It's in my blood.
Since I was given my first camera, when I was a little kid, I have always been fascinated by capturing in a shot what my eyes were seeing around me. The beauty of nature or the smile of a friend, an event or an emotion... Precious pearls to be framed in a photo. Whether freezing a movement or moving the stillness, looking at normality through a different angle or portraying the exceptional, I can choose different perspectives, I can catch reality. I think this passion is in my blood, I inherited it from my Grandpa and then from my Dad, and it has always had a great influence in my life. Come and follow me in my journey searching impressions of life.



Showing posts with label 1D X. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1D X. Show all posts

Sunday, July 6, 2014

A Nice Surprise

Last week I went back to visit the colony of Lesser kestrel that I had spent some time with time ago (you can see the post here: http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-day-with-lesser-kestrel.html). I hope to be able to post some of the new shots soon, but in the meantime I would like to share a few photos I took of another  bird that was a nice unexpected surprise.

While I was watching the kestrels I noticed another falcon that at first looked like one of the others, but it was much darker. It flew low in front of me and stopped on a wire nearby. Once I framed it with my camera I had confirmation of what I thought: a Red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus). This was a young male as I could see from the plumage of the wings not completely dark. A beautiful bird.

A male of Lesser kestrel came and pushed him away a couple of times until the Red-footed falcon flew away.

The shots have some noise because unfortunately the bird was far from me and I had to crop quite a bit, but I am happy with this capture.



             EOS 1D X – Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x III @840mm f/10 1/3200sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x III @840mm f/10 1/4000sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x III @840mm f/10 1/4000sec ISO 1000












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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Kingfisher Paradise

Having read about the Oasi di Cervara and about the Kingfishers living in that area, I was very curious to go and see myself, hoping to be able to take some good shots of these beautiful birds. It's not very close to home, it takes three and a half hours to drive there, so I decided to leave on Friday evening to be already on location on Saturday morning, ready to go to the hide.
It couldn't have been a better decision: The place is lovely, the structure very efficient and the couple of Kingfisher had been quite active during the two days I spent there.

For the occasion, I brought a Canon EOS 1D X because of the higher frame/sec rate vs my 5D MkIII (12 vs 6) so I could have better chances to catch the Kingfisher in flight. The light was not 100% ideal the whole time and I had to push the ISO of my camera quite a lot in order to have short enough a shutter speed to frame such bullet-fast birds. Trying to freeze the birds in action, called for not longer times than 1/3200 or 1/4000 sec and depth of field was very important as well, to get a higher probability of having the subject in focus. I couldn't keep it that fast when it was darker, and many times I got shots not perfectly frozen (so I am not posting that many in flight, here). The high ISO required also often caused loss of detail and thicker grain.

After a few times, I could tell the bird's behavior and know from which perch it would dive or where it would go after a missed catch, but sometimes it would surprise me diving from a tree or from a distant perch. It's incredible how fast and precise the Kingfisher is, how it can spot, target and catch a fish from such a distance and so fast, usually piercing it with its pointed beak. Another wonderful perfect creation of God: how wouldn't you be amazed?

I am quite happy with some of the shots I took, but I consider these more like a first test, rather than top captures, and I hope to be able to go back and take advantage of what I learned from this first experience, hopefully with full sunny weather. Many thanks to Erminio for his kindness and hospitality.




             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/5.6 1/1000sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/5.6 1/2500sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/6.3 1/1600sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/4.5 1/4000sec ISO 1600


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/4.0 1/4000sec ISO 2000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/5.6 1/2500sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/5.6 1/5000sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/5.6 1/1000sec ISO 1000


             EOS 1D X – Canon EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x III @420mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO 1000










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