Pheasant staredown

Gallery: AvianPosted April 28, 2017152 views6 comments

I went back out to the nature preserve and watched several male pheasants. Two of them had a staredown and then did battle. The conflict was mid-air and really something to see. A few minutes later they appeared to be best buddies again. Being an old city boy, I have never seen this before and it was awesome. I wish the combat photos turned out but they were a bit blurred and parts of the birds were out of frame or focus. I was holding a sigma 150-600C through a car window. I just love all the color and interaction. What can I do to improve? Thank you for looking.
Canon T5i
Sigma 150-600C @600, hand held and trying to rest on a car door when possible
F8
1/400
ISO 800
Aperture Priority

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 28, 2017 at 10:37 PM

Hi Brian. Very cool interaction. Getting a lot of fine detail with two such large birds in the frame is difficult. That said, this does look a bit soft. You can get all kinds of gadgets to mou t your lens to a bracket attached to the car, or you can get a beanbag that fits over the window, or you can go to the hardware store and buy a stick of foam pipe insulation that's already nicely slit to go around pipes and cut off a chunk to slip over the edge of your window (works very well). My preferences are the beanbag and the foam as they're very versatile. Also, always turn off the engine!

1/400 is going to be pushing it a bit at 600 mm, but with practice it will work. A beanbag is an amazingly stable platform and you can even combine it with a cable release for more stability.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 28, 2017 at 10:45 PM

Dennis's suggestions are great. I don't have any suggestions to add, but I wanted to say that having both of these birds and all that color in one frame is really awesome.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on April 29, 2017 at 3:41 AM

I agree with Dennis' recommendations. Also, posting a large picture really helps in critiquing. To be honest, I can't tell if these are soft or not. From the specs, I might guess they are—1/400 sec, HH, shot resting on a car door.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Murphy on April 29, 2017 at 8:17 AM

Good morning and thank you for all of the feedback. I learn from your advice and try to practice what I learn.
The shot was spur of the moment while driving and I had three anxious grandsons in the backseat trying to jockey for position. I do keep a piece of a swim noodle that I sliced and use this as a bag but I neglected to grab the darn thing.
As always, I appreciate your help.
Brian

Registered on November 15, 2015, 35 Posts, 50 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on April 29, 2017 at 9:59 AM

Brian.

You received some some good feedback. I would also back off on the saturation. The colors do not look natural in the posted image.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on April 29, 2017 at 1:37 PM

Hello, Brian. You already got some good advice, and I can only echo that. I do not know how the original image looks, but it seems like some of the right bird's tail has been cut off, maybe due to your cut. The pose of the left bird is a thrill though, never seen that- great ! Hope the advice will help you, look forward seeing more from your hand ! cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments