The Sunday BIRD Volume 7 Issue 05 July 3, 2011

Really nice series

I would say very well done using that lens. It's a beast for BIF's

Dharma

I snuck of to Intaka Island to take some birds when I saw some sun. I am glad I took the E-5 and 50-200 and EC20 as it peed down.

This brings up a different issue. Us stupid Soouf Efricans are a bit dumb about cold weather. It’s been about 5c to 14c ( Mild by Northern stats ) daily here for the last few weeks with wind and a lot of rain. Well I though OK weather sealed camera and lens , waterproof windbreaker , beanie gloves and mohair socks and I am sorted. Well I spent about 7 hours out in hides and wet grass and standing in the rain and sitting on wet logs etc. I was as warm as toast except for my wet/very cold backside and my feet which became blocks of ICE.

My questions here is how do you guys handle the wet cold backside with the possibility of piles (Maybe folk lore but I will tell you if it’s true in a few months ) other than wearing those German leather shorts and keeping your feet warm. I remember a post where someone was discussing electric boot warmers and I thought it was a bit much until last week I would have paid just about anything for warm feet. The other thing is gloves they where lovely and warm but I battled to do any thing with them. I did go and buy some First Accent silk and semi fleece lined gloves over the weekend.

Maybe you guys can give me some tips. I.E. does news paper stuffed in your trousers and under your shirt work. ( Like the homeless and vagrants ) LOL

It was bloody cold.

Any way I did get some birds but the light was very strange.

As I say read between the lines as I write between the lines.
Taken with the E-30 or E-5 with the Bigma or the 50-200 with EC20.

Note the 50-200 + EC20 was front focusing a bit and I need to calibrate. (Lazy)

E 5 + 50-200+ EC20 HandHeld IS on.
Purple Heron ( It looked a bit startled)



Tinkling Cisticola



This is a crop of about 15-20% of the original.
Malicite King Fisher.



Cape white Eye.



E-30

I took thes a few weeks ago with the 70-300 only to find it was broken ( Apature was not stopping down) Any way here are a few. ( They are not very good)
African Jackass







Pano Of the colony



Some Kruger Stuff
E-30 Bigma
Kori Bustard



Wattled Plover.



Oh yea Feeder birds E-5



--
Collin

http://www.pbase.com/collinbaxter
http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

Ieeeeesh one is good enough.

Great shoot.

--
Collin

http://www.pbase.com/collinbaxter
http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

I have been out for a while and now catching up on this series ... Great photos over the past Sundays and today too. Thank you all for sharing. This thread has been a source of inspiration for me to go shooting ...

I photographed my first bird in about a month today at the Sacred Tirumala Hills Forest in India. I am not sure what bird it is but it for sure looks like a Hawk about the size of a pigeon. It was very early in the morning so the lighting was pretty bad and I wasn't carrying a tripod
All shot with E-5/50-200. Anyway, here goes:

Every one a winner Coll, superb set
--



My Galleries are at
http://picasaweb.google.com/trevorfcarpenter

Fantastic shooting Colin--the 50-200 and 2.0 combo is working very well. The Kingfisher--Wow.

Regarding cold feet and cold bum--I assume they were dry. A good pair of insulated and water proof boots--goretex is good. Socks--I like thick smart wool socks. If you are walking around in wet undergrowth--I use goretex gaitors that come up to my knees. For the derriere--Layers is what we use up here in the northern part of North America. You can get these layers in different densities according to temperature or whether or not your circulation is good or whether or not you are a "hot" or "cold" person. I am a very "hot" person, so I rarley get cold. Suffer a lot in the heat tho.

Layers you can get in micro/poly fabrics and also smart wool. These keep you really warm. Wind chill is also a big factor in being able to keep warm. So a windproof jacket or pants is good if there is a really chilly wind around.

Outdoor stores are you best bet for this kind of gear. Here in the states places like REI.com and Campmor.com are both excellent. Cheers, Dharma

My wife and I found these two pestering each other out in the country yesterday afternoon. I would have liked to get closer, but unfortunately there was a marsh in my way. E-510 + 70-300 for all three.

Yrs indeed, good job for sure,
Richard

Well done. Those little birds are hard to catch, especially with the 70-300 (which is my birding lens as well).

Gorgeous!

Such beautiful animals. I love the yawning shot.

Fantastic set. I especially like the Tinkling Cisticola.

As for warmth, definitely wear wool. It retains a lot of its insulating value even when it's wet.

Make that a Northern Harrier, not a Coopers Hawk.

Thanks for the advice. This global warming is really stuffing up the weather. ( or maybe I am getting older). I am enjoying the E-5 and weather sealing on the lenses , not that it would have stopped me in any case if we had light rain but now I don't have to cover it and can shoot in the open.

I am enjoying the 50-200/EC20 Combo I do however find the bigma sharper at nearly all focal lengths. What I am really enjoying is the E-5 output not only the detail but what you can do with it . I find the image very malleable in that you can do some heavy post recovery without destroying the image.

An example is the Kingfisher Here is the original where the lighting and wb was all wrong and I got the settings a bit screwed. And its one hell of a crop. I had also blowen some highlights.



--
Collin

http://www.pbase.com/collinbaxter
http://collinbaxter.zenfolio.com/

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (George Carlin)

Thanks Richard,

Coming from you (I use your web site to show my wife good shots of these beautifus birds after we see them in nature and I can't get a good shot.), that's a real compliment.

Keep posting these shots!

Nice. They are very fast birds. In the third pic we can see the bug about to be eaten.

Wow, Collin those are fantastic! I especially like the penguins. Maybe since we don't get them up here in Iowa.

What we do get is cold. Real cold. There is loads of heavy footwear to keep the feet warm, but the best, though a bit quirky, is rubber overboots. A pair of thick socks, sneekers, and big rubber boots on top and I never have cold toes.
As you have found, zero to 5 C rain is worse than snow. Wet doesn't insulate.

If you ever find some kind of gloves that keep the fingers warm, yet also let you press little buttons on the camera, while keeping them out of the pockets all day, let us all know.