Thursday, March 21, 2013

My series of fails

It’s not easy capturing birds in flight. That’s a big understatement, but sometimes I get lucky. I sat by the kitchen window late yesterday afternoon in the pretty light, turning up the shutter speed considerably and shot the picture below on the first try.

 

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I thought to myself, “close – but no cigar.” And so I continued to try my luck in order to catch an awesome wing spread. But it was to no avail. Below, I give you all my fails.

I know. You’re thrilled, aren’t you?

 

 

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Now this is just weirdness.

 

 

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Not quite.

 

 

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Just missed this one. I was focusing manually too, because when I shoot in Shutter mode, the autofocus gets confused. Does it do that to you, owners of Nikon D7000’s? It’s easier to just shoot on manual focus when in that mode.

 

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And another wonky one.

 

 

 

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This one’s ok in a dreamy sort of way.

But only barely.

 

 

 

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But this one of a male cardinal caught preening is my favorite.

Oh, there’s an entire series of this guy which I’ll have to share with you soon.

This is my favorite of the lot and was taken from the living room window.

 

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And speaking of windows, our view through the woods of the the sun setting.

Taken with the long lens, Nikon 70-300mm, through the kitchen window.

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

123 Signature[5]

ps – due to massive amounts of spam since the first of the year, I have recently had to limit comments to registered users only (which includes Open ID). A friend informed me that most of the people who do it  (spam) are out of work and live in 3rd-world countries. They get paid a small amount to pepper spam comments all over the world. I took it off and put it back to anonymous last night and within several hours, I got hit again. And I refuse – absolutely refuse to go word verification.  You are welcome to write me at katydid56@gmail.com if you have a problem commenting here.

51 comments:

Low Tide High Style said...

Hmm, I wonder if my comment will go through? I love the cardinal pic...and the others too, but that one looks like a beautiful fan dancer!

Kat

Sheila said...

Great images, especially the second one, so different. Thanks for sharing them with all of us!

JaneK said...

I think that second one is practicing for a career with Cirque du Solei! Who knew birds did yoga?

Great shots... All of them....

As for registering.... I resisted forever but it really isn't that big of a deal; so if you are reading this and are not registered with google..... Just do it... Makes life easier :-)

Michelle said...

I had no idea birds take off with one wing first like that sometimes, so your shots are educational as well as beautiful! I'm in Houston, TX with my parents and there are white-winged doves all over. They are so pretty in flight, but my little point-and-shoot is not up to that task. I did get a fairly decent zoom shot of one up in a tree that I'm getting ready to post; I need you and your camera here!

Christie - Fine Lines said...

I gotta say -- if I had snapped any one of your "fails" I would have considered it my finest hour and greatest success!!! I just love seeing the feathered wings!!

Denise at Autumn Sky said...

I love photos when you can see their little feet in flight. The cardinal is gorgeous.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

The cardinal shot is amazing.

I had to move to word verification because of the spam. Even took it off for a day and it came back with a vengeance. Don't care for it but it's the lesser of two evils.

Anonymous said...

First of all, that tree is gorgeous, second, I still love the bird pictures, and third - bad, bad people!

Jan's camera said...

That cardinal photo is gorgeous. He's a beauty. Great shot. Weird about the spam. I can't imagine people sitting there doing that.

Flat Creek Farm said...

Beautiful, all of them, even your so-called "fails" ;) Love that last one too!

Kerri Farley said...

Oh to fail so fabulously.......that's what I want to do! These are magnificent .....and mr red has stolen my heart!

Hilary said...

I like the shot through the window of the fading sun......
But I also like the one with the bird's foot on the feeder.
I get a lot of spam.....I'll have to try that.

beth said...

OMG....these are not fails AT ALL.....and SHEET, that cardinal is more than amazing !!!

you bird whisperer you !!
xo

mrs mediocrity said...

I love them all... But that cardinal is just gorgeous. And yes, sometimes the auto focus on my D 7000 drives me crazy!

Cloudia said...

I can only aspire to such shots!


ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° > <3

JC said...

First, love the bird photos and the the one through the woods. I don't have a fancy camera. Just the one my h got me.

I got hit by the anonymous people too. Got like 100 emails. Yikes.

I'll have to go change mine too.

Enjoy your weekend,
JC

Rambling said...

Fails? I think they're wonderful. Especially the cardinal - my favorite bird.

Caroline said...

I had to change my settings too...unbelievable! I would get at least 25-30 spam comments a day! It just annoyed the crap out of me. Anyway...where are the fails? Where? These photos are still wonderful. But you are right...the cardinal preening...perfection!

Annie said...

That's bad luck about the spam Kate.
Hope I can still comment cos I really enjoy your blog.

I was suddenly getting a lot of spam, but it has since stopped thank goodness.

Love all the birds, much better than any of my birds just sitting still!!

Hope you have a great w'e.

thecatalanway said...

Hello Kate This happened to me too - as you know I took the horrible WI route for a fortnight and then when I removed it (phew) the spam returned. All comments to my blog wait for me to moderate so I am now resigned to turfing out the spam and publishing the others.

There is a Blogger problem with it all - many people writing in as they are suddenly being targeted. I noticed that was happening in yours. Big sigh!!!!
Anyway, I have been here reading and enjoying as usual but these past weeks have not been conducive for writing. I have been thinking of you though.
My heart usually does a little flutter when I see certain little birds in your photos - thank you so much for doing the sitting and the waiting and the sifting out which ones to send us. They are beautiful.

love to you over there from me over here where spring has sprung!

Kate x

PS Thank you for keeping up the no WI policy!!!! Much appreciated.

Em Parkinson said...

I keep getting spam from a granite worktop company, congratulating me on my explanation of granite extraction at Haytor, but clearly not on the scale you do. It must be so frustrating.

Love the bird pictures and I wouldn't consider them failures at all!

Country Girl said...

Em, Annie, and Navigating Northward - got your comments. I've been responding to everyone else. (These three came in as blogger-no reply).

Lee Owenby said...

Thank you for posting some fails and weirdos. Most people don't realize how many photos it takes to get "just the right" shot.

Liz Stout said...

Just wanted to drop a line saying how much I love your photography. Really gives me a moment of peace every time I look through your work. You capture calm and serenity so well.

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

I had the same issue with spammers and had to go to registered users too. I love the cardinal one!

Daryl said...

since switching to registered users i am spam free ... its a relief

fails? fails? girlfriend you are so wrong .. these are all wonderful, sure they're not in full flight but hey they are moving AND in focus

i never ever ever shoot on anything but P on my D7000 ... however thank you so much for telling me about those other settings .. like that awesome night setting i used in Rockefeller Ctr and plan on using when standing atop the Arc de Triomphe shooting Paris at night!!!!

thotlady said...

Nice photos.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

The preening cardinal is awesome!.. love the mood in the scenery shot also..nice capture.

andy said...

Wow what unbelievable photos great shots ! Hope you have a wonderful weekend .

Mental P Mama said...

Those fails would be my prized ones! xoxo

Linda said...

They are only 'fails' to you and because you were looking for something very specific. I adore all your photography.

abb said...

Pretty damn pretty, those fails of yours!

becky up the hill said...

Your first bird looks like he may be a super hero! Epic!

Hilary said...

I think I'm going to stop looking at my similar shots as fails because despite being critical about my own images, your similar "fails" appeal to me very much. Of course I'll continue to consider my shots of empty branches as fails because well those were just too slow on the trigger. ;)

I did exactly as you did regarding anonymous comments. They were getting ridiculous and even though most of them were caught with the spam filter, I was still getting all the alerts in mail and more and more of them were beginning to get through to the blog. So bye bye to that.. at least for now.

Nancy said...

So glad to have found your blog; it's full of beauty...
Your photographs are amazing and I can only hope that one day the pictures I take with my d7000 will look like yours. I am relatively new to photography but having loads of fun with my camera.

www.thegiftofamoment.blogspot.com

DesertHen said...

Not fails at all! I'm loving the detail in each one! That last shot is simply beautiful!

tina said...

I have really disliked the focusing on my D7000 since the day I got that camera. I had a D50 before and never had focusing issues, glad to know it's not just me. Let me know if you have any other tips besides manual focus.

Devon said...

I really love the first "fail".. but the cardinal is beautiful also. Heck, they were all lovely.

Meg McCormick said...

Lady, if those are your biggest "fails" this week, I'd say you are doing all right. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos!

Anonymous said...

love....smiles

sharon said...

I love the first pic. I love the seed in his beak

sharon said...

I love the first pic. I love the seed in his beak

Debbie From Illinois said...

Oh my, that cardinal is AMAZING. The male cardinals have been so fiesty at the birdfeeders this week. Maybe they are showing off for the lady cardinals.

Anonymous said...

love all the wonky pictures, but that male cardinal is fabulous.
I've just lately started using my manual focus too. I miss so much while my camera is trying to make up it's mind. It keeps me sharper too, I think.
Have a wonderful weekend.
peace n abundance,
CheyAnne

Jill of All Trades said...

Personally I love, love, LOVE that first picture.

I had problems with spam and I think I did do the word verification thing because of the constant spam junk. Makes me nuts for sure.

Have a great weekend!
Carla

Gail said...

Even your "fails" are prize winning.

Country Gal said...

Wonderful photos ! I to have been practicing with stopping the wings in motion some times I do and some times I don't . I find if you up your ISO and drop your Fstop as low as it can go and up your shutter speed it seems to work not to bad but I find the lighting of your subject is in has a lot to do with it to for shots like these ! I tryed with my Macro as it lets in more light and it worked pretty good better then my 55-300 mm witch is what I use mostly as I can get shots close up with out having to be close up but with Macro I can adjust the photos on the computer afterwards . I am still learning by trial and error all part of the fun of photography ! Oh I know I am getting annoyed with all the Anonymous comments with advertising in them but I let my e-mail spam collect them the I go in and delete them all at the same time . I figure if the comment is from a blogger then I would either know of them or at least they have a name and blog addy attached ! Have a good day !

Anonymous said...

You get the best bird in flight photos ever!

Lisa Gordon said...

All of these are wonderful, Kate, but that first one is so amazingly sharp, and your timing was perfect!

The JR said...

There is a special place in hell for spammers and virus makers.

The bottom is my favorite one too.

Cathy said...

these are amazing and i agree about the auto focus on my D7000 too.