Osprey

[Rebellion]

I found an osprey nest, here are some pictures I will return in a week to see the little baby...C&C are welcome...

[Geoff F]

Very difficult camera angles there, Tony. Normally I would have said use a bit more exposure compensation and allow the sky to fade a little; but you have a few bright spots in those scenes where increased exposure would cause as many problems as it solved.

Your camera angle on #1 gives the appearance of different sized wings which is unfortunate but not a disaster. Although I always like to get my bird shots looking as balanced as possible.

#2 has that overly dark shadow problem plus a bright spot, so not a lot else to realistically achieve by any added exposure. So I would just accept the dark areas in what is otherwise a good shot. The wings in this case are slightly different sizes but, for me, it doesn't really matter for this sort of scene where they appear to be almost equal.

#3 is good and in this particular case the wing difference really makes the shot.

#4 is another case of heavy shadows and bright areas, where it is better to accept them than attempt anything 'clever' which would be likely to ruin a good shot.

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[Astramael]

Tony, I would be curious to know what equipment you are using for these photos and the exposure details. Telephoto shots in general are one of those times when technicals matter. Would help me understand the image making process better on these.

[Rebellion]

My equipment canon 70D 500mm f4, ISO 200 F8.0 1000sec ,A very sunny day no cloud or so, but the good condition

[Rebellion]

tHank's

[Rebellion]

Geoff. thank you for your comments actually I did not have many choices for positioning my camera because there is a lake and the nest is almost in the center of the lake and very high...

Even with my 500mm near the limit should have had extender 1.4 or 2X will try next time and post the result

[Ziggy]

I know from experience these birds can be a challenge.

Nice series.

[Geoff F]

I have tried adding a 1.4x to my Sigma 150-600 Sport and found a distinct softness and off focus with auto focus shots. Manual focus worked better but even then not quite so sharp as without the extender, particularly in difficult light angles.

[Rebellion]

Geoff, with your 150-600 What are your f-stop with an extender, with my 500mm f4 becomes f5.6 with a 1.4 and the sharpness is very good 2X perform much less

[Geoff F]

I was shooting with the lens set between F 6.3 and 8. The manual focus shots were acceptable but I could see there was some softness creeping in; but it was much better than when I tried the same thing with my previous Sigma 150-500. I try to shoot between F8 and F11 if possible. And with an Iso limit of 800.

Under perfect clear conditions that 150-600 Sport can produce good results but as soon as the light gets a bit iffy . . .

Although, once again, noticeably better than the old 150-500.