First attempt with new gear

[Richard Greenwood]

Hi all, not loggd in here for such a long time, but am back with upgraded kit!! Have bought myself a 7D & 100-400 IS but just haven't been able to get out much to practice.

Managed to capture this shot in a short session I had at the weekend at a local nature reserve. I realise its not the best, the bird was quite a distance away so its a fairly heavy crop, but I can see the potential of the kit & am looking forward to using it more & producing much improved shots!!



C&C welcomed. Tips on how to get the best out of the kit even more appreciated.

Richard

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Richard,

Welcome back, great species love these guys but as you said, opportunities here. The first thing that comes to mind is the [exposure] and we need the techs so we can see what the settings were,.see you were thinking.

Large crops can hurt image quality and there are several branches intersecting the subjects head. In bird photography a clean, sharp, well lit eye are critical. That being said, love the new kit, post your exposure settings and let get to work improving your techniques. This is an educational forum,..thanks or posting and keep em coming.

[Richard Greenwood]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the prompt reply.

Haven't posted for so long I forgot to post the details!!

Here they are - f5.6, 1/1000, 0 EV, ISO 400

Agree it's a pity about the twigs but it came in so fast, landed where it did & I managed to fire off 4 or 5 shots before it flew off again & didn't come back!! It was at about 20-30 yards from the hide I was in so it is quite a heavy crop.

Richard

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Thanks, yes, 20/30 yards almost 60 - 90 feet that is a stretch. As a general rule try and have the subject make up about 15/20% of the frame at a minimal. Even with my 500mm I try and get within 30 feet of subjects, field technique are critical,.. so important (and a tripod is a plus).

Thanks, keep em coming!!!

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Richard,

I think that Jeff hit most of the important points. With such a bright background and dark(er) subject, I would have added some +EV to brighten up the kingfisher.

I think you'll enjoy the 7D + 100-400L. One of the Avian forum moderators, Daniel, does some amazing stuff with this combo. You can take a look at a recent blog post on Artie's page here.

Look forward to seeing more!

Miguel

[Faraaz Abdool]

Richard - I use the exact setup, and it's been working for me for a couple of years now. I've been content with it until I used a 500II and now I can't stop thinking about that lens. But that's straying from the topic.
I understand how exciting it can be to have this lovely bird land in front of you, but I agree with Jeff in that you're a little way too far off to be able to create a pleasing tight image. The eye is dark, and that's the crucial point for these images. Maybe next time with such a situation of bird far off, you can create a small-in-the-frame (environmental) shot of the bird with its surroundings. That's what I do half the time because the birds are so far away.
The twigs are also a bit distracting. You've a lot of potential with this combo though, and I do look forward to seeing more from you.

[Richard Greenwood]

Guys,

Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated.

I am back at the bottom of a very steep learning curve, but I am sure I will improve!!

Will post more as my journey with the kit progresses!!

Richard

PS - How do I get the thumbnail of my image in the title of my thread??