The Clamorous Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus, a resident bird) is easier to hear than be seen. It inhabits tall grass, reed beds and bamboo thickets, where it sings loudly from cover.

Got lucky to catch this one in the open at Candaba wetlands, as the setting sun provided sweet, golden light. He doesn't look too happy with a bazooka pointed at him though....:D


300D + Sigmonster, 687 mm, f/7.1, ISO 400, 1/200 sec.

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/41853736.jpg


Regards,

Romy

Great shot as usuall sir :)

And yes, I believe he is looking at you too.. :)

nahhh i think he likes it.. .lol great shot as always romy :D

hmmm.....i think kaya malungkot siya kasi bad hair day. :D

hmmm.....i think kaya malungkot siya kasi bad hair day. :D

lol haha baka nga...

Nice composition Romy.

What kind of support do you use to shoot that by the way? The image is pretty sharp for someting taken at that focal length.

Romy, another nice capture! :) Look at those claws!

Nice composition Romy.

What kind of support do you use to shoot that by the way? The image is pretty sharp for someting taken at that focal length.


Thanks, guys.

Zandy, I use a Manfrotto 3421 gimbal head and a 475B tripod to support the Sigmonster. Here's how the combo looks - Sigmonster (http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/42521723).

Romy

Good eye contact, sweet light and a creamy bokeh. Very well done Romy.

Romy, Bro. that looks like a very small birdie... How would you estimate the size of that thing? Inches perhaps...

thats a really monster you got there romy...

btw lovely bokeh.. ganda..

Thanks, guys.

Zandy, I use a Manfrotto 3421 gimbal head and a 475B tripod to support the Sigmonster. Here's how the combo looks - Sigmonster (http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/42521723).

Romy

Wow! Look at the size of that thing!

I kinda figure you had a pretty good support in order to take all those wonderful pictures.

Thanks for your reply.

Romy, Bro. that looks like a very small birdie... How would you estimate the size of that thing? Inches perhaps...

Thanks, Reyno, Earl, Jimmy and Zandy....:)

Earl, the bird is about 7 inches from tip of tail to tip of bill.


Romy

Earl, the bird is about 7 inches from tip of tail to tip of bill.


Romy

That's really small indeed! :) Must be interesting to see someone pan-shoot this birdie in flight... :D hehehehehehehe... Thanks for the info. again Romy.

cute birdie and nice bokeh. very splendid shot romy. :)

Thanks, guys.

Zandy, I use a Manfrotto 3421 gimbal head and a 475B tripod to support the Sigmonster. Here's how the combo looks - Sigmonster (http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/42521723).

Romy

Like they are saying, that "resident bird" picture sure is very sharp. I never knew that a "bokeh" can be achieved at that opening (am just a beginner). As to your set-up, that sure is a "full battle gear" for any bird-shoot.

@Romy...

Do you rent out your eyes? Hehehe... great shots as always....

Like they are saying, that "resident bird" picture sure is very sharp. I never knew that a "bokeh" can be achieved at that opening (am just a beginner). As to your set-up, that sure is a "full battle gear" for any bird-shoot.

Thanks, Earl, Roro, Jun and Raymund...:)

Jun, the DOF of 687 mm and f/7.1 is pretty thin at closer distances (DOF for the posted bird pic at about 30 feet distance and using a 300D is less than 2 inches). In comparison, the DOF of the very fast 200 1.8L at the same distance/camera and wide open is 5.4 inches. Of course, the bokeh was also improved by the large separation of the bird from the BG....:)

Raymund, I guess nobody would like to rent color-blind eyes, hehe.

Romy

@Romy.. so are you saying a color blind person like me can be a great bird photographer like you too hehe :D

@Romy.. so are you saying a color blind person like me can be a great bird photographer like you too hehe :D

Hehe.... our camera's sensors are color-blind too (except if one is shooting a Sigma DSLR). What matters is the RAW conversion software.

Or in the case of my color-challenged orbs, I have a color consultant (wife or 9-year old son) to guide me in setting the WB right....:)


Romy

Great shot Master Romy! Nothing short of spectacular! :)

Hehe.... our camera's sensors are color-blind too (except if one is shooting a Sigma DSLR). What matters is the RAW conversion software.

Or in the case of my color-challenged orbs, I have a color consultant (wife or 9-year old son) to guide me in setting the WB right....:)


Romy

Hahaha, in that case we sort of have the same quality of consultant which in my case is my GF :D

Wow :) Great shot Romy, as usual :)

Cute birdie you got there! I mean the photo.... :)

another fantastic shot from the master birder!
romy, do you always shoot RAW?

another fantastic shot from the master birder!
romy, do you always shoot RAW?

Thanks again, everybody....:)


Raul, I shoot 100% RAW now and I regret I hadn't done so in my first two years of bird shooting.

The advantages are:

1. WB can be fine-tuned after the fact. My cameras' auto WB is good, but sometimes it's off during the golden hours (early morning and late afternoon), in the shade or during overcast weather.

2. More leeway to correct exposure errors.

3. Ability to use any color space after the fact.

4. Ability to upres (up to as large as 175% of the original photo dimension in CS2 ACR) during conversion.

5. Ability to use the full 12-bit capture of the sensor via conversion to 16-bit TIFF. This lessens posterization and artifacts in OOF areas when aggressive processing (levels/curves) is done. An 8-bit TIFF/jpeg and a 16-bit TIFF are analogous to two ladders of similar length, but the former has 256 steps while the latter has 65,536 steps. Obviously, the latter has more flexibility for processing. After I'm satisfied with the processing, I save as 8-bit tiff or jpeg to reduce HD space.

6. Ability to emulate HDR images by converting twice - one to control highlights and the other to expose the shadows, then blending in PS.


The only disadvantage of shooting RAW that I can think of is larger memory card requirement. But with the falling prices of CF cards, I see this now as a non-issue (I carry 32 GB cards in the field, plus a notebook with 80 GB HD and a DVD burner is always in my vehicle). If I need quick jpegs, I just batch convert the RAWs using as-shot settings.

Romy

thanks romy. i will try shooting some RAW and see the difference. will probably ask my elementary and high school kids to post-process for me. i'm still learning photography and have no time yet to study photoshop. i'm really learning a lot from your tips. btw, i saw your set-up photo and see you use a cable release. i have one of that and will try to use it as well. thanks again.