[Theme] Show Birds

[ARTUROARTISTA]

Swallows preening in Puebla de Mula.

[Bruno Schroder]

A rare leucistic Turnstone, Ambleteuse, French Opal Coast. I saw it for the first time in the autumn and couldn't wait to see it again. Leucistic birds are more often the target of predators because they stand out from the crowd.
D500 500/5.6 PF

[ARTUROARTISTA]

A rare leucistic Turnstone, Ambleteuse, French Opal Coast. I saw it for the first time in the autumn and couldn't wait to see it again. Leucistic birds are more often the target of predators because they stand out from the crowd.
D500 500/5.6 PF

Congratulations Bruno, it is difficult to find these mutations,

[ColinM]

Swallows preening in Puebla de Mula.

The first sight of these visitors is always a landmark for me.

[Anthony]

Splashdown.

[Ann]

I love this set —especially the third image.

[Bruno Schroder]

Thank you, Arturo. It is a rare mutation indeed. It is the first and only time I’ve seen one.

[Hugh_3170]

+1

I agree.  Great work Anthony.

I love this set —especially the third image.

[Anthony]

Thanks, Ann and Hugh.

I was testing my new Wimberley monogimbal, which really helps with tracking while using a monopod. https://tripodhead.com/products/monopodhead-main.cfm

[ColinM]

Nice sequence Anthony
Sounds like your monogimbal is just part of a wider collection of Wimberly kit - care to share info?

I used to have a "Sidekick" but couldn't tell you where it is now.

I'm not sure how much difference it would have made when this Kestrel flew over my head on Easter Sunday.
It had just dived for its prey and you can just make out it's eating the catch whilst "coasting/gliding" into the headwind

[Anthony]

Nice kestrel, Colin. I would love to photograph one.

I have had a Wimberley gimbal for many years, but it is heavy and gets little use. For birds and sports I prefer a monopod over a tripod. A tripod is designed to hold the camera still, while a monopod allows a lot of movement but supports the weight of the long lens. The monogimbal is a recent acquisition which is much lighter than a standard gimbal, and provides support and freedom of movement.

[ColinM]

Nice kestrel, Colin. I would love to photograph one.

For birds and sports I prefer a monopod over a tripod.
The monogimbal is a recent acquisition which is much lighter than a standard gimbal, and provides support and freedom of movement.

Thanks Anthony
I agree about the tripod, which I'd mainly use for macro & star shooting
I also own a momopod and i found it useful for sports.

If i took any, it might be useful for water fowl. However my main interest is Birds in Flight

With the 300mm PF and 1.4TC hand holding generally works for me and a monopod would restrict me
I've never had a chance to try the 500mm PF and that might change things! 

I first started getting good results with the earlier 300mm f4 AFS
Several of these shots were taken with birds flying above me, or all around me
(see here  https://pbase.com/celidh/birdsofprey)

I tried renting a 300mm f2.8 to see if i could improve results
It was the opposite!
However good the optical quality, the bulk and weight were to much for me to use my previous hand-held technique for more than a few seconds. I took the wimberly and my monopod that day, but came back with few usable shots.
Lots of practice would probably have made a big difference

[ARTUROARTISTA]

Nice sequence Anthony
Sounds like your monogimbal is just part of a wider collection of Wimberly kit - care to share info?

I used to have a "Sidekick" but couldn't tell you where it is now.

I'm not sure how much difference it would have made when this Kestrel flew over my head on Easter Sunday.
It had just dived for its prey and you can just make out it's eating the catch whilst "coasting/gliding" into the headwind

Good shot Colin, you caught him having a snack.

[ColinM]

More shots of the Kestrel hunting above the Malvern Hills
With direct sunlight, i struggled to get an exposure that caught enough details of the face without blowing out the fully-lit parts

[ColinM]

Good shot Colin, you caught him having a snack.

Thanks Arturo
It looks a small snack though - more like a worm or a slug than a rodent