Wildlife Photography

[drstratton]

Last few for today!

Near Pendleton Oregon!

Not wildlife...but I love these!

Moon and Clouds!

 

[BecaHawaii]

@RoyalChick suggested I find some photography contests to be inspired for photos, in my new hobby! So glad I found this thread and looking forward to looking at all of the photo's shared here.

I just received a Canon 90D for my birthday in August. Here are some of my favorite photo's so far! Hopefully I will continue to improve!

Our Peacock!!!
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Pictures from the Point Defiance Zoo...3 days after receiving my camera!
Cream Legbar
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Quincy Lakes Wildlife Area
Osprey with fish
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Bend Oregon
Mama Deer with 2 babies nursing!
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Whatcha lookin at?
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I wanna look too...lol!
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Love these! My husband gifted me with my 90D for our 20th. I love it! It's so quick and takes beautiful pics. Glad to see you are enjoying yours as much as I am!

 

[BecaHawaii]

Last few for today!

Near Pendleton Oregon!
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Not wildlife...but I love these!

Moon and Clouds!
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All gorgeous!

 

[drstratton]

Love these! My husband gifted me with my 90D for our 20th. I love it! It's so quick and takes beautiful pics. Glad to see you are enjoying yours as much as I am!

Thank you! I love mine too, but I have a hard time getting crisp shots, very few are as good as I would like. Most of my pictures are the full 250mm of my lens, so that might be part of my problem. I might have to micro adjust my lenses. That and get a lens with a longer focal length.

 

[drstratton]

Mynahs in my yard feeding their brood. They had 5 chicks this clutch. View attachment 2834861

We used to have a pet Mynah bird...his name was Jimmy and he said some very inappropriate things...lol

Great capture!

 

[drstratton]

I just finished going through the thread...there are some stunning pictures in here. I really enjoyed them all!

 

[Araucana Nest]

Such beautiful photos. Thank you all for sharing. Just found this thread and I'm not more than a couple of pages in but have to stop for now... Outdoor photography is a habit for me, Can't help it.... I'm a perpetual beginner that abandoned the hobby with an actual camera a long time ago but maintained the habit with my cellphone. I recently purchased two vintage Canon AE-1P film cameras, an Omega enlarger and all the trappings to develop film. The cameras are in excellent condition and have a "feel" I love. They're getting overhauled right now.

 

[KingD]

Seeing as there are some pretty good photographers on here I might ask a question.

What camera and lense setup would you recommend for wildlife photography. A lense which can do long-ish distance shots and close range as well.

I've always heard Canon is best but I don't know. Up until now I've only had my phone to take pics.

As you can see, it doesn't have a great zoom capability nor does it focus well once zoomed.
Dslr is probably my best bet.

This is just an example photo to show what could've been a great shot if only the zoom and focus had allowed it.

 

[mdees88]

Seeing as there are some pretty good photographers on here I might ask a question.

What camera and lense setup would you recommend for wildlife photography. A lense which can do long-ish distance shots and close range as well.

I've always heard Canon is best but I don't know. Up until now I've only had my phone to take pics.

As you can see, it doesn't have a great zoom capability nor does it focus well once zoomed.
Dslr is probably my best bet.

This is just an example photo to show what could've been a great shot if only the zoom and focus had allowed it.
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I use a Canon 80d but I think nikon is better value. For wildlife generally the longer lens the better. I think the bare minimum and most budget friendly lens would be a 250mm lens and the 55-250 IS STM is a good starter lens. But 400mm is definitely more ideal for wildlife, they just cost a lot more. You can get good shots with a 250 you just have to get a lot closer than you would with a 400mm.

Once you get all the fundamentals down of how to operate the camera and what a great picture needs to consist of you might get to a point where a "cheaper" lens starts to hold you back. Not saying you can't get great shots with a "cheaper" lens but more reach and higher quality glass will result in sharper images and shallower depth of field. But you can still get good pics with a 250mm you just have to get a little closer and separate the subject from the background as best you can.

Most cameras are decent enough, the lenses are what will make or break you. I think the most versatile Canon lens for wildlife is the 100-400 is ii. It's what I use but it's very pricey. I actually bought it before I was any good at taking pics. Knowing what I know now, I could take much better pics with a 55-250 than I could the first couple years I had the 100-400.

So my recommendation for a good budget starter Canon outfit for wildlife would be an 80 or 90d and a 55-250 IS STM. You could go a little cheaper on the camera with the rebel line. The quality is roughly the same but the button layout on the 80 and 90d is much better.

Check out @Alyssa-Bee 's photos in this thread. I think she uses a Nikon and a 300mm lens which is a good budget option and some of her pics are excellent. If anyone's on a really tight budget I feel like you get a little more for your money with Nikon.

 

[mdees88]

Thank you! I love mine too, but I have a hard time getting crisp shots, very few are as good as I would like. Most of my pictures are the full 250mm of my lens, so that might be part of my problem. I might have to micro adjust my lenses. That and get a lens with a longer focal length.

You've posted some very nice pics. Focus and shutter speed have a big affect on the quality of an image. I try to use the fastest shutter speed I can, that will depend on how bright it is outside though. I shoot in shutter priority 95% of the time (this is where you set the shutter speed and the camera adjust aperture and ISO automatically) and I always try to shoot 1/400 or higher. For anything moving fast I like 1/1000 and for birds in flight I like 1/2000 but it has to be very bright to get that fast.

As far as focus I use a single autofocus point for animals that aren't moving much and I try to put it on their eye or face. For birds in flight I use a small cluster in the middle of the screen.

Also cropping after taking the picture will reduce the quality. The closer you get to the subject the clearer the image will be.

Some lenses are less sharp at their max zoom. One thing you can do is put the camera on a tripod or set it on a table outside with good sunlight and manualy focus the lens, use a fast shutter speed, and take a picture. This will show you the highest quality possible from the lens. If it's acceptable then it's the settings or environmental conditions (overcast, etc.) that are causing soft images.