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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 6/14/2008
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Oh man, definitely not something I'd ever dare doing too, Andre! I imagined myself for a moment hanging on some rope with a chasm under my feet... Quite superfluous to say that I would forget about the camera and any kind of bird while stuttering some song with the smile of the horrified!
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 6/10/2008
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Exactly Nick,
I remember seeing a documentary where a camera crew was lowering a photographer over the side of a steep cliff to get some shots of a rare bird. Dangerous stuff. But near as dangerous as war correspondents. That would be a job I could never do.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 6/6/2008
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Yes, that's very true Andre! And as if that waiting wouldn't be enough, many times those guys are in danger for their own lives since some of the species might prove quite aggressive too. When I think of that, and also similar situations like photographers in dangerous conflict zones, I think of photography as a real tough job that needs much idealism for uncovering the truth. Be it the truth about some animal, people, anything. If we think that only the fewest of those guys will ever get a "thanks"... A hard daily bread indeed!
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 6/4/2008
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I know what you mean Nick :)
I can't see myself sitting still for six hours under heavy camouflage, waiting for some specific rare species to come along. Good luck to the guys who do it though, or we might never get to see some of those rare species.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 6/3/2008
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Oh heavens, there goes Andre with his camouflage again! ;-)
Once I tried to do that but I really didn't have that patience and dedication. The funny thing is, I was so enthusiastic at the start, but after some minutes it was hot and it was cold and it was boring and everything. So I gave up and went to the next refuge for a scotch. And suddenly I had all the patience of the world for nature photography of the other guys there! ;-) Very interesting species too! ;-)
I guess it's a matter of dedication, as you say. If one has that then waiting for hours is easy. If not then even five minutes is too much.
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 6/2/2008
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Hi Nick,
This species isn't a big problem to photograph usually. I find the fast little songbirds the most difficult. From what I've read in some books, there are some people who go to the trouble of creating portable blinds, or cover themselves in camoflage and wait in the fields for hours, just to get a good image. That's dedication! Maybe someday, when I have more time, I can do that too. :)
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 5/28/2008
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Hi Andre!
So.. perhaps they perceive the camera as some kind of threat? It's of course something that looks different than a living being, and so perhaps it scares them? But then again, the bag with bread never scares them! ;-)
Or does the movement scare them during pointing to them with the camera? What would happen if we first look where they usually land, then point there with the camera, setup and just wait until some of them lands? Would it perhaps end up still waiting after some days? ;-)
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 5/27/2008
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Hi Nick,
They are always watching. There must be something about having the lens pointed at them that they don't like. I can stare at a bird for a long time, ready to shoot and right up till the time the lens is pointed, they will stay right there. As soon as the lens is lifted, they are gone. :)
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 5/27/2008
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Yeah, they know about Murphy's law!
Even when something could go right for the guy with the camera, do your best to make it go wrong, and fly away just 1/10 of a second before he shoots. ;-)
Nice law, really! ;-)
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 5/26/2008
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One thing for sure is that birds come very close and sit still for a very long time only when you don't have a camera with you. :)
They will sit still for about 20 seconds when the camera is in the bag. They will never come close if you are ready to shoot. :)
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 5/22/2008
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So I am not alone with my misery, Andre! Thanks a lot for that!
Indeed, those creatures need a break, a pause! Somebody has to tell them that they could also fly a bit slow sometimes! Just for more... variation. Avoidance of doing always the same, that is! ;-)
But they simply don't even care!
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 5/20/2008
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Hi Nick,
If it makes you feel any better, I'm not having any luck with the swallows either. :)
They are unbelievably fast, and never sit still. I tried a few times to get them coming to their nests under a bridge, but the light is very low and fast wings and low light is never a good combination.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 5/17/2008
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Oh yes, of course they are fascinating. They can fly just like that, those unshameful ones!!! ;-)
BTW, the swallows are back again! Only one thing gets on my nerves! They are too fast and I can't take a single good image of them! Do they have to fly always at 180? They could do that, say at 50, sometimes. But noooo, they must make it impossible to get a image of them, those careless things! ;-)
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 5/6/2008
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Hi Nick,
All bird are fascinating creatures. I think that is one reason why so many of us try to capture them in images. We were watching the Cliff Swallows this evening but it was too dark tonight to get some decent shot of them. Maybe later on in the week I'll get some.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 5/4/2008
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And still none of them to see here, Andre! Well, the security at the borders does a very good job, it seems! ;-)
Have much fun and luck at those high speeds! I think that I'll try that too, when they are here. The top floor of that tower in the river in Lucerne, which I capture so often, is actually a protected place for the swifts. And I don't even know if the name "swifts" is really correct for them. They look exactly like swallows, only a tiny bit bigger, but they don't belong to the same family at all. It's only what they is called "biological convergence", as I read. Two different species evolve to the same shape because of the same needs and conditions under which they live. Quite fascinating, I think.
But of course, be them swifts or swallows, they are fascinating. Once I saw one flying though the fog and that guy produced condensation stripes with the tip of its wings! An when they reach top speeds of 180-200kmh during air games, their wings start vibrating and produce sounds like a jet plane! So, that sound is what I am waiting for here in my place!
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 5/1/2008
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Hi Nick,
The Swallows just came back to our area this week. We have three different types around this area. Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows and Tree Swallows. There is a place nearby where the Cliff Swallows build a neat townhouse of mud nests underneath a steel walking bridge. In a little while, I will try shooting them going in and out of the nests with a nice high shutter speed.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 4/25/2008
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Hi Andre!
Still no trace of a swallow here! This year they must have difficulties with the immigration authorities of Switzerland. ;-) Or did you, Canadians, made such good immigration laws that all of them came to Canada? ;-)
I think that I must also try that white on white feather shots. I am thinking of a single white feather in front of some white background and going up the high keys. But I also think that I will need a good light source for that. Or that's how the images look in my mind.
Anyway, have all fun of the world, and keep on uploading!
Cheers!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/24/2008
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Hi Nick,
My latest try is sort of what we were talking about a few days ago. The white on white mixed with the challenge of feathers.
We just saw the first Swallows moving back here tonight. They are Cliff Swallows and Tree Swallows. Later in May when they have finished building their mud nests, I'll get some shots of them flying in and out.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 4/21/2008
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And I thank you for the continuing replies of my messages, Andre! There has already been such an amount of great (and always "unspectacular" ;-)) input from you, that I can only thank you for that *real* input.
Well, feathers really seem to be something special, and not at all so easy to get. I assume that the number of possibilities to depict them is simply infinite. And with that infinite number comes also the difficulty of choise. The available light can be a good hint/help for this choise, and so on this particular one the choise just had to be this way. The light was towards a more "airy" look. Which at the end might be the look that is closest to a bird at all.
I have a series about the swans of Lake Lucerne and this is exactly what puzzles me. Some shots are so full of details, and on some others there is only that kind of breaking the light, and the feathers look much like thin, weightless, wonderfully light game of light and air. And I don't know what to choose. Those little sympathetic dinosaurs, that decided to conquest the domains of the air some time ago, give as an astonishing as also very hard subject for photography.
Cheers!
Nick
BTW: Still waiting for my favorites, those insane pilots, the dauntless corsairs of the airs: The swallows and the swifts! I keep on scanning the horizon from my balcony for the first dangerous air maneuvers and the first "shriiiiii" of the year!
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/21/2008
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Thanks Hussam,
I'm glad you like it!
Come back and visit anytime. :)
Andre
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Hussam AL_ Khoder
{K:79545} 4/20/2008
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♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
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n!ce p!c..
♥
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♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/20/2008
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Hi Kes,
I should be okay with my hard drive for a while. Unless I go out shooting hundreds of RAW files every day. I'm not that serious. :)
Andre
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![Nelson Moore [Kes] -](http://images.imageopolis.com/images/5/7/8/7/5787/1481659-micro.jpg)
Nelson Moore [Kes] -
{K:20241} 4/20/2008
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Nice exposure on this difficult to expose properly shot, Andre! Time for a bigger hard drive? :)
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/20/2008
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Hi Nick,
Thanks for the continuing comment on this one.
Now I understand what you mean. I believe feathers are one of the great challenges for any lens. I think the kind of lighting has a lot to do with how well feathers show up. Some shadow helps a great deal. Here we have that white on white situation, that I'm sure contributes to the softer contours. (Not an unpleasant look, in my opinion.) I notice a lot of the Bird/Wildlife photographers here at this site seem to prefer a lighter, crisper look than I do. I have to admit it is very impressive to see all that fine, sharp, detail on those little bird close-ups.
Like you said, there are lots of different settings and ways to do an image. I'm looking forward to trying lots of them.
Andre
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 4/20/2008
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I "see" several of the contours of the bird's feather dress as if they were not as sharp lines but rather softer transitions from the one color to the other. I think that this is an optical illusion to my eyes since these contours *are* definitely sharp, as the magnified view in PS reveals.
So perhaps it is the same kind of look of our "white eye in front of a white background". I come to this idea because the colors of the bird and the background sky are similar in several areas. It brings a bit of that "light/soft" look and feel of a high-keyish image, for me.
Have all fun of the world again by trying the different settings. I can imagine what an excitement that is!
Nick
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/19/2008
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Thanks Biljana,
I'm glad you like it!
Andre
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/19/2008
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Thanks Nick,
I'm not sure what you mean by the contours being lighter than expected.
I have some sample settings recommended by another usefilm member, to try out this weekend under similar conditions. I will have to compare them and see what works better. I will be trying Aperture priority with the ISO set to 400. Apparently under this kind of light my lens and camera combination will give me about 1/1000 shutter speed. I'm looking forward to trying it.
Andre
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/19/2008
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Thanks once again Lugal!
Andre
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biljana mitrovic
{K:48110} 4/18/2008
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Very interesting idea,and perfect picture :)
big hug my friend
biljana
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Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 4/18/2008
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And they are indeed good, Andre, for their exposure balance that didin't leave even a small region without the right degree of detail. I don't know if I see a small possibility for a better focus here. The details on the gull are OK but the contours are weaker than I would expect, and that's strange to me. Or was that that the light really made the contrours so "light" here? On the other hand this fits the bird as a flying being.
Cheers!
Nick
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Lugal Sar
{K:4838} 4/17/2008
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Very good...
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/16/2008
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Thanks again Dave.
Andre
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/16/2008
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Thanks Bill,
I had this one set on Auto Iso. It seemed to work fine in this situation. (lots of light) I will have lots of opportunity to set the iso to 400 and keep the shutter speed up in lower lighting conditions.
I'm happy with the results so far.
Andre
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Andre Denis
{K:66407} 4/16/2008
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Thanks Anne,
I'm glad you like it!
Andre
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Dave Stacey
{K:150877} 4/16/2008
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Nicely done, Andre!
Dave.
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bill smith
{K:5416} 4/15/2008
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Nice start Andre, You got good detail and the clouds really make the subject stand out nice. Way to go!!!
Bill
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RC. Dany
{K:64104} 4/15/2008
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Excellent .
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