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Try to keep the ISO as low as possible on overcast days by adjusting the shutter speed and aperture setting. The tripod and cable release will certainly help. If it is a rare bird or activity that you have captured, you just have to make do with what you got. No one here is going to complain.
I have put in enough shutter time with my various camera, lens, and teleconverter combinations to know high how I can push the ISO settings on each one in various lighting conditions and still get a decent photo after cropping.
In my experience with 1.5 or 2X multipliers you have to expect some loss in performance. This image looks pretty good to me, particularly being hand held. Btw, I don’t usually consider a sunny day my friend, photo wise. Too bright and often too contrasty to get a really optimal exposure. Just my opinion, of course.
In my experience with 1.5 or 2X multipliers you have to expect some loss in performance. This image looks pretty good to me, particularly being hand held. Btw, I don’t usually consider a sunny day my friend, photo wise. Too bright and often too contrasty to get a really optimal exposure. Just my opinion, of course.
Terry is correct about bright sunlight. There is a (rare?) condition of light overcast when the light is diffusive and just right for bird photography with no back lighting or shadows.
ISO down(640), Apeture preferred f8. Very rare in a neighborhood is the Cedar Waxwing. I was sitting on the deck watching the Oriole feeder and out of the corner of my eye, first one then 2.
ISO down(640), Apeture preferred f8. Very rare in a neighborhood is the Cedar Waxwing. I was sitting on the deck watching the Oriole feeder and out of the corner of my eye, first one then 2.View attachment 47744View attachment 47745
3 birds from an Iowa State Park called Preparation Canyon about 60 miles north east of Omaha. Most birds deep in the trees and no sun but bright cloudy day. This the Loess Hills of western Iowa. Loess is a particular type of dirt(soil) common to this area. Big piles forming bluffs at the edge of the Missouri River.
Most common in the Midwest and South is this small oriole. It favors open areas with scattered groves of trees, so human activities may have helped it in some areas, opening up the eastern woodlands and planting groves of trees on the prairies. Orchard Orioles often gather in flocks during...
The Orchard Oriole swaps the typical flame-orange of other orioles for a deep, burnished russet. Hopping among riverine shrubs or scattered trees, male Orchard Orioles sing a whistled, chattering song to attract yellow-green females. The smallest of North America’s orioles, it gleans insects...
The gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker is so boldly patterned it’s been called a “flying checkerboard,” with an entirely crimson head, a snow-white body, and half white, half inky black wings. These birds don’t act quite like most other woodpeckers: they’re adept at catching insects in the air, and...
This striking and unmistakable bird was a favorite of early ornithologists such as Alexander Wilson and Audubon. Often conspicuous because of its strong pattern, harsh calls, and active behavior in semi-open country, it tends to occur in small colonies. Although it migrates only short distances...
If you’re convinced you’ll never be able to learn bird calls, start with the Gray Catbird. Once you’ve heard its catty mew you won’t forget it. Follow the sound into thickets and vine tangles and you’ll be rewarded by a somber gray bird with a black cap and bright rusty feathers under the tail...
One of the things I like to do is look on Google Earth. A place name came up near a small town north of Lincoln NE. The Jack Sinn wildlife management area. Reading a plaque mounted on a rock in one of the small parking areas, we find that Jack Sinn was a Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioner a number of years ago. There many acres of land set aside for wildlife. Some fields and some wet lands. Saw this little bird there. The Dickcissel named for his song.
On the way back from the 40 mile one way drive we stopped at Memphis State Recreation Area and saw a mess of geese and a Blue Jay. We have Blue Jays around the house but they don't sit as still as this one did.
Looks like a kestrel, the smallest member of the falcon family in North America. They like perching on wires and are very difficult to photograph close up. Best bet is to use your car as a blind. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel
Thank you both. I am getting more alert to some of the different ones as I drive down the rural roads with my camera on my lap. Could be a country song in there somewhere.
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Loons are among my favorite birds. Thanks for your efforts.