Kattang Nature Reserve, south of Port Macquarie, NSW

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pacman
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Kattang Nature Reserve, south of Port Macquarie, NSW

Spent the day birding south of Port Macquarie

just had to share these 2 pics

#1 Noisy Pitta - a difficult pic as it was in heavy shade, I was using a new lens, a prime lens that I had the wrong distance setting and therefore it would not AF so this is MF

#2 Welcome Swallow - I just like WS pics where they are not flying

pacman
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Noisy Pitta (profile)

I need to learn Photoshop to lighten the face a bit

Peter

clif2
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Nice photo pacman, I was wondering when you were going to post some photos of your Port Macquarie trip. It was probably a good thing you did MF as when I try to get a photo with twigs and foliage between me and bird the AF goes nuts and rarely get any detail. Looks like a nice lens you have acquired there and a pretty good shot of this elusive bird.

Regards

               Shane

pacman
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thanks

here's a pic that I got in Coffs Harbour in 6/11

Peter

clif2
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Gee They are a nice looking bird and I imagine hard to get a photo of, I am yet to see one in the wild. bye the way what new lens did you get it looks like it is a beauty.

Regards

               Shane

ScottTas
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Beautfiful photos, well done.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,

Scott.

soakes
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I have never heard of a noisy pitta.  This bird doesn't seem to be in the BIBY list of birds either.

- soakes

soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia

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---'s picture

@soakes

there's a lot of missing birds in the Biby list :p

which is annoying when i sight a bird in the distance and hear its call,then when i try to look it up on the BIBY list,it's not there,namely a (i think) Red-capped parrot :p

Windhover
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Very cool shots of the pitta. I love these guys, and believe it or not, the only one I've ever seen was near Penrith in Sydney! They make it as far south as the Illawara and turn up in the rainforests all along the ranges.

If you use the dodge tool it will lighten the face area, or try some FILL LIGHT when working on the RAW file in ACR just before it opens into photoshop.

With a single AF point you can get images in any location, as long as there is enough contrasting tones for the AF sensor to maintain focus. A dark pitta head is not too ideal, but not impossible if you were to lock the AF sensor onto the edge of different tones so it can hold.

pacman
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Shane wrote - by the way what new lens did you get ?

My new lens is a 2nd hand 400mm f2.8L

this pic was on my first day out with the lens

Soakes wrote - I have never heard of a noisy pitta. 

This is my 4th photo session with a Noisy Pitta and it is hard not to get excited each time I sight one. My list is 6/11 Coffs Harbour, NSW; 8/11 Richmond Range NP (west of Casino, NSW); 8/11 Rocky Creek Dam (water storage for Lismore, NSW) and now Kattang NR (south of Port Macquarie, NSW)

Windhover wrote -

If you use the dodge tool it will lighten the face area, or try some FILL LIGHT when working on the RAW file in ACR just before it opens into photoshop.

With a single AF point you can get images in any location, as long as there is enough contrasting tones for the AF sensor to maintain focus. A dark pitta head is not too ideal, but not impossible if you were to lock the AF sensor onto the edge of different tones so it can hold. 

I bought Photoshop CS5 late last year and attended 2 training sessions with the Lismore Photography group but have not had enough time since then to use it

My focusing issue arose, I believe, because I had the lens set at 10-∞ metres and the bird was at 2-3 metres

Peter

clif2
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You must be excited about the photo opportunities that arise when using your new lens, it is a very good lens I believe and must be a monster to carry and hand hold. With the maximum aperture of F2.8 makes shooting in the rainforest a dream I should think, good luck with your new child.

Regards

               Shane

Windhover
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Hi Clif2

I don't often shoot in rainforests, but my most recent session with Superb Lyrebirds needed much faster than f/2.8 to focus. I was using my 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens and it was hunting back and forth in the dim light. My next lyrebird session will see me using my Maglite to illuminate the birds. Although the lyrebird's faces and overall tonalities are quite uniform, but if light were somewhat better than the AF system of my 1D would have been sweet. Not even a pro body will get the shots all the time. sad

Pacman, if you do have a hot-shoe flash like a 430EX or 580EX, you could switch to manual mode and let the flash give you ALL the light you need without worrying about compromising shutter speeds using higher ISOs just to get useable images. Some experienced photographers that I've spoken with don't particulalry like flashes due to the fact they make the images look flashed, but personally I want to get bird photos in a given environment and will use the tools and techniques I find best to get the shots. At the end of the day, 99.99% of people viewing it will not care about flash or natural light.

cheers mate.

walrusofoz
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Hi Pacman,

                I use a free pic viewer/editor called Fastone Image Viewer.

Maybe not as good as photoshop but it does have menu item that allows you to separately

adjust the highlights and shadows of a pic.

See attached pic.

Nice photos......

                 http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

David Miller

pacman
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thanks David

I have Photoshop but just need to allocate the time to learn to use it

Peter

Karen
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I need a Photoshop for Dummies.  Would also love to learn to use it.

Karen
Brisbane southside.

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