Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

[NorthernFocus]

Yesterday and today have been rainouts here. Since it hasn't been conducive to shooting I've been culling/processing the last three weeks worth of files. I found a few with a common theme that I thought might be interesting.

One thing that has surprised me here is the shyness of the birds. Even though most wading types are known to be so, given enough exposure to people they do habituate eventually. But even though there is a good bit of human activity with biking/walking paths etc, the birds here remain shy. They are migratory creatures so that could explain it I suppose. At any rate, I've had to resort to using a hide. I simply purchased a sheet of burlap material painted with a camo pattern that I drape across myself. I can use it either sitting or standing. One downside is that although it disguises body shape and hides my eyes, it doesn't hide movement. Sometimes that is entertaining when the birds see movement but can't figure out what it is. If crows spot me they come over and raise a fuss every time.

Anyway, following are a few shots that were only possible due to using the hide.

1) Best of the group first. This GBH was on a trajectory to land REAL close to me. I raised the camera in hopes of shooting a sequence as it landed. Unfortunately it saw movement and flared off. Not in a panic. But it decided to find a spot without a suspicious looking lump with one huge eye staring at it. But it's a win. Closest flight shot of the trip so far.



2) I was watching this GBH on a creek bank waiting for something interesting to happen. When it finally did it wasn't what I expected. A white pelican landed way upstream and came swimming down the creek. It was looking really nervous but wasn't looking my direction. It finally occurred to me that it was nervous about encountering the heron. When it got within a few feet they had a faceoff that lasted a couple of minutes. Ironically the pelican finally swam right by the heron and once it was past they both freaked out and flew away.

This was shortly after sunrise shooting toward the east. The water is reflecting the still yellowish sky color.



3) Grebes are typically pretty shy. Once they spot you they dive beneath the surface not to be seen again. Very sneaky when they want to be. This one swam boldly down the creek but got suspicious when it got really close to me. It cocked its head at various angles trying to figure out what was going on. It eventually reversed course and swam back the way from which it had come.



4) An osprey landed in a tree behind me and was there for quite some time. Like the others it saw me moving but couldn't make me out. Their eyes don't seem to fit the head. This is my first attempt using a sky "texture" over the bland, grey sky. It doesn't look natural to me but I know what the original looks like. Any comments on how it looks will be appreciated.



5) This was a close encounter but no hide required. It's a juvenile tricolored heron whose parents apparently didn't teach it much caution. After I was near it for a few minutes it ignored me and went about fishing. I crept gradually closer and it came closer at times as well. The net result was this closeup.

[Geoff F]

All excellent.

You mention birds being shy at times. One of the hides which I visit is on a narrow estuary with a road running down the other side. The approach to the hide is behind a bank which separates it from the water. On the road side, most birds take very little notice of traffic and passing walkers, but if I stick my head above the bank on the other side there is pandemonium and all the birds scatter with cries of alarm!

The same birds which ignore so much happening closer to them on the other side.

[AG64]

Great photos! #1 is a pretty unique perspective - almost like watching a plane about to fly close over your head while in a landing pattern. I love the flared feathers on the wingtips.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[Davejl]

Nice shots, particularly the flying heron. The grey herons that I encounter frequently (by my local river) can be amazingly tolerant of being approached quite closely.

[Donald]

Yet again, a superb set of inages. Each one an absolute joy to look at.

.... This is my first attempt using a sky "texture" over the bland, grey sky. It doesn't look natural to me but I know what the original looks like.

It looks 'different', but if you hadn't told us what you'd done, I'm not sure that many of us would have worked it out. But, fro me, there is a sort of unreality, studio set-up type feel to it. Now, that's not a very technical critique, but it's the best way I know of describing my reaction ot the image.

[NorthernFocus]

...It looks 'different', but if you hadn't told us what you'd done, I'm not sure that many of us would have worked it out. But, fro me, there is a sort of unreality, studio set-up type feel to it. Now, that's not a very technical critique, but it's the best way I know of describing my reaction ot the image.

Donald, I think this provides and instructive moment for all of us.

Photography has been around long enough and is so ubiquitous that we all(not just photographers) have inherent/subconscious expectations. With wildlife photography, whether consciously or not, with shots like this we are conditioned to see the effects of long optics, i.e.DOF effects. It is virtually impossible for both the bird and clouds to be in focus other than in a contrived shot, either with a short lens in a captive setting or electronically manipulated like this.

Secondly, I suspect the image that was used to create this sky texture was shot at a fairly steep angle. The clouds just don't look right given the low angle of the shot.

I actually just stumbled across these "textures" in the On1 software and was toying around with them. The image does not look at all natural to me but I had to ponder over it to realize why. I thought it might generate some interesting discussion.

[madcrow]

Dan, no praise to high, a stunning series of images. The sharpness, detail, light and composition exquisite. A joy to look at and thanks for sharing.

[Mike Buckley]

Such fascinating narrative and high-quality photos!

This is my first attempt using a sky "texture" over the bland, grey sky. It doesn't look natural to me but I know what the original looks like.

If I was 100% on my game, I would like to think I would have asked how the light on the subject could be so diffuse when the sky indicates that it would be less so. Sadly, I haven't had enough glasses of wine to feel confident that I would have been 100% on my game. But I'm working on that.

[Mike Buckley]

It is virtually impossible for both the bird and clouds to be in focus other than in a contrived shot

That's true only if you think of a highly cropped photo to be contrived (I don't). The photo could have been made using a relatively short focal length with everything in focus that was then heavily cropped for display on the Internet. A large print would not be practical, but it would work fine for display on the Internet.

[Wavelength]

Excellent set of images, as usual....
But as Donald has already mentioned, #4 spoils all my sense of proportion. Osprey looks too big in comparison to leaf size where as your worked out sky looks so natural too...why real looks unreal and unreal looks real i wonder!!!

[billtils]

What an enjoyable set Dan. For me, notwithstanding the added interest contained in the narrative, the first is just a totally superb capture, one of the very best that has graced this site.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for commenting, guys.

Bill you are too kind. IMO the BIF shot really needs a better BG to make it truly dynamic. Getting BG other than plain sky is often a dilemma when shooting BIF

Excellent set of images, as usual....
But as Donald has already mentioned, #4 spoils all my sense of proportion. Osprey looks too big in comparison to leaf size where as your worked out sky looks so natural too...why real looks unreal and unreal looks real i wonder!!!

Hi, Nandakumar. The bird relative to tree as it may appear to others didn't really occur to me. But now that you mention it I see your point. The tree is an aromatic cedar which does not have typical looking leaves nor needles like pine. For those unfamiliar with the type(or the similar juniper) I can see how odd it may look. You can see images of what the "leaves" look like at this link on wikipedia.

[billtils]

Getting BG other than plain sky is often a dilemma when shooting BIF

Tell me about it Dan

However, you have to play the BG cards that you are dealt; what was so striking to me is that you made such an impressive job of those things that were within your control.

[Craigie]

An other great series of images Dan, #4 does look odd (to me anyway).
Could you post the original.

[NorthernFocus]

...#4 does look odd (to me anyway).
Could you post the original.

[Craigie]

Hi Dan the one in with the clouds is the better of the two imo.

[NorthernFocus]

Hi Dan the one in with the clouds is the better of the two imo.

Which is instructive as to the importance of BG. You decided that even a poorly executed fake was better than the original featureless BG which also lacked contrast with parts of the bird.

Interesting that we've spent all this time discussing the worst image of the lot. This phot is what I call "documentary" and not one that I would normally post other than to tell a story as in the OP.

[Mike Buckley]

I also prefer the original. Consider adding some dark areas to the clouds to add interest to that area of the image.

Also considering a crop at the top to eliminate a good part of the sky. I don't recommend that in the version that has the partially blue sky because the larger sky speaks to the majesty of the bird and scene. Majesty is not an element, at least not for me, in the original, so a tighter crop that increases focus on the bird works better for me.

While it is more of a documentary photo, it's important for us to see what animals look like in all conditions, not just drop dead gorgeous light. So, as documentary photos go, this one serves that purpose yet in an artistic way that makes the image more compelling than one helluva lot of so-called artistic photos.

[vaez]

all photo Excellent special 5&4