View from the "outhouse"

[donlfaulkner]

Here's a few from the "outhouse" taken this afternoon. Shot in AV mode (haven't yet decided if I like AV or Manual best) with flash. I redid the curtain with a split down the center. It works better.

Still have a few minor adjustments to make. Mostly for creature comfort.

Been having problems with Mr. Squirrel stealing all the food so the bird attendance was down as I'm adjusting the bird seed allotment and types, trying to find feed the birds like that the squirrel doesn't like. The high wind could have been a factor, also.

It seems to me that my biggest difficulty is with focus so I tried to pay particular attention to that. How did I do? Any other comments you can think of will also be helpful. Thanks for looking.

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[Salth2o]

Very good photos Don. I find the seed and the bird bath alittle distracting though.

I love shooting from blinds and I may have a few suggestions.

Try using natural branches or driftwood that you can drill several 1/2" holes into. Be sure that you drill the holes where they can not be seen from the camera angle. Fill the holes with seed and the birds will perch for a photo when they feed. I have had good luck with finding drift wood with natural holes and crevasses that challenge the birds to feed. If you can find one with holes big enough to stuff peanuts into, the woodpeckers will be back again and again. Just hide the seed from the camera and it will look natural. Experiment with several branches interlocked for more perches and seeding.

If you place your new props out in the open with the background far far away, you will get better DOF. You may find that they regularly land on the same perch to feed so getting cool landing photos are possible.

Another way to attrack birds is to use a water drip. Its easy to make one and the birds love it. Here is a link.
Using a Water Drip to Attract Birds | Outdoor Photo Gear

Great looking outhouse by the way.

[wapiti]

Ditto on what Louis said.

[DigitalScape]

Nice sharp images, Don - The object in the third image (right side) is a bit distracting. As the others have said, if you did not see the collection of bird seed, the "natural-ness" of the image would be improved.