So much for the plan....

House Sparrow in the Rain

Starling on a feeder

Dunnock

Female Blackbird

So I was going to go out and takes some landscape images.   It was going to be a nice change of pace, something different, something fresh.   Well it didn't happen.   instead I decided to test the 1D with the 2 x converter to see what sort of images it may produce.  Well I was blown away.  Period.   I used to think that the 40D worked well with the 2x converter.  Not anymore, the 1D is simply a brilliant camera.

All these photographs were captured in my garden around about lunch time this morning.  As you can see it was raining and the light was patchy.  I had to shoot at 640 ISO, something I don't like doing with the 40D as the results can get very soft but with the 1D there was not a trace of softness.  The images were sharp and well saturated and are able to deal with cropping very well.  In short they are outstanding.

This does make the question of the 40D a whole more complicated.   With the 40D you do get an extra amount of magnification (I know this is not strictly true but it will suffice for this post) which might be useful at places such as Bempton.  However, the final image is nothing like the quality of the 1D, not surprising since one is about 3 times the price as the other and the fast FPS can be really useful when taking nature shots.  In short do I go the whole hog and get another 1D?   I think I know the answer and I suspect reading you may too.

Goldfinch

Starlings

Bempton - some reflections

Puffin - Farne Island's not Bempton

Well I have had a good nights sleep, still feel knackered but that is another story, and time to reflect on yesterday's shoot at Bempton.  I have written in the past about the sea bird colony and that is still stunning.   Yesterday was a really windy day on top of the 300 foot cliffs and it was amazing to watch how the birds effortlessly exploited this resourse.  The lasting image for me was the way that Fulmar's backed into their nests.  They really are true masters of the air.   

Another thing that struck me about the people that went to Bempton was that they all seemed transfixed about the puffins.   Now you do get good views of the puffins but, and it is a huge but, they really are fleeting.  The birds dash out from their perch and are gone.  Perhaps the best way to describe this is that it is similar to the view you have a of kingfishers.  A brilliant turquoise blue flash and that is that.  So it is with the puffins.  They launch themselves into the air and all you are left with is a flash of orange.  That is it.   I am sure there will be better views once the birds have started nesting but at the moment it is very transient.

Tree Sparrow

Perhaps one of the less known but equally wonderful part of the Bempton experience is the large numbers of non sea birds.   From tree sparrows to kestrels the reserve is teaming with them and from a photographers perspective you can get some really close views.  It takes a while to get your eye in for these other birds given the frantic show on and around the cliffs but once you do it is really rewarding.  Considering that much of the reserve is no more than 100 metres in depth there is a wonderful variety of birds.  I even saw a deer, I think it was a roe, in the distance yesterday.  It is an amazing place to visit.

Now for the camera report.   Well the 1D didn't disappoint.  However there are a few things that I have to sort out.   The first is the focusing.  I still haven't mastered the way the 1D focusing works - not surprising has I still haven't read the manual - a common problem with me!   The second problem is that you burn through memory cards.  At 10 fps it doesn't take long to a 4GB card.  You also need to have really fast cards otherwise it can take what feels like an eternity for the buffer to clear.  Fortunately this is easy to fix and I have just ordered some new cards.   The combination of the 1D and the 100x400mm zoom is, for me, a winning formula.   The two work well together, well balanced and the results can be superb.

As for the 40D this is really good as a static camera on the tripod.   Here the lack of 10 fps is not an issue as I am not that good at panning with a long lens on the tripod.  The quality of the images, given certain constraints, are excellent.  As thing stand at the moment there is no need to change this.  Just to demonstrate this both of the photographs were taken by the 40D.

One final thought.   I have culled the 2700 images down to a more manageable 322.  It has been grueling but worth while process.  I have found that images that I would have kept in the past were jettisoned as the quality has risen.  One final final thought.  How much would this have cost if I had been shouting film!

Canon 5D

One of the knock effects of having a new camera is that you start to examine the current cameras that you have.  Now this is a particular problem for a digital photographer as there are always improvements in the sensor and software to make the image quality just that little better.   Just as an aside I have a Canon A1 circa 1978 that still works and the only thing that has changed over the year has been the film - which can still be used in the camera.

However, this is irrelevant.  I am a digital photographer and so you have to accept that camera replacement is part of the deal with the devil.  So back to the 5D.  Over the past few days I have been comparing the 1D with the 40D and found that each have their strengths & weaknesses given my overall set up.  The 5D is now getting a bit long in the tooth, nearly 3 years old and a lot of shutter releases.   So do I replace it?   The biggest argument for replacement is the 1D.  This has the latest DIGIC chips and these certainly produce a superior image.  Would this be worth the cost of replacement of my 5D?   At this stage I have no answer to this question but it is something I need to consider.

Spot the difference

I know that its is very difficult to notice any difference between the photographs but there is a significant one.  The one at the top was taken with my new 1D with the 100 -400mm zoom.  The bottom one was taken with a 300mm + 2x converter.   Nothing wrong there but the thing I have noticed when using the 1D with the 300mm + 2x converter is that the resultant image does not have the same sharpness of the same set up and my 40D.  What does this mean?   Well I think that the 1D is able to resolve images much better than the 40D and so pick up the imperfections of the  2x converter.  What does this mean for me?  Well it means I either invest in a very long, and very expensive, lens to work with my 1D or I use my 40D which seems not to pick up the imperfections.   I think I will stay with the later option.

Of course there may be a fault with the 1D's focusing - it has been known.  However I have discounted this as the 1D has made the 100 x 400mm zoom much sharper which indicates that it is the converter that is the problem.   I can live with this problem as it saves me about £7k.

Long Tailed Tit

My Mobby Dick?

I am not sure whether I am turning into  Cap'n Ahab... chasing after his white whale but this blasted bird is getting to me.   Over the weekend I tried, and failed in a spectacular way, to capture any photographs of this stupid bird.  Actually I am not sure if the bird is stupid or whether I am but that is another story.

So I was sitting at the breakfast table wondering what the day would bring when there was a knock at the patio window.  I looked up to see the long tailed tit sitting there as if daring me to take its photograph.  Of course I couldn't resist the temptation and so started a two hour pursuit of this bird.  

I set up my camera, again attached the remote and was just ready to withdraw when the bird almost landed on the camera.  Of course by the time I had turned the camera onto the bird it had moved. 

I set up my camera, again attached the remote and was just ready to withdraw when the bird almost landed on the camera.  Of course by the time I had turned the camera onto the bird it had moved.   So half an hour watching, waiting and taking photographs from the comfort of my living room.  As an aside this is the only way to take wild life photographs, sitting in a warm room, on a comfortable chair with a nice cup of coffee.  It certainly beats freezing yourself on a cold Derbyshire hill!

So after half an hour I went to check the camera.   Great hundred plus photographs of the feeder, but no birds!  It seems that the remote made the camera keep taking photographs after I had finishing pushing the button (155 in total). Note to myself, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! 

So I decided to change the set up.  I got my trusted 300mm f2.8 out and set this up.   Waited another half hour or so.  Sure enough the long tailed tit came and fed and I clicked away.  I went to see the results and this time a new problem.   I had placed the camera and lens so close to the feeder that the feeder was in focus but the birds weren't.  What a buffoon!

More about Composite Images

Feeding Time - Staunton Harold Reservoir

I have been working on producing a composite image this morning and the results have been very encouraging.  However, I think I need to reflect on the issues raised by the approach I have taken.

Set Up

The set is very simple.  Find an area where the birds come to feed.  Place your camera nearby with a wireless remote attached and when the birds arrive - take the images.   

Technical issue with this approach

Living in the UK the light is at best marginal.  On very rare days we get brilliant sunshine.  When this occurs then there is sufficient light to mean that you can use high shutter speeds with low ISO.   However, on most of the other days you have to do battle with poor light an high ISO.   This causes the image to degrade.  No doubt the best pro cameras don't suffer from this problem but I haven't got the luxury of this so I have to make do with the technical limitations of the Canon 40D.   At high ISO it starts to suffer.  Also it will only take 6 FPS on JPEG which also adds to the problems.

This brings us onto flash.   I have tried to use a flash before but this has two problems.  Firstly,  it scares the birds - bit of a show stopper this!   Secondly, most cameras are only sync'd to a maximum of 200th of a second shutter speed - a slow speed for what I am trying to achieve.  No doubt there are technical fixes to these issues but I am not willing to spend the money just yet.

I will need to think about this some more and see if I can't come up with some better solutions.

Trial and error

Great Tit

Had a wonderful morning taking photographs of birds at Staunton Harold reservoir car park.   This is one the best places to take photographs of tree sparrows I know.   They hang around a feeding station and give you great views.  The best thing is that when the winter sun is out in the morning then they are beautifully lit.

I also want to experiment further with my new wireless remote control.   The set up was very simple.   Put some food out for birds on a wall and set the camera up to record what happened.  I initially used a very short zoom and this was fine apart from the sound of the camera going off spooked the birds.  I then changed to a long zoom lens and this seemed to over come the noise problem as the camera was further away.  This lead to other problems such as narrow angle of view which meant that I had to ensure I knew the spot where the focus was set up for.  I also wanted to use a fast shutter speed.  This meant that I had to set my 40D to a high ISO - in this case 800.  This caused problems as the camera doesn't perform too well at this speed - too much noise in the resultant image.   Anyway I persevered and appear to have captured some interesting images.   However, I need to reflect on the lesson from today and work out how best to use the remote set up.