaces, so I'd guess Sigma, etc. don't try hard to work with Canon anymore.
I know for birds the ideal is closer to the suggested 1/2000s, but in practice that seems out of reach without doing bad things to the ISO with this lens/body. While the camera was doing auto-ISO to 100-350, the photos needed quite a bit of increased brightness when processing (RAW of course) to bring out the bird, so there was little to spare. And this, in sunshine. If I'd been thinking, some exposure compensation on the camera would have been sensible, but I doubt the end result would be much better.
KevinFRK 1mo ago • 100%
Not that I'm aware of - just eats storage and battery! That said, with a heavy camera, you're unlikely to keep it firmly on target for much of the burst!
Reading, UK - today, which rather surprised me to still see a flock of Swallows around. I find them really hard to photo - they notoriously don't land, and fly fast, so this lot of photos is as good as I get. Canon R6 + RF 800mm, 1/1250s, ISO 100 or 350 for these
Always a delight to see flitting about, even more of a delight if they stay still long enough to photo. Reading,UK
Well, one symptom of it anyway - sunlight on dew on webs. Reading, UK
Red Kite, Prospect Park, Reading, UK Canon R6 + RF 800mm I like how the colours came out, especially as this was a dark bird on a white sky, which is always needs correction when on auto-ISO.
I'm reasonably sure this is a Chiffchaff, though it might be some other sort of warbler, and I was pleased to get such an action shot. (even if a bit obscured) Reading, UK.
Common Buzzard, high up in a tree in Prospect Park, Reading, UK
Reading, UK - just feeding my addiction to photoing Buzzards and Kites.
Just rejoicing in a moderately sharp shadow , and a slightly wistful look - yes, sunlight in Reading, UK! I'd guess an adult transitioning from breeding plumage.
St Mary's Churchyard, Reading UK I decided I was being snobbish by ignoring an obvious flock of "wild" birds in easy reach: in my local town centre - though sadly the light today was not that great. One of my books lists four broad types, all represented here: Chequered, Rock Dove type, Pied and Ginger.
I think this is a (probably young) Cetti's Warbler, which is a first time photo for me. They are certainly found in that area (Reading, UK), and Merlin Bird Photo ID points to it for the following photo taken at the same time and place: ![](https://lemm.ee/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Flemmy.world%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F39e07b77-b005-4167-af30-da4e83bcea69.jpeg) Canon R6 + RF800mm
I didn't actually intend to capture this robin in motion from tree trunk to branch, but this lucky accident amuses me. Reading, UK Canon R6 + RF800mm