Posted by Nigel Blake on January 14, 2008 at 7:37 AM
Stonechat, Saxicola rubicola, one of those birds that is either so tame you end up stuggling to get focus because they are too close, or so wary you can't get near them........This one was photographed on a hedge beside a farm track from my car, (cars can make such good, not to mention warm and comfy, hides on cold winter days)
More on my blog.
EOS 1Ds MkII + 600mm f4 IS, 1.4X 12mm tube, Breezebrowser pro, CS3
That is super - BG is great - not easy to choose the BG when you are in a car.. I thought at first it needed a touch more USM but now I'm not so sure....!
Lovely shot, Nigel. Where are all these `so tame` Stonechats you mention? Round here they are all so elusive that a 500mm plus 2x TC is nowhere near enough!
Posted by Nigel Blake on January 14, 2008 at 9:02 AM
Oddly it does look softer up here, than it (same resized file) looks when opened in Photoshop!
These are in Cambridgeshire Jeremy, there is a pair just along the road from Welney that are very tame too, and one male at Salthouse in Norfolk.
Also at Bwlch Owerdrys on the A470 near Dogelleau (nearer to "your neck of the woods") there are a pair that frequent the layby, these are very tame, but they would be difficult at the moment due to the low sunlight. I know of this sight as its a place I, and many others, go to shoot low-flying jets. http://ngbjets.blogspot.com/2007/10/another-fix-for-low-level-addict.html
Posted by Paul Inglis on January 14, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Nice shot!
Wish I had Stonechats on the Island that were so tame that close focusing was posing a problem while using a 500mm.
I'd just switch to a 70-200mm lens or if really tame a wide angle!
Posted by Paul Thomas on January 14, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Very nice shot. So far I've only come across the camera-shy ones but I live in hope.
Paul
Posted by John Chapman on January 14, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Hi Nigel very nice capture and great light.
John
Aberdeen
Posted by Graeme Lee on January 14, 2008 at 12:29 PM
I quite enjoyed chasing these around Dawlish Warren. They just tease you and fly 5m out of range and when you get there they're off again.... Not experienced this in such a way with any other species...nice shot Nigel...very nice BG and pose
Posted by eric weight on January 14, 2008 at 1:20 PM
Nice shot and I like the background. It looks a bit soft to me and I had a similar problem with one of my recent posts. It looked pin sharp in photoshop at full size but when I re-sized to 720 pixels it went a bit soft. I now put the reduced picture back through the USM and that has solved it for me. Something else I learned from the guys on here. Eric
Discussion
10 repliesMore on my blog.
EOS 1Ds MkII + 600mm f4 IS, 1.4X 12mm tube, Breezebrowser pro, CS3
These are in Cambridgeshire Jeremy, there is a pair just along the road from Welney that are very tame too, and one male at Salthouse in Norfolk.
Also at Bwlch Owerdrys on the A470 near Dogelleau (nearer to "your neck of the woods") there are a pair that frequent the layby, these are very tame, but they would be difficult at the moment due to the low sunlight. I know of this sight as its a place I, and many others, go to shoot low-flying jets.
http://ngbjets.blogspot.com/2007/10/another-fix-for-low-level-addict.html
Wish I had Stonechats on the Island that were so tame that close focusing was posing a problem while using a 500mm.
I'd just switch to a 70-200mm lens or if really tame a wide angle!
Paul
John
Aberdeen