Post by Ely Teehankee on Jul 15, 2012 14:42:42 GMT
I had my camera and lens cleaned and recalibrated by Canon Service Center. This is to give me confidence that the camera is in tip top shape and will perform to my expectations. I tested it before taking delivery and was happy to see that it was performing well. I remembered seeing the beautiful Greater Painted Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) that Tirso Paris posted at this Forum. I decided that this will be a good bird to test the camera and lens and will give me the chance to see a new lifer as I have never seen a Painted Snipe.
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM. Manual exposure in available light. Beanbag on car window.
Tirso and I met at the appointed time and we started going around the area looking for birds. The sun has not come up yet, but Tirso's Eagle eye saw a Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) 370 cm (14 1/2 inches) in length. I decided to give it a try and was glad to know that the camera was focussing well.
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
I was able to photograph this Cinnamon Bittern wading in the water, before it took off.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Tirso drove around the area looking for the Painted Snipes but we did not see any. I suggested that we wait for a while as I focus my lens on small pile of mud. The camera would not focus and I was telling Tirso that something must be wrong. He said that it is usually hard to focus on just grass because the camera could not focus on the numerous small blades that hardly has any contrast. Tirso continued to drive around and he saw a brown heron which we could not identify. It was moving on the grass and I took a shot at it. To my surprise the camera could focus if there was a bird even if it had a lot of grass right in front of his face.
1/800 sec., f/8, ISO 800
With my confidence boosted with this shot, we continued with our search and I saw a pair of what I thought were White-breasted Waterhen that we saw earlier. Tirso took one look and said those are our target birds. This was how we would look like to the birds.
From the car using a Canon S100 camera, this is how the bird looks to us without binoculars. The bird is the dark spot in the middle of the picture.
This is my first picture of the Painted Snipe, a lifer for me. This is the male 241 mm (9 1/2 inches) in length. The female is slightly bigger at 255mm (10 inches).
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Here you can see the female on the left and she is slightly bigger than the male. Strange as it seems, it looks like the female of this species is also more colorful.
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 400
Here is the female Painted Snipe with the male following behind her.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 800
After taking a bath, the male Painted Snipe starts preening probably to make himself clean & attractive to the female.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 800
The female walks slowly, searching for food in the water.
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 800
This is my favorite picture in this series. Even the eyes of the mirror image in the water has a glint on it.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
She walks slowly on top of the water taking one step at a time.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
It is the female's turn to be preening her feathers. These birds sure keep themselves prim and proper. LOL.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
We were very fortunate that sun was shining and it was not harsh at all. Thank God for the good weather and letting us have a good look at the birds even if they were some 20 meters away.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
For me, the female specie of this bird is more beautiful than the male.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
This male is slightly lighter in color compared to the other mail. It is probably an immature bird and probably the son of this couple.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 800mm f5.6L IS USM. Manual exposure in available light. Beanbag on car window.
Tirso and I met at the appointed time and we started going around the area looking for birds. The sun has not come up yet, but Tirso's Eagle eye saw a Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) 370 cm (14 1/2 inches) in length. I decided to give it a try and was glad to know that the camera was focussing well.
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
I was able to photograph this Cinnamon Bittern wading in the water, before it took off.
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Tirso drove around the area looking for the Painted Snipes but we did not see any. I suggested that we wait for a while as I focus my lens on small pile of mud. The camera would not focus and I was telling Tirso that something must be wrong. He said that it is usually hard to focus on just grass because the camera could not focus on the numerous small blades that hardly has any contrast. Tirso continued to drive around and he saw a brown heron which we could not identify. It was moving on the grass and I took a shot at it. To my surprise the camera could focus if there was a bird even if it had a lot of grass right in front of his face.
1/800 sec., f/8, ISO 800
With my confidence boosted with this shot, we continued with our search and I saw a pair of what I thought were White-breasted Waterhen that we saw earlier. Tirso took one look and said those are our target birds. This was how we would look like to the birds.
From the car using a Canon S100 camera, this is how the bird looks to us without binoculars. The bird is the dark spot in the middle of the picture.
This is my first picture of the Painted Snipe, a lifer for me. This is the male 241 mm (9 1/2 inches) in length. The female is slightly bigger at 255mm (10 inches).
1/1000 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Here you can see the female on the left and she is slightly bigger than the male. Strange as it seems, it looks like the female of this species is also more colorful.
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 400
Here is the female Painted Snipe with the male following behind her.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 800
After taking a bath, the male Painted Snipe starts preening probably to make himself clean & attractive to the female.
1/640 sec., f/8, ISO 800
The female walks slowly, searching for food in the water.
1/500 sec., f/8, ISO 800
This is my favorite picture in this series. Even the eyes of the mirror image in the water has a glint on it.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
She walks slowly on top of the water taking one step at a time.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
It is the female's turn to be preening her feathers. These birds sure keep themselves prim and proper. LOL.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
We were very fortunate that sun was shining and it was not harsh at all. Thank God for the good weather and letting us have a good look at the birds even if they were some 20 meters away.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
For me, the female specie of this bird is more beautiful than the male.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
This male is slightly lighter in color compared to the other mail. It is probably an immature bird and probably the son of this couple.
1/250 sec., f11, ISO 800
I think I should have my gear cleaned and recalibrated soon also!