makiling red-crested malkoha

[fred serrano]

hi!

my first post in this forum. also per kind request of jun o. and others in the introduction board. these were taken a couple of weeks ago (27 december) at the uplb college of forestry and natural resources when jun o, alex l and two lady birders (profuse apologies, names just escaped me) chanced upon each other on the same spot. towards midmorning, this apparently hungry red-crested malkoha appeared on a nearby firetree which on later inspection in the afternoon with my two daughters was really profuse with insects. not really my first encounter with this skulker, i counted three or four groups for a total of around 15 or so in a gully at the back of our residence in the faculty housing area.

photo taken with olympus e3 + sigma 50-500mm, cheap china tripod with ball head. 1/250 sec, f/8, aperture priority, iso 500, exposure bias @ 0 ev, spot metering, 500mm.

as this is my first post in any forum of this sort, a couple of qs: how can i post several frames in one message or i can really just post one after the other (which is what i'll have to do for another frame)? also, how do i put the photo info as above proximal to the frame? can i just paste the frame(s) on this space? again, apologies, still groping on the use of the facilities of the forum.

and critiques and suggestions to improve shots like this will be most welcome.

thanks.

fred s

[Neon Rosell II]

Hi Fred, Welcome to the forum!!

First of all you need a photo hosting site like Flickr, Smugmug, Photobucket, Pbase to host your photo. Then you link it here using the photo frame icon on top.

If you don't have a site to upload your photos yet try Flickr it's free for a limited amount of photo downloads.

Uploading the file into the forum will tax its limited resources.

[fred serrano]

in the afternoon of the same day, around 3 pm, i returned to the site with my two daughters. after an hour or so they spotted this female tarictic hornbill (a first time for all three of us, i hope we id'd it right) under the canopy quite a distance away. we took lots of shots but this one from a batch looks ok but still soft, the afternoon sun cooperating a little bit. i would return very early the next day and successfully find one male perched on the branch of a dead tree after a sortie to one of the fruiting ficus trees nearby. these were really bad shots and i'd reserve them for your comments and critique for improvement of shots under similar conditions later.

in the open fields, my fieldcraft is not really that bad but in this area of the campus, famous for snakes and wearing only shorts and slippers, i did not dare aim for a better position. besides all three of us were just too ecstatic to mind getting nearer or trying manual settings for better iq.

again, for your critique and suggestions for improvement.

i should really encourage my two girls and three boys to join this forum. they're also very much into birdwatching and photography. now, can you imagine how many holes i have in my pockets?

thanks!

fred s

[fred serrano]

hi neon!

thanks for the tip and advice. i too would not want to clog the boards.

thanks!

fred s

[fred serrano]

oooops! sorry again, forgot to include the photo details on the tarictic hornbill photo. here they are:

olympus e3 + sigma 50-500mm, tripod with ball head, 1/25 sec, f/13, aperture priority, iso 800, exposure bias 0 ev, spot metering, 500mm.

fred s

[Renoir Abrea]

hi' "can you imagine how many holes i have in my pockets?" ha ha ha ha ha ha enjoy photography and birdwatching with your daughters and boys'. renoir

[Neon Rosell II]

Wow!! both photos have excellent exposures, I guess this are full framers you posted? you have still a wide margin for cropping and composition, you'll learn this as you go and by just looking at the post of the other members.

Hope to see you sometime if I get the chance to visit Makiling again.

[fred serrano]

hi renoir, yes, birdwatching and photography is now a family passion for my 'barkada'. beats doing the laundry and doing the dishes on weekends anytime.

yes, neon, these are full frames. but i do crops for composition but minimal edits post. i guess one will just have to be more efficient in processing work flow to make the most of the mass of frames we churn out. thanks for the kind comments and the earlier suggestion.

fred s

[Romy Ocon]

Nice first post, Fred!

As Neon suggested, you can open a photo hosting account in free sites such as www.flickr.com, so embedding photos (and viewing these) is more convenient.

[fred serrano]

hi ka romy!

thanks! i have already opened an account with flickr and will take it from there.

fred s

[ppaaoolloo]

Jan 8, 2010 8:06:49 GMT fred serrano said:

hi ka romy!

thanks! i have already opened an account with flickr and will take it from there.

fred s

Fred welcome to the PBPF and what wonderful photos you have. I hope to see more photos of these interesting birds.

I was in Los Banos today to buy some plants from Ding Hao.

[Edu Lorenzo Jr]

Jan 7, 2010 14:51:23 GMT fred serrano said:

now, can you imagine how many holes i have in my pockets?

Nice one Fred! We all have golf courses in our pockets.. all 18 holes ;D

nice to have you on board! Looking forward to more photos from you.

Edu

[Jun Osano]

Congratulations Fred! Nice Malkoha....I missed that Tarictic Hornbill. Hope to bird with you again in Makiling.

[alainpascua]

Nice Malkoha and Tarictic captures, Fred! Nice meeting you in Candaba last Saturday! Looking forward to your posts here!

[Luis (Chito) Limchiu]

Hi Fred, I like the unique colors and style the the olympus system has.

[Tonji Ramos]

Hi Fred. Great posts.

Its good your family is interested in bird watching. I think bird watching is the first skill they should develop. Being able to spot birds and observe their behavior seems like the logical first step. Binoculars are also not as expensive as cameras and long lenses. Contact Mike Lu and let them all join the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. Its really a fun activity for the family and the people in WBCP are really nice.