Sharp Shinned Hawk

[Dmanmastertracker]

 Thank you Ivar, I am lucky to come from a family of knowledgeable birders.

 Shutter speed to me is most critical in birding, however I am a Nikonian and can't tell you much about Canon, but I imagine the same principles apply for the most part. I usually shoot in auto-mode, but when I don't it is usually because I am shooting hummingbirds, or other fast-moving birds and need to slow the shot down more. I will max-out my shutter-speed in the manual setting in those situation's, only on sunny day's with good light. That said I do have image stabilization on all my lenses and rarely use a monopod or tripod unless shooting longer-distance's. This image was taken on a low-light day at 1/800 shutter speed, f7.1, ISO 200. Bracketing capability I have found to be a great advantage when shooting birds as well.

[boneaddict]

Only reason I ask is that its the most brightly colored I have ever seen.  I did suspect the "warmness" of the sun, but still an exceptioanlly colored Sharpy. 

[ivarhusa]

That is an impressive flicker picture, too. I observed my first Say's Phoebe yesterday, with the help of local Audubon folks (on a monthly bird walk).


The image quality is not great, but it was an overcast sky, and I was using ISO 1600 to keep the shutterspeed up.

I have been using a lot of 'manual' setting, going for a good exposure on a green background (test exposures).  That way when I point my lens at a flying bird, or one perched with a lot of sky in the background, then the image doesn't come out too dark.  There are some risks in that strategy, for sure.  I will "quick" rotate back to AUTO when an shot appears in the shade or against the ground.

I am open to more suggestions/tips.   So far, I hear "Freeze, mister!" with fast shutter speeds the rule.

Ivar

[mulehunter]

   Cool Pics..

Mulehunter

[saylean]

Very nice Dman~