No matter the technique, no matter the methodology employed I thank you all for
the wonderful images presented. From Howard's Hummers and Eagles, David's
Wildlife - feathered, four-legged, and two-legged... :), Sonny's Flowers, to
Peter's and Aram's Travel logs and all the others who post - please keep
shooting! Your images are a delight to see and enjoy!
Best regards,Peter Stevens
From: H&ECummer <cummer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 2:02 AM
Subject: [LRflex] One more oldie
Hi David,I think my shooting philosophy is somewhere between the in the wild
purity you prefer and the feeding approach of your friend. For my hummingbird
pictures wife Esther sets out hanging baskets of fuchsia in the spring time on
the deck of our cabin. The hummers establish a feeding pattern - usually a
visit quite early in the morning and then a pass about 11 am and then an
evening feed just before sunset. This provides me with lots of lighting
options. I set up my camera and telephoto lens on a tripod and about the time
the hummers should be coming - I sit out and wait. I can usually shoot 20 or 30
shots in the short time that they feed and out of those shots one or two will
have the eye catch-lights and wing positions that please me. For my eagle shots
you will recall that I go down to the Otter Bay ferry terminal early in the
morning - before 8 am - and wait for the owner of the Food Stand to whistle for
the birds and to throw out some salmon strips. They usually come - unless they
are away fishing during the Fall salmon runs. Here I shoot hand held and the
action is fast and furious as the birds drill in for their breakfast bits and
then turn and curve away. Some mornings I may shoot several hundred frames, at
10 frames a second, and again I may get a dozen or so pictures where wing
positions, feet positions and eyes all please me.
A couple of my favourite examples:
Talon on water - I am mesmerized by the way that eagles relate to air and water:
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Eagles2014/Eagle3408C3.jpg.html>
And one of my hummingbirds - approaching the Fuchsia:
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Howard+Cummer/Hummers2014/0056.jpg.html>
Please view large. And as you say - to each his own. Howard
From: David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2016 17:01:55 -0800
Subject: [LRflex] Re: One more oldie...
Hi Ted:
You're welcome!
But, it is interesting, that a friend and I have a huge philosophical
difference about wildlife photography. I tend to go out in the bush, hiking
and looking. It may be days, sometimes weeks, before I can get a decent shot.
He prefers to use a cart, to which he bolts bits of tree, and then put out
food. The birds will always fly first into the branches, before hopping down
to get the food. They want to be sure it's safe. So you sit back and wait,
shooting tight enough that you don't see the base or the cart, and "Robert's
your father's brother".
These shots were taken during a visit, on a mild, end of January day.
Sitting back and shooting from the comfort of a chair, is like shooting fish in
a barrel. I got both the woodpecker, the Pine Grosbeak, and another which I
will soon post, in under a half hour! The Grosbeak and the woodpecker were
shot 11 minutes apart, without having to leave my chair!
By contrast, you'll remember the frustrations you shared, when you tried to
shoot some waterfowl out at Tunkwa lake, when you first visited, here. Doing
it "in the wild" is nowhere near as easy, that's for sure!
Don't misunderstand me. Shooting as he does, is not a sin. If you're a pro,
and your editor says do it in 24 hours, you do what you have to do. But, to
me, although it yields some nice shots, it is more "bird photography" than
"wildlife photography".
To each his own...
David.
