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The last of the fairy wren pics for today.
These have the sky as the background so dont stand out as much but I thought he was cute
d70, 80-400vr@400 metz 60ct1 as fill. handheld
Steve

I like both of these pics. THe first one looks like it's straight out of a book. Great pose by the bird.

Steve, what great pics, they almost look like they've been painted. Absolutely superb!

Bob.

avkomp
They're not bad...but I wouldn't call them superb.

These fairies I do like

Ohhh! They have whiskers!

Very nice pictures indeed, congrats.

You say you used a flash for fill, ive no idea about any type of flash photography really but i do understand why you use it for fill. Can you adjust the amount of flash you use or is that just preset?
I find alot of bird pictures people post here that have had the flash used in them to be a little over powering at times and tend to give off an unrealistic feel to the picture.
To me your first picture would be on the limit of what i think looks realistic, the second is spot on the money, but thats just my opinion, and an opinion from someone that maybe shouldnt have an opinion on the subject.

Wow, very nice! Me has a fond spot for little birds.

jamie: I primarily use the flash on bird shots because you will find that the oil in the plumage can cause a shine and you will get more vibrant colour.
Also a little highlight in the eye (which I like also)
If you have a smart flash (like the sb800 for instance) you can tell the flash how much to use. Typically 1 EV less than you would use if the flash was providing the main light. This way you wont have the flash blow the subject away with too much light but will provide perhaps some highlights or light some shadow area a little.

I only found out that these things have whiskers today also!!

As for looking fake, I made another post today:
http://www.d70users.com/viewtopic.php?t=9615
which was the same wren but without the sky as a background and I thought it looked more natural, but didnt have the sun on the throat plumage. At this time of year though these things have breeding plumage and look even brighter than usual, so the colour on the throat is actually the way they are right now

The second shot in this post has the wren's rump casting a shadow on its head and making it too dark for my taste.
Posted it cos I thought it was cute!!

Steve

I like it a lot, but the blue bkg makes the head blend into it.

I preferred the other fairy wren you had in the previous post as the green bkg helped bring out the bird a bit more.

piro: yeah, me too.

but when I found out they had whiskers I couldnt help myself!!

Steve