Got the UPD Nightjar & LWE too

[JV Noriega]

This was shot the same day Doc William captured his shot of this bird... so it's the same individual, on the same branch, but shot a few hours later that morning. Bumped into Doc William at the Barbet hole, and he showed me the location of the Nightjar he had spotted earlier. Finally, a Nightjar lifer for me.. thanks Doc!

Lighting was a bit harsh by the time i started photographing it, so i used fill flash to make sure i had a good, bright shot. No amount of fill flash bothered this sleepy head..

Philippine Nightjar
D300s + 500 f/4.5 + sb800 + better beamer. 1/250sec, f6.3, iso400, manual


Shot this right after the Nightjar pictorial.. also with Doc. Prof. Jerry also had these two birds on his thread..
Lowland White-eye
D300s + 500 f4.5 + tripod. 1/1000sec, f6.3, iso500

[gabriel buluran]

congrats on the lifer jv!

the LWE is great!

[Mark Itol]

Nice set, JV. You caught the white-eye on a very nice setting.

[William Lim]

Great shots, JV. Very good job on the use of the flash. LWE is sharp and beautiful

[Romy Ocon]

Congrats on the lifer Nightjar.... incredible detail on the LLWE, JV!

[Edu Lorenzo Jr]

COngrats on the nightjar JV!

One of the best LLWE pics so far for me!

[Ely Teehankee]

Perfect use of the leaves as your background to take the picture of the LWE. Well done JV. Mabuhay.

[Ronnie Dominguez]

congrats on your lifer!

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Gabs! The Nightjar shot should actually be called a "still lifer" since it didnt move at all... so far the easiest bird to shoot! he he

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Mark! This LLWE shot is one of dozens of 7fps shots, and luckily it posed a millisecond on the clearing... lucky shot.

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Doc William! Due to the absence of VR on my 500, i always have my flash handy, but try not use it until needed.. it also somehow keeps the highlights in the background within good latitude so as not to loose much of the sky color, while bringing out more color details on the subject. One good thing about shooting with no flash is that the foregrounds don't get overexposed. Thanks for the company that morning Doc! Had a blast shooting with you! See you around UPD!

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Ka Romy! One thing i like about birding is the thrill of not knowing what you will find, and going home with captures that you did not expect to encounter.. it's really like going on a hunting trip... very exciting!

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Edu! It's i think, one of my best shots of the LLWE too... after trying to shoot it a hundred thousand times since the D70 era!

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Ely!... i tell you, these birds sure know their colors well and frequent trees with leaves of the same color tones as they do... it is nice to look at a picture from a distance, that seems just one color tone with different monochromatic shades, and as you close-in on the frame, suddenly, you see the picture, and there is a bird that is camouflaged... interesting.

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Ronnie! gotta work on my list some more! didn't realize birding could become a real personal challenge... whew!

[Toto Gamboa]

Great shots JV. I need to check this NJ too before it goes somewhere

[Bob Kaufman]

Great use of the fill flash, JV! The LWE shot is just awesome!

It seems like I'm the only one around here who hasn't taken a shot at the nightjar. ;D

[JV Noriega]

Thanks Toto! i'm sure the nightjar will still be there until you take a shot at it!

[JV Noriega]

Thanks much Bob! I tend to use fill flash to compensate for non VR of my 500 lens, specially for shots of birds in darkened branches... such a hassle and added weight to take a flash while birding, but sometimes its inevitable to have to use one... good luck on photographing the nightjar.. it is easy to find.. if its still sleeping on the same branch.. see you around!