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        Discussion Area 討論區 >> Photo Gallery 相片分享 I >>  Little Grebe 小鷿虒鳥
        
(Message started by: Anguslau on Sep 28^th, 2004, 12:06pm)

Title: Little Grebe 小鷿虒鳥
Post by Anguslau on Sep 28^th, 2004, 12:06pm

Tried some low angle shots yesterday. Learned a few things:  1) getting close to birds is extremely difficult;  2) handling a long lens low on ground is much more difficult than I thought...  :(

I was unable to get close to the birds, so reluctantly I have to resort to stacked converters again in order to get some reasonably-sized images. Hope that with more practise, I can go back to single converters and even extension tubes...  ;D

002 Little Grebe 小鷿虒鳥
Mai Po 米埔
27/9/2004
1D Mark II, EF600,
stacked converters, no flash, cropping

http://www.pbase.com/anguslau/image/34356126.jpg
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/fileServer/PhotoG/anguslau/anguslaulgrebe01.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/anguslau/image/34356123.jpg
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/fileServer/PhotoG/anguslau/anguslaulgrebe01a.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/anguslau/image/34356124.jpg
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/fileServer/PhotoG/anguslau/anguslaulgrebe01b.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/anguslau/image/34356121.jpg
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/fileServer/PhotoG/anguslau/anguslaulgrebe01c.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/anguslau/image/34356119.jpg
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/fileServer/PhotoG/anguslau/anguslaulgrebe01d.jpg

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by 深藍 Owen on Sep 28^th, 2004, 12:55pm

very good~!!

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by Anguslau on Sep 28^th, 2004, 1:53pm

Thanks Owen!
Yours is much closer... ::)
I can only blame on my stalking techniques (or to be more exact, the lack of it...) :-[
So much to learn... but so much fun... ;D

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by pippenho on Sep 28^th, 2004, 2:44pm

Close enough la, really cool 8)

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by 深藍 Owen on Sep 28^th, 2004, 3:43pm

on 09/28/04 at 13:53:18, Anguslau wrote:

Yours is much closer...  ::)

the one.. and the only one.. a lucky day year before..:P
get an angle finder then you can put your cam on a much lower position..

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by bjingbar on Sep 28^th, 2004, 5:53pm

Great Shots, personally the 4th shot from the top I would have cropped a little off the bottom of the shot to make it perfect

Bob

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by me_domchan on Sep 28^th, 2004, 5:53pm

on 09/28/04 at 15:43:19, 深藍 Owen wrote:

the one.. and the only one.. a lucky day year before..:P
get an angle finder then you can put your cam on a much lower position..

I think angus's problem is how to support the whole rig at low level.....HE..HE ;D ;D

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by KK Hui on Sep 28^th, 2004, 7:31pm

Excellent shots, Angus!
Love the low shooting angle and you did well so far.

A note on the use of stacked converters. Knowing its limitations and the demanding techniques associated with it, I'd normally reserve its use for special situation where image quality could be sacrificed and when getting the shot is paramount ... Learning how to getting close to your subject is more important for better photographic result! This takes lots of practices. ::)

KK Hui ARPS
www.geocities.com/kkhui_001

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by Daniel CK Chan on Sep 29^th, 2004, 12:00am

Very nice low angle shots, Angus :D

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by Sze on Sep 29^th, 2004, 12:16am

d相好靚, 好sharp同好低呀! :o

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by Anguslau on Sep 29^th, 2004, 12:06pm

Thanks all for your comments and encouragements!

kk, thanks for the valuable advices. I totally agree with what you said. And these are what I am trying to achieve in due course. Although I can produce some pics reasonable for web posting with stacked converters, I know they are no good for printing... :( I must strive to get close to the birds...

Just want to share some of the difficulties I encountered trying to get low angle shots:
1) finding a suitable spot to place the lens and let you crawl down relatively comfortably is not easy, there are mud, branches and bugs all around; along the side of the pond, the slope goes downward towards the water, so I have to arch myself which is very uncomfortable...
2) when lying down, the viewfinder may not be at my natural eye level.... an angle finder may be of help here
3) when I am too low, vegetations along the pond side may obstruct my views
4) when another bird appears on the other side, apart from having to swing the lens across, I also need to crawl to another suitable position
5) I have to use my elbows to support myself, its almost impossible to reach out for the focusing ring and apply any sort of long lens techniques to stablise the lens
6) my tripod plus wimberley head limits how low I can get, I might try some sort of ground pod or bean bag later

Title: Re: Little Grebe
Post by KK Hui on Sep 29^th, 2004, 7:21pm

Angus,

Ground pod is probably the best way to go but not necessary comfortable either! If you are not prepared to lay your whole body on muck I suggest you just go as low as your tripod can go and sit on the ground. The result is not too bad in fact ... ::)

KK Hui ARPS
www.geocities.com/kkhui_001