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pacman
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Hello

I have been on forum for just a couple of weeks.

I live on the Redcliffe Peninsula just north of Brisbane and until recently worked in Northern Rivers, NSW giving the advantage of 2 distinct areas to increase my bird list.

I take photos and only list birds where I have an identifiable photo. 

clif2
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Howdy pacman, I too have only been on here for a couple of weeks and found this site trying to get some bird id's. There are some wonderful places in northern NSW that I am keen to explore photo wise and recently was camped at Toonumbar Dam out from Kyogle and have been to Toonumbar NP a few times. Tried to go to Nightcap NP a few weeks ago and after getting wrong directions from my phone gps couldn't get in to the NP because of the incredibly heavy rain, so another time. used to do a fair bit of surfing in my youth around Minnie Waters and Yuragir NP, I simply love Northern NSW and wish to retire there someday. One thing I find very difficult is trying to get photos in the rainforests, because it is so dark, even at 1600 iso i'm lucky to get 1/45sec exposures at F3.5-f4. Have tried flash but don't think the birds like it and they get a type of red-eye as well. The Border Ranges Np is nice and only recently I missed a fleeting moment of photographing an Alberts Lyrebird. Anyway looking forward to see your photos in the future and good luck with your pursuits.

Regards Shane

Regards

               Shane

Araminta
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Hi pacman, a late "welcome to the forum", as we have talked a few times.

Shane, I don't remember you telling me, what camera you have?, but doesn't your camera have the option to change the white ballance before you take photos? I can change this , so I can take photos when it is almost dark. Works very well, when birds sit in a dark tree.

M-L

clif2
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M-L  I am using an Olympus E5 and I just leave the WB on auto, I am not sure if i'm missing your point because the white balance as i understand changes the colour temperature, so in the Rainforest or under trees the light has a lot of blue in it, so calls for a higher colour temperature, I wasn't aware that it could make things a bit brighter like that. Please correct me if i'm wrong about this because sometimes I wonder how they manage to get great shots from such dark places. With my camera I am reluctant to go over 400-800 iso because it doesn't really handle noise as well as some cameras can. The other day when I was in the Rainforest I had my settings 1600 iso ,f3.5-f4  and my shutter speeds were from 1/10 sec - 1/45sec and I really need a minimum of 1/60-1/125sec for stationary birds. You see I am not getting any younger and don't have hands like a surgeon so it presents a challenge to me.

Regards Shane

p.s. sorry pacman just hi-jacked your thread. 

Regards

               Shane

Araminta
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sorry pacman, just want to respond to Shane, thanks, M-L

You'd  know by now, I haven't got a technical spot in my brain, my Sony A55 does it all for me, (they should pay me money for promoting their camera all the time?). So this morning I went outside in the dark, to show you, what it does. Now the photo is blurry in places, you really need a tripod to get that right. My camera has a little wheel, where you can change the WB, you can see how much it brightens the photo on the monitor.You can also preview the sharpness , but I didn't do any of this, just wanted to show, what can be done in a darker setting.

Here are some details: taken at 5:52AM

Aperture  F 4.0

Shutterspeed 1/4 sec

ISO 1600

(don't pay any attention to the the sharpness, I should have used a tripod,I  only wanted to show, that it almost looks like taken in day light)

M-L

clif2
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I understand what you are telling me but for me 1/4 sec at f4 is not feasable handheld, because by the time I carry my backpack and my camera and lens around my neck, water etc. the thought of a tripod as well is a bit much for me sometimes. I do take it with me on occasions, but the liitle birds are generally dancing around too much to use the tripod effectively. I always take my monopod but haven't found that it helps a lot, much of this is refining my method so as to make it practical and to learn to use my gear better. I do appreciate that you took the time and effort by getting up early to demonstrate to me what may be of help, so Thankyou Kindly.

Regards

               Shane

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