Intermediate Egret

[Morkel Erasmus]

Another shot taken with my new 300mm f2.8 L IS USM lens...
At this local duck pond the birds are fairly large and they tend to pass by close enough for me not to need a TC...hoping to get a new 2x TC for longer distance shots.

I wish the head was turned slightly more towards the focal plane.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 300mm f2.8 L IS USM
f4.0 @ 1/6400 SS @ ISO-800
Exposure bias +1

[Randy Stout]

Morkel:

Glad you are having so much fun with the new lens!

Agree with self critique re: head. Clouds are nice,sharp, well exposed.

Could maybe go a touch brighter.

Cheers

Randy

[Pieter de Waal]

Hi Morkel nice angle of approach with the BG clouds, sharp and good detail in the whites. I think the HA works quite well with this pose, but agree with your comment.

[Ron Caswell]

The clouds add a lot to the image instead of a clear blue sky, Agreed maybe a touch bit brighter, Very nice though with a white bird.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Too bad the near wing wasn't spread higher as it would have likely been as well it as the far one and I agree with the HA. Good overall pose though - looks as it is about to bank away. The clouds add alot to the image.

Looks like you are enjoying your new lens!!

[Jay Gould]

Another lovely 300 image - glad I have kept mine.

You beat the HA Police to the punch!

[Arthur Morris]

Like the clouds and the SH but not the near wing position.

I wish the head were turned slightly more towards the focal plane. Me too. Note that it is always wrong to say I wish that something was.... I wish that it were is always correct :)

[Todd Frost]

Glad to see you are enjoying the new lens Morkel. I agree on wishing the head "was" turned slightly (I'm not a follower of the politically correct crowd) . Well placed in the frame, good comments above.
TFS
Todd

[Arthur Morris]

Glad to see you are enjoying the new lens Morkel. I agree on wishing the head "was" turned slightly (I'm not a follower of the politically correct crowd) . Well placed in the frame, good comments above. TFS Todd

Using correct English is not a matter of being politically correct; it is matter of communicating well with others :) That plus I cannot help myself.

[Ian Cassell]

Using correct English is not a matter of being politically correct; it is matter of communicating well with others :) That plus I cannot help myself.

That is one of the few remnants of the subjunctive mood in the English language. I savor it

[Arthur Morris]

Way to go Ian :) You put a big smile on my face.

Here is one for you: when is it correct to say "If I was...."?

[Ian Cassell]

It depends on whether you need the indicative or the subjunctive mood ...

If I was wrong, I apologize. (Indicative Mood)

VS.

If I were shooting the wrong head angle, I would move. (Subjunctive Mood)


I never thought I would see this discussion on a photography forum!

[Ian Cassell]

BTW, Morkel, I got lost in Artie's grammatical discussion and forgot to comment on the image! With the exception of the HA (which is not a killer, IMHO), this one is great. Wouldn't the bird would have to banking very steeply to light up the front under-wing more?

[Arthur Morris]

While I don't know the proper grammatical terms Mary Beacom Bowers, a delightful woman who was the long time editor of Bird Watcher's Digest taught me that saying "If I was..." is correct if you are referring to something that you just did or are doing. As in, If I was stepping on your toe, I am sorry.

So I am thinking that you are correct but a lot more knowledgeable than I (or me???) I, I think....

[Ian Cassell]

While I don't know the proper grammatical terms Mary Beacom Bowers, a delightful woman who was the long time editor of Bird Watcher's Digest taught me that saying "If I was..." is correct if you are referring to something that you just did or are doing. As in, If I was stepping on your toe, I am sorry.

So I am thinking that you are correct but a lot more knowledgeable than I (or me???) I, I think....

Grammatical terms or not, you have it correct! I just wish that my understanding of bird photography came close to my understanding of English grammar!

[Arthur Morris]

It's great that there are still at least two of us who give a rat's *** about using language correctly!

[Todd Frost]

It's great that there are still at least two of us who give a rat's *** about using language correctly!

This brought a smile to my face, I'm just a good ole misplaced redneck that still says "aint" and my wife got me sayin "fixin to" (she lived in Texas for a few years). I still like to speak proper english now and again . Just thought I would flip some perverbial internet sh..
Todd

[Arthur Morris]

Don't forget: "It Ain't Just Birds!"

[Stu Bowie]

I like the softer light Mork, and overall, well exposed. Clouds always adds so much more to a sky BG.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the feedback everyone

Artie - I in fact do give a rat's ### about using proper grammar, so thanks for the correction...and to Ian for some more clarification. English is not my first language at home, though I tend to view it as a "second first language"

[Arthur Morris]

:) What is your first language? You do just fine in English.

[Morkel Erasmus]

I am Afrikaans but had both Afrikaans and English as first language subjects at school, and was educated in English at University, mostly due to the fact that it is a world language, one of our official languages in South Africa, and I have been quite fluent in English since I was very young...

[Daniel Cadieux]

...and then you get those crazy canadians and brits adding a "u" in words such as colour, behaviour, favourite, neighbour, humour, etc...or is it americans taking it out? Fun stuff

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Mork. Out of curiosity, I found this and learned something:

Afrikaans is a Low Franconian West Germanic language descended from Dutch and spoken mainly in South Africa and Namibia. There are also speakers of Afrikaans in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Germany, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe. About 10 million people speak Afrikaans as a first or second language, and several million other have a basic knowledge of the language.

Afrikaans retains some features of 18th century Dutch, together with vocabulary from various Bantu and Khoisan languages and also from Portugese and Malay. Speakers of Afrikaans can understand Dutch, though Dutch speakers tend to need a while to tune into Afrikaans.

From about 1815 Afrikaans started to replace Malay as the language of instruction in Muslim schools in South Africa. At that time it was written with the Arabic alphabet. Afrikaans, written with the Latin alphabet, started to appeared in newspapers and political and religious works in about 1850. Then in 1875 a group of Afrikaans speakers from the Cape formed the Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaanders (Society for Real Afrikaners), and published a number of books in Afrikaans, including grammars, dictionaries, religious material and histories. They also published a journal called the Patriot.

During the early years of the 20th century there was a blossoming of academic interest in Afrikaans. In 1925 Afrikaans was recognised by the government as a real language, instead of a slang version of Dutch. Afrikaans has changed little since then.

From here.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Right on, Artie...many people link Afrikaans with apartheid and the "old" South Africa, yet this country is filled with Afrikaans-speaking people of all races, cultures and backgrounds, and most of them want this country to work and to continue to build upon the legacy of reconciliation and growth that started under Nelson Mandela.

But lest this thread be hijacked...

Daniel, our English dialect is very much British...not in accent but in spelling and diction. We do add the "u" everywhere: colour, arbour, labour, neighbour :D

[Nico Steenberg]

Great sharp detail and exposure. I like the comp and clouds in the bg. Well done Morkel

As dit meer gaan oor taal as fotografie op die ''site'' is dit my laaste kommentaar hier. Sien jou op ODP

[Arthur Morris]

I am always open to learning no matter the thread at hand. :)