About photography Number 3

Post by **LovelyLadyLux** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:27 pm

AHHH You beat me to it H!! I was going to say "Archie"!!!

(Sorry Kiya - couldn't help ME on this one either) Equally I don't know the official name but pretty bird

Post by **Horus** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:39 pm

Seriously though Kiya, I am not well up on Gulls & Terns, but I suspect that it may be a juvenile Common Tern, although I am not certain if these birds develope the black head feathers as they become an adults or if they should have them straight away. Maybe someone else is more expert on the subject than I am can verify this.

Post by **Kiya** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:05 pm

Ok for the time being you jokers

I'm going to name this little 1 Eric as it was the 1st name I read.
There is usually loads of them at the same place I get pics of the swans, got to get back there wih the canon, they're such pretty litle things with their red beaks, legs & feet

Post by **Grandad** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:49 pm

I have been trying to get to grips with multi point focussing.....with 11 focus points they never seem to focus on what I want and the manual is just about useless

This afternoon I switched to centre focus, shutter priority 1/1000s, ISO640. My plan was to try to photograph collared doves and wood pigeons that can't resist a handfull of nuts thrown on the bank.

I can now understand why wildlife photographers spend weeks or months to get 'that shot'. This collage contains the best of many rejects. All at f5.6. I included the forth one because it shows a half closed eyelid....and I would never have guessed that a 'Woodies' eyelids are vertical.

The third one is getting near to focus but the others are focussed somewhere behind the bird. The problem of following something on the move even with continuous focussing set.

Anyone else tried this subject, perhaps with more success.

Post by **Grandad** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 9:54 am

Before anyone asks 'has grandad lost it'? The last image obviously shows normal horizontal eyelids......what is not so clear is the second eyelid, no doubt to protect the eye when in flight.

Isn't nature brilliant?

Post by **Horus** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:50 pm

It is called a nictitating membrane and is common in birds and reptiles and sharks

Nice pictures Grandad

Post by **Grandad** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:11 pm

In my continuing challenge to capture some decent pictures of 'Woodies' in flight, this one obliged yesterday after consuming most of my peanut trap

Still not pin sharp but getting there....and he was struggling with a full crop

This is quite heavilly cropped (no pun) from a 75mm, centre focus image. Settings were 1000s, ISO1000, f8, to try to get a deeper DOF and the speed to freeze the action.

I will try to get the next one to stop in mid flight to give me a better chance

Post by **Grandad** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:17 pm

Oh and thanks for yet another pearl of wisdom H.....I have seen those membranes on crocs and gators but didn't realise birds had them too.

If they blink like an eyelid it must have been a lucky shot to catch it half closed?

And Stan....if you read all the photo threads, let us know when you get the new camera. Just read the spec and it does look really good, hadn't realised it is a four thirds style which accounts for the smaller size that you mentioned.

Post by **Kiya** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:40 pm

The "woodie" looks pretty good to me Grandad

Post by **LovelyLadyLux** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:10 pm

Looking good to me Grandad. Soon as I go into my own backyard with the camera (I've been really trying to get photos of Blue Jays) they all disappear. I've even put out a feeder and filled it with lots of juicey treats but none are coming. Can't even hardly entice a squirrel but am hoping that "soon" they'll start coming so I can get some shots.

If you follow this link you can see what I've been up to lately. Was at "Paws for the Cause" fund raising event yesterday, went to an old house with rose garden and the auto show. This URL is to our local newspaper and I love submitting to the Reader's Submitted Photos. Sometimes they edit out some of my "masterpieces" that are not quite up to snuff. I'm turning into their most prolific Submitter (but what else do I have to do in my dotage

)

http://videos.theolympian.com/vmix_host ... class_id=2

Hope this URL works.....it is faster than all the resizing to get photos on here.

And - that was a really excellent shot of the nicotining membrane. Very interesting for me too cause I had never realized that bird had them. Am still learning something new every day and every day I "HOPE" to learn something new too!!

Post by **Horus** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:41 pm

I take it that you are Firespirit on the Olympian site LLL ? If so your pictures are really good, they should be employing you as a roving photographer

Grandad, you need the patience of a saint to get a picture like that one

I spent hours trying to get a picture of a pair of Bluetits comming and going as they fed young in a nestbox in my garden, I never did get a good one they were so fast.

Post by **LovelyLadyLux** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:40 pm

Yea I'm "Firespirit" on there

Forgot to say that. Thanks H but am NO comparison to you. Am aspiring though!!

Post by **Kiya** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:59 pm

Was out for a short walk yesterday camera in hand, went as far as the harbour & took some pics not my usual type of pics but I thought the boats were colourful.
Sadly today the harbour is not the busy bustling fishing port it used to be with the fishing law changes of recent years & many boats being decommissioned.
I remember when a teenager whether you were a girlfriend,wife,family member or friend many of us would meet at the breakwaters or around the harbour on the stroke of midnight every Sunday without fail to watch the dozens of fishing boats leave the harbour nose to tail to wave the fishermen off & pray they all returned home safely, sadly with a heavy heart some over the years did not spreading great sadness throughout the community & beyond.
In the darkness of the harbour with the fishing boats alight & our men waving back in silhoutte they slowly sailed through the breakwater to their known fishing grounds, it was a sight to behold.
Sadly today their isn't the same community spirit & boats sail any hour any day.

Post by **Grandad** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:23 pm

Really nice pictures Kiya.....I wish more members would post pics from their locality, particularly our friends around the world.

And you have a lovely way with words.....I could really imagine those anxious farewells as the fishing boats sailed out to sea.

My maternal family were fisher folk, small craft so not deep water. But still a very hard life.

Edit:
PS. You didn't say where it was, is it Peterhead?

And aren't dry docks brilliant inventions, we have a similar one at Chatham dockyard.

Post by **Kiya** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 2:53 pm

Grandad glad you like my pics, I was using different functions at random. The dry dock reminded a little of the Collosseum.

The written word is not my best subject but when it comes from the heart it does make it easier to flow.

Having been told from my own father the loss he suffered as a 15 yr old lad losing his father, 3 older brothers & cousins tog at sea at Gt.Yarmouth I often feel his loss looking at old photos.

Yes it is Peterhead N.E Scotland.

Post by **Bearded Brian** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:08 pm

Kiya - I know how you feel - my nan used to tell us stories of her father and uncles who where lost at sea near Newcastle county Down and how the rest of the family was moved into widow's Row - a row of cottages built with public donations following a fishing disater in the mid 19th C.

Oh and yes love your photos and your words

Post by **Kiya** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 10:38 pm

Bearded Brian yes there have been many tragedies of our fishermen along our coasts.
When my father lost his family there was an "Olive Branch" (boat) fund set up , most of the wives took a lump sum , my grandmother accepted a small sum weekly till she died..............there was no benefits/handouts in them days but family would rally round too to help.

Post by **Kiya** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:47 pm

Took these pics on Saturday before the heavens opened up, the cruise liner is here with visitors for Peterhead Scottish week.

Peterhead Scottish Week, which runs from 15th - 23rd July, is the only event of its kind left in Scotland, and has been running since 1961.

It provides a week of activities in which the whole community participates –Pipe bands, highland dancing, ceilidh music, Junior Pop Idol, raft race, exhibition events, dog show, parades and a motor vehicle show. In the build up to Scottish Week, the Buchan Queen and Princesses are chosen, selected from local young girls who enter the competition. A local celebrity who also performs the opening ceremony and crowns them at the opening event on the Saturday. The objectives of Peterhead Scottish week have changed over the years. When it was initially set up in 1961 it was to promote Scottish produce. Originally there were several Scottish weeks all over Scotland. Peterhead now boasts the last surviving Scottish week. More recently Peterhead Scottish week has been the focus of tourism and entertainment for one whole week in July.

Peterhead is in a part of North-East Scotland called Buchan where the language tends to be different from any other that you may of heard in Scotland a lot of the words come from the Doric a language known to the North-East.

Post by **LovelyLadyLux** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:36 pm

Wonderful photos Kiya! I especially like the photo of the two children walking out into the water! Wonderful!

Post by **Grandad** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:43 pm

Kiya, thanks for sharing more pictures and some information on your local 'Peterhead Scottish Week'.

I have found many of the places you have photographed, on Google Earth, and now know a lot about your locality that I didn't know before.

And what a fantastic sky at the end of the third day at St Andrews, no doubt you saw the same colours that we saw on TV.