I’ve been going a little overboard with the bird images lately, but it’s really not my fault. For one thing they are really cute, and they hang out in the yard all the time. They are brightly colored and easy to find, so anytime you have the urge to make a photo they are handy. Plus you get to try out all kinds of cool tricks like stop action flash photography. Someday, when I am on assignment covering a big event in a faraway exotic place (Florida?) I will have the skills needed to stop the action cold.
Besides that its neat to watch the young birds learn to relate to the older birds around the fountain. The grownups fight fiercely to protect their territory, while the younger generation scurries away at the slightest hint of trouble. I guess that’s how they get to be old birds. I believe that even a non-ornithologist can tell which is the young bird and which is the seasoned veteran. If you need a clue the one trying to backup in mid-air is the little guy.
These shots were all done on manual with the flash set between ½ and full power. The light was controlled mostly by the aperture since the shutter was a constant. ISO was set to 800 which is what it took to get a decent histogram. Developed in LR3, not much was done to them except some noise reduction.
Get out and try it for yourself, its fun and way easier than it sounds.
