View allAll Photos Tagged NatureInIreland
Best viewed large with L.
Taken during a trip out to the Cliffs of Moher with the Clare branch of Birdwatch Ireland.
Shame a bit is cut off, but the sea was very rough.
Swan and Cygnets on River Shannon (Cygnus olor)
Best viewed large on black. Just click image.
© by Michael Devereux. All Rights Reserved.
No use of any of my images is permitted without my prior consent. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs.
Best viewed large on black with L
These were taken over a month ago but I have not had a chance to post them until now. I don't usually post a large number of similar images but for these guys, I am willing to make an exception.
More in the comments.
Print available on Redbubble here: The Archers
Best viewed large on black with L.
Two of the Archer young'uns following in their mothers turbulent wake.
Picture taken on the roof of a barn at home in Clare.
Best viewed large on black by pressing L.
A few more shots in the comments.
Generations of birds will tell the story of the coal tit that dropped the last seed into the fires of mount doom. (Fires of mount doom omitted. This is to prevent spoiling the viewer.)
Best Viewed Large with L.
Oil on paper.
Original photo in the comments.
A work in progress. As I mentioned earlier, I will replace and repost up to date versions as the painting progresses. I will post each stage in the comments. I had originally planned on posting more stages but too late now.
Slight saturation adjustments as I don't think the original photograph properly captured the intensity of the colours. I find this to be a problem with raw processing. Trying to correct camera limitations to give a picture that most accurately represents the scene can be difficult. This is necessary as I don't trust the JPGs out of the camera that I used for this shot. I feel it over processes them. I am considering moving to shooting just raw and no sidecar JPG to save space. Any opinions? All comments appreciated.
View large with L
Best viewed large on black. Just click image.
(Cygnus olor)
© by Michael Devereux. All Rights Reserved.
No use of any of my images is permitted without my prior consent. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs.
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Best viewed large on black by clicking or pressing L to see more detail.
The Crop (A work in progress)
Again I am not too sure about the crop. Its unfortunate but I find it necessary to crop many shots taken with my super telephoto zoom lens (Osiris - also known as the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM).
I think it's the nature of bird photography. It's difficult enough to try and find the bird, not scare it away, get close and try to take a shot in focus without even considering composition. I guess I am trying to say it is difficult enough to get the technical side right before the artistic.
My initial approach when photographing a bird is to start with just the centre focus point active with the camera in continuous focus mode (AI servo in Canon Land) to compensate for any forward/backward motion due to handholding (not what it's designed for but I find it helps). Then, if I am lucky enough to get a few shots this way, that I am happy with (which is rare), I try to get closer and compose the image better. For me, almost always when taking photos of animals, the most important thing to have the eyes sharp and in focus.
For this type of shot, I like to retain either the original 2:3 aspect ratio of the camera or a square crop while employing the rule of thirds. I also like to place the eye of the bird on one of four intersections of the imaginary lines dividing the photo into thirds horizontally and vertically. I use Adobe Lightroom 3 for most of my image processing now and I find its crop tools and selection of overlays very good.
I find cropping a powerful tool which seems to have a large impact on the image (at least in my opinion). I have started experimenting with composition techniques commonly used in various visual art forms such as lead room, Rabatment of the rectangle, etc. For this particular photograph, I did experiment with the diagonal method but in the end a combination of the rule of thirds, centring and lead room give a more pleasing composition in my opinion.
I guess having to crop isn't the worst thing in the world. Even Ansel Adam suggests in the book "The Print" that some times a crop is necessary to remove distracting features and draw attention where you want.
Cropping is subset of the complex art of composition which one can research extensively, but I believe experimentation is the best way to learn.
These are just some of my thoughts and approaches. I would appreciate opinions, details of any other approaches, etc. All comments welcome. Again I would appreciate suggested crops drawn with a note.
A few further details.
I usually use Osiris with a canon 40D which has a crop factor of 1.6. Using this with Osiris at 400mm gives the equivalent of a 640mm on 35mm film. Using the shutter speed rule of thumb (1/Focal Length) gives a maximum shutter speed of 1/640. Unfortunately this rather high shutter speed often requires a high ISO even with the lens wide open. This often results in noisy images like this one, which I have internationally left noisy to preserve feather detail. Fortunately it is only luminance noise as Lightroom 3 deals with chrominance noise exceptionally well. Even the default chrominance smoothing on Lightroom gives better results than the in camera JPEGs. This itself can be enough justification for shooting RAW.
Print available on Redbubble here: Mother Tucker
Best viewed large with L.
More shots of the young Tuckers from earlier in the year in the comments. Click on any image to see more.
Don't know how it is in explore for the 18th. I only posted it yesterday. It was taken on the 18th. Could this have anything to do with it?
Best viewed large on black. Just click image.
© by Michael Devereux. All Rights Reserved.
No use of any of my images is permitted without my prior consent. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs.
A triptych of my last three upload created using MATLAB.
Best viewed large on black by clicking or pressing L to see more detail.
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Best viewed large on black with L.
More in the comments.
Last in this series. Thank you everyone for your kind comments and favourites for this series. As always, they are much appreciated
Isabella frequented my birdfeeder for nearly four months. I could identify her by a unique mark on her tail and she also had an injured leg.
Print available on Redbubble here: Midair
Best viewed large with L.
Made it to Interesting Page 5 according to stats.
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Best viewed large on black by clicking or pressing L to see more detail.
The Crop (A work in progress)
Again I am not too sure about the crop. Its unfortunate but I find it necessary to crop many shots taken with my super telephoto zoom lens (Osiris - also known as the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM).
I think it's the nature of bird photography. It's difficult enough to try and find the bird, not scare it away, get close and try to take a shot in focus without even considering composition. I guess I am trying to say it is difficult enough to get the technical side right before the artistic.
My initial approach when photographing a bird is to start with just the centre focus point active with the camera in continuous focus mode (AI servo in Canon Land) to compensate for any forward/backward motion due to handholding (not what it's designed for but I find it helps). Then, if I am lucky enough to get a few shots this way, that I am happy with (which is rare), I try to get closer and compose the image better. For me, almost always when taking photos of animals, the most important thing to have the eyes sharp and in focus.
For this type of shot, I like to retain either the original 2:3 aspect ratio of the camera or a square crop while employing the rule of thirds. I also like to place the eye of the bird on one of four intersections of the imaginary lines dividing the photo into thirds horizontally and vertically. I use Adobe Lightroom 3 for most of my image processing now and I find its crop tools and selection of overlays very good.
I find cropping a powerful tool which seems to have a large impact on the image (at least in my opinion). I have started experimenting with composition techniques commonly used in various visual art forms such as lead room, Rabatment of the rectangle, etc. For this particular photograph, I did experiment with the diagonal method but in the end a combination of the rule of thirds and lead room give a more pleasing composition in my opinion.
I guess having to crop isn't the worst thing in the world. Even Ansel Adam suggests in the book "The Print" that some times a crop is necessary to remove distracting features and draw attention where you want.
Cropping is subset of the complex art of composition which one can research extensively, but I believe experimentation is the best way to learn.
These are just some of my thoughts and approaches. I would appreciate opinions, details of any other approaches, etc. All comments welcome. Again I would appreciate suggested crops drawn with a note.
A few further details.
I usually use Osiris with a canon 40D which has a crop factor of 1.6. Using this with Osiris at 400mm gives the equivalent of a 640mm on 35mm film. Using the shutter speed rule of thumb (1/Focal Length) gives a maximum shutter speed of 1/640. Unfortunately this rather high shutter speed often requires a high ISO even with the lens wide open. This often results in noisy images like this one, which I have internationally left noisy to preserve feather detail. Fortunately it is only luminance noise as Lightroom 3 deals with chrominance noise exceptionally well. Even the default chrominance smoothing on Lightroom gives better results than the in camera JPEGs. This itself can be enough justification for shooting RAW.
Buster the Fox was rescued by Animal Magic when he was a cub and nursed back to health.
Animal Magic is an animal rescue centre and sanctuary based in Kilmallock in Limerick, Ireland.
Once a year I am lucky enough to get to visit this centre (I join the UL Photo Soc just for this) and take as many pictures as I want.
For more information check out their webpage: Animal Magic
Print available on Redbubble here: The LTT
Best viewed large with L.
One slightly blurry action shot in the comments.
First in the series of a few shots on this particular incident.
Not my sharpest picture but worth posting in my opinion.
Best viewed large on black. Just click image.
© by Michael Devereux. All Rights Reserved.
No use of any of my images is permitted without my prior consent. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs.
Print available on Redbubble here: Splash
Best viewed large with L.
A close up in the comments. Also a few variations including the original crop in the comments as I am not really happy with this final crop. Any opinions?
For the first day in weeks, I missed posting something as I was very tired after being up too early for a job interview. I will try to find something real special to make
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Best viewed large on black by clicking or pressing L to see more detail.
The Crop (A work in progress)
Again I am not too sure about the crop. Its unfortunate but I find it necessary to crop many shots taken with my super telephoto zoom lens (Osiris - also known as the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM).
I think it's the nature of bird photography. It's difficult enough to try and find the bird, not scare it away, get close and try to take a shot in focus without even considering composition. I guess I am trying to say it is difficult enough to get the technical side right before the artistic.
My initial approach when photographing a bird is to start with just the centre focus point active with the camera in continuous focus mode (AI servo in Canon Land) to compensate for any forward/backward motion due to handholding (not what it's designed for but I find it helps). Then, if I am lucky enough to get a few shots this way, that I am happy with (which is rare), I try to get closer and compose the image better. For me, almost always when taking photos of animals, the most important thing to have the eyes sharp and in focus.
For this type of shot, I like to retain either the original 2:3 aspect ratio of the camera or a square crop while employing the rule of thirds. I also like to place the eye of the bird on one of four intersections of the imaginary lines dividing the photo into thirds horizontally and vertically. I use Adobe Lightroom 3 for most of my image processing now and I find its crop tools and selection of overlays very good.
I find cropping a powerful tool which seems to have a large impact on the image (at least in my opinion). I have started experimenting with composition techniques commonly used in various visual art forms such as lead room, Rabatment of the rectangle, etc. For this particular photograph, I did experiment with the diagonal method but in the end a combination of the rule of thirds and lead room give a more pleasing composition in my opinion.
I guess having to crop isn't the worst thing in the world. Even Ansel Adam suggests in the book "The Print" that some times a crop is necessary to remove distracting features and draw attention where you want.
Cropping is subset of the complex art of composition which one can research extensively, but I believe experimentation is the best way to learn.
These are just some of my thoughts and approaches. I would appreciate opinions, details of any other approaches, etc. All comments welcome. Again I would appreciate suggested crops drawn with a note.
A few further details.
I usually use Osiris with a canon 40D which has a crop factor of 1.6. Using this with Osiris at 400mm gives the equivalent of a 640mm on 35mm film. Using the shutter speed rule of thumb (1/Focal Length) gives a maximum shutter speed of 1/640. Unfortunately this rather high shutter speed often requires a high ISO even with the lens wide open. This often results in noisy images like this one, which I have internationally left noisy to preserve feather detail. Fortunately it is only luminance noise as Lightroom 3 deals with chrominance noise exceptionally well. Even the default chrominance smoothing on Lightroom gives better results than the in camera JPEGs. This itself can be enough justification for shooting RAW.
A 3 day old baby hare rescued by Animal Magic
Animal Magic is an animal rescue centre and sanctuary based in Kilmallock in Limerick, Ireland.
Once a year I am lucky enough to get to visit this centre (I join the UL Photo Soc just for this) and take as many pictures as I want.
For more information check out their webpage: Animal Magic
Best viewed large on black. Just click image.
(Cygnus olor)
© by Michael Devereux. All Rights Reserved.
No use of any of my images is permitted without my prior consent. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs.
Blue Eyed Crow
Best viewed large on black. Just click image.
© by Michael Devereux. All Rights Reserved.
No use of any of my images is permitted without my prior consent. Please contact me if you want to use any of my photographs.
Identified here:
www.flickr.com/groups/birdguide/discuss/36682/page142/#co...
More images in the comments.
Photos taken by the river in the University of Limerick.
Press L to view on black.
Best viewed large with L (Interpolation doesn't do the image any favours).
From not too deep in the archives.
The Explorer
(Goldcrest)
Best viewed large with L.
Another shot of a goldcrest, I got earlier in the year in the comments.
Buster the Fox was rescued by Animal Magic when he was a cub and nursed back to health.
Animal Magic is an animal rescue centre and sanctuary based in Kilmallock in Limerick, Ireland.
Once a year I am lucky enough to get to visit this centre (I join the UL Photo Soc just for this) and take as many pictures as I want.
For more information check out their webpage: Animal Magic