Selection of My Birds

[Cheryl Davidson]

Just a small selection of my birds. Comments and critiques welcome.

A cockatoo with attitude.







A galah



Couple of lorikeets and cockatoo



Cockatoo coming out of the fog

[jprzybyla]

Superb, wonderful images. Sharph detail, great color. The white of the Cockatoo nicely exposed. Well done Cheryl.

[FrankMi]

Not only a great set of captures but each one has dramatic action, often missing in many of even the best of wildlife images.

Very well done Cheryl!

[Steve S]

Hi cheryl , 3 and 6 are most excellent images. Very well done!!!

[gcowan]

Hi Cheryl,

Great shots. Your action shots are most impressive, and the character of the birds really shines. Though the arrogance of the rainbows is showing rather than their aggression, around our place before we discouraged them the cockatoos used to sit a bit away until the rainbows were finished.

What shutter speed are you using, and are you using a tripod? It doesn't look like you are using flash to stop the motion.

We don't get galahs around our place. Yours seem to have a much deeper pink than I have seen them, are they shot around Sydney? The colour balance and saturation looks really good to my eye.

We used to get crimson rosellas but they are too shy and won't come around when the cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets are marauding around. As soon as I pull a camera out they fly away, sit in a tree just out of reach, and won't come back until I put the camera away. I will have to learn some of your technique.

Graham

[Cheryl Davidson]

Thanks Joe for your nice comments.

Thanks Frank for your nice comments also. I really hope the photos tell a bit of a story.

Thanks Steve. Your comments are most appreciated.

Hi Graham, thanks for you nice comments. In any battle between a lorikeet and sulpher crest the lorikeet will always win hands down. They have no appreciation about how small they are but they make up for that with sheer guts. Only if they are seriously outnumbered will they back down. In this photo I was intrigued by the lorikeet in the rear, the back up guy. It did however end up in a down right battle with the lorikeets winning.

The cockatoos at my place won't wait for the lorikeets in fact the lorikeets seem to wait until the cockatoos are already there. They just want to move in.

Usually I am using 1/1250 sec on 70 - 200 lens. I am not using a tripod. I live on the side of a hill and I am usually tracking these birds from when they first start coming over the rise so by the time they hit my place I have been tracking them for 20 or so shots. The cockatoo in shot 2 ended up landing on my shoulder and would probably have knocked a tripod over. I do have the camera and lens mounted to a 'bushawk' contraption a bit like a rifle mount that allows me to hold it fairly steady while tracking.

I haven't used a flash in any of these because mostly they are part of a series. On the odd occasion that I do I use one of those fold down diffuses because I don't want to spook the birds.

I don't have any problem with birds being frightened of the camera possibly because I can drop it and it hangs around my neck on the bushawk strap. And I guess they are used to it by now.

Thanks again for your nice comments.

Cheryl

I do live south of Sydney near the Mt Annan Botanical Gardens.

[kaneohebud]

Cheryl:
All I can say is Wow! You are very fortunate to live where you have such beautiful subjects to photograph. That said, each of your captures is spectacular. Sharp, sharp, sharp. Well done!

[lKate]

The images are remarkable. The way they show movement and detail is amazing to me.
Kind of makes me feel like I should give my camera to someone who knows how to use it and go back to a point and shoot.

[Bobobird]

Superb, wonderful images. Sharph detail, great color. The white of the Cockatoo nicely exposed. Well done Cheryl.

What more to say that Joe has not already said. Wonderful shots of my most favourite bird.

[Cheryl Davidson]

Thank you Bud and Bobo.

Kate, please don't do that. I would be devastated. Just something that requires a little practice and it is within anyone's capabilities. Now if I can only learn to do a decent landscape.

[jeeperman]

Looks like I am a little slow to join the party. Very nice collection Cheryl. #3,4 & 6 are superb.

[Cheryl Davidson]

Thanks Paul for your kind comments. Much appreciated.

Cheryl