Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Quelea quelea

  1. #1
    Vincent Grafhorst
    Guest

    Default Quelea quelea

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Flock of red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea)
    Fact: The world's most abundant bird species (excluding domesticated species), with an estimated adult breeding population of 1.5 billion!

    I was focussing on some hippos in the Dam when the noise made by these flocks of Quelea drew my attention. Literally thousands of them came in from the west, had a short stop in the floodplains of the Dam and continued East, flying straight over me in burst of hundreds at a time. An awesome sight, with the sun behind them. I'll be posting a few more impressions of this event.

    Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana


    Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark III
    Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
    Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/160
    Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
    Metering Mode Center-Weighted Average Metering
    Exposure Compensation +1/3
    ISO Speed 1250
    Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x
    Focal Length 700.0 mm
    AF Mode AI Servo AF
    Drive Mode High-speed continuous shooting
    Tripod + Wimberley head

    Vincent Grafhorst
    www.khwaiphotography.com

  2. #2
    Ken Watkins
    Guest

    Default

    Always an awesome sight, but very difficult to capture as a photo. One of the few bird shots where you do not need an excuse for not being sharp or in focus because it must be impossible.

  3. #3
    Alfred Forns
    Guest

    Default

    Very impressive Looking forward to the others!!!

    For these type images if you can get a clear margin (of birds) top and bottom seems to make the image !!!

  4. #4
    Robert Amoruso
    Guest

    Default

    Very cool - nice work Vincent. Bodies are sharp and the wings blurred.

  5. #5
    Roman Kurywczak
    Guest

    Default

    Hi Vincent,
    definitely unusual and most of it I like..........some of the brighter wings in the grasses are distracting........while the ones in the air seem to add to the image. Neat swarm............looking forward to the others!

  6. #6
    Axel Hildebrandt
    Guest

    Default

    Great idea and well done. I agree with Al regarding the clipped birds. I look forward to more.

  7. #7
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,506
    Threads
    1,433
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Impressive and creative. The bottom looks pretty clean. The top could stand losing a few birds along the frame-edge. Roman is right-on re: the four bright backlit birds near the center. It would be easy to QM or Patch Tool them out. All of the above only if they fit with your personal ethics of course.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics