Welcome visitor Photo

Photographer’s Note

New Zealand fantail.
This shot was taken in my back yard. I have planted a lot of trees over the past couple of years and now the birds are starting to visit. This little guy visited and I grabbed my camera thinking it was going to be easy because these birds are really tame but stay just out of arms reach, perfect I thought. But they don’t stand still!! I can fit 40 shots on my memory card and this was shot number 39, most of the others show just a tail feather or worse just a blur.
This shot is cropped out of a horizontal image.
Enjoy.
Cheers, Paul.

Photo65Net, guillaumejm, gracious, hyasar, emjleclercq, gypsygirl58, plimrn, Didi, Cricri, Cretense, ChrisJ, jaywalker, balatrek, josepmarin, elmec, pboehringer, jhm, MLINES, alainh, sufi, cunejo200, pablominto, thea0211, feather, Anna--, jafadabret, napdsp, Vato_Law, parbo, ollie59, izler, chc, tobourge, tigra, AiresSantos, sebcz, riclopes, maximage, tonyking, rushfan2112, Pitoncle, broken_nail, hispic, kiks has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

poulinp (4464) 2006-12-29 16:48

Nice shot, with a beautiful DOF. The bird is sharp. Very good.

MIG13 (0) 2006-12-29 16:49

Not a perfect pic, but a very amazing and lovely one, Paul! A nice visitor in a well composed image! Thanks for sharing! best wishes for a Happy New Year! Miguel.

devimeuxbe (55865) 2006-12-29 16:49

Hi Paul
Wouaaa
This is a wonderfull meeting with this bird. I like the DOF and the sharpness.
congratulations.
Bertrand

guillaumejm (9072) 2006-12-29 17:04

Hello paul,
Perhaps number 39, but perfect!. The distance setting is really fine. You've only the bird in the focus and it makes great effect.
Kind regards and happy new year 2007.
JMarc

gracious (20017) 2006-12-29 17:07

Hi Paul,
Thank you for much for your hard effort for showing us this wonderful captured of fantail!
great on colour, sharpness and details especially the two beautiful eyes from this little fellow!
wishing you a wonderful and happy new year!
cheers
Tony

hyasar (7367) 2006-12-29 17:11

Hi Paul,

great DOF. Very simple however very impressive shot.

congratulations and happy new year,
Hakan

Emiel_Skyfreak (2976) 2006-12-29 17:18

Nice shot, very narrow DOF, good focus on the animal, lovely. Good colours too. Maybe just a tiny bit broader DOF would be as fine or finer too...having the tail more sharp.
Anyway, fine one!

ahmetgedikli (21877) 2006-12-29 17:26

Hi Paul,
Very good macro shot and excellent depth of field. I wish you a happy new year.
Ahmet

emjleclercq (14276) 2006-12-29 17:36

Lovely bird and lovely portrait, full of life but frozen by the camera.

All the best,

Emmanuel

gypsygirl58 (1329) 2006-12-29 18:08

Hi Paul,
Great close-up of this bird! I know what you mean about them not staying still!! LOL
Wonderful detail, it was worth the 40 photos.
Happy New Year to you! Cheers Tina :-)

plimrn (19610) 2006-12-29 18:42

Hi Paul,
You've captured this adorable fellow well; he's facing the camera, his eyes and eyebrows are sharp, the tail is fanned and the background quiet. Well done!!

As a veteran of at least 1000 bird photos; you can't ask for much more. Flying away is the most common difficulty I've encountered, followed by blurry eyes and then a noisy background. I'm looking forward to trying the really fast lens I got my son for Christmas.
Best wishes for an excellent New Year.
Regards, Pat

Lix (0) 2006-12-29 20:46 [Comment]

Show Comment

partha (13657) 2006-12-29 22:07

Hi Paul,
Great great shot. I know u have got fraction of seconed to capture it.And u managed it wonderfully. Great moments are precious alwayas.
Partha

Photo65Net (43084) 2006-12-30 4:20

Hi Paul,
This 70-210 /4 "beercan" is a great lens.
You got plenty of details from it, and you did great controlling exposure and DOF.
Very nice job,
JB.

[2]

Didi (36078) 2006-12-30 5:37

Hello Paul
Very nice rarely front catch not very simple to do it.
Greetings from France.
Cheers.

pat0500 (21513) 2006-12-30 6:43

Hi Paul,
Lovely great picture, good capture..!
Patience is an important asset, even one on 40 is enough.
The proof here, wonderfull picture...!
Very good shot, I like..
Best regards and...
* Happy new Year * for you and your family.
Patrick

Cricri (43092) 2006-12-30 8:27

Bonjour Paul,
Tout mignon, tout beau, tendre et sympathique image
trés belles couleurs, bon DOF, j'aime beaucoup, bravo
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007
cricri

Cretense (56004) 2006-12-30 9:04

Hi Paul!

This is just perfect! Excellent "portrait" with perfect focus and DOF. Great use of that fence (?) as leading line. Congratulations and best wishes for the New Year!

Hercules

ChrisJ (70171) 2006-12-30 9:16

Hi Paul

I like the sweeping curve of the white tipped fenceline. Excellent use of a shallow dof, with superb fg sharpness on the bird. Good exposure level, lighting, & contrast. Tfs!

Graal (57885) 2006-12-30 10:19

Hi Paul,
fine shot and interesting portrait, good to TN. I like the DOF and colours. Well done photo and captured theme.
Happy New Year 2007!
Aleksander

izmirli (3129) 2006-12-30 10:22

merhaba dear paul
wonderful macro picture.wonderful littly bird.
happy new year 2007.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır

balatrek (7419) 2006-12-30 11:56

Hi Paul,

Beautiful image and great composition, I like the background degraded and the approach on the bird, pleasant colours and a fantastic light, good shot and thanks to share.

Regards and Happy New Year

José

josepmarin (33785) 2006-12-30 13:35

Hi Paul,
well caught this pretty bird, in a difficult shot but with good result. Of course that after much useless patience and many shots because the continuous movement of these nervous little birds. I know what is that, also I have taken some photo from this type.
Good work.
Happy New Year.
Josep

sothy81 (8526) 2006-12-30 13:37

HiPaul, very nice photo. Great shot with this far zoom. Great in focus. Well done. Sothy

elmec (12194) 2006-12-31 7:02

Hello Paul!
Such a lovely photo!
Amazing scene and perfect done!
Congratulations!
Happy New Year!

rossofuoco (6352) 2006-12-31 12:30

Hi Paul.
Bellissima e dolcissima foto.
Ottimo bilanciamento del colore e ottima composizione.
Buon anno.
Renzo

jaywalker (12190) 2006-12-31 14:16

Hi Paul, I love nature photos & this one is very clear, good focus & a well chosens shallow DOF, the overall shot is not perfect, however better than any i have come up with i am terrible with this type of shot i always miss the moment, great light & TFS, kind regards Wilson. Have a great new year.

pboehringer (770) 2006-12-31 18:01

Hi Paul, this a perfect demonstration of the advantage of having a digital camera. #39 is the right. Can you imagine doing this with conventional camera? But you will need a larger memory card for the next year!
Happy New Year!
Peter

fserajian (4477) 2007-01-01 3:14

Hi Paul,

Nice shot, well composed and impressive shot. TFS

Happy New Year

Cheers,

Fara

jhm (82461) 2007-01-01 3:35

Hi Paul,

A very nice macro shot, we can see the eyes of this small bird, this is absolutely a must!
My compliments Paul. Tfs.

Happy New Year!
John.

MLINES (10880) 2007-01-01 4:03

Hi Paul. Excellent clarity in this capture of yhr NZ Fantail, a most attractive bird indeed. You did well to catch this so well. I try to get this sort of shot of a Willy wagtail, similar but even smaller and to date have not had one focused properley. Congratulations. All the best for the year ahead. Murray.

alainh (35363) 2007-01-01 5:04

hello Paul

splendid capture !!!
i like the mouvement perfectly stopped and this short deap of field. a very nice one.

All my best for this new year and full of these kind of pictures !!!
regards
alain

sufi (9568) 2007-01-01 5:50

Merhaba Paul, my friend...
It's a vwey cute bird and beautiful point of view... The DOF, the sharpness and the details on the bird and the moment are perfect...
TFS...
Happy New Year..
Stay well..
Salim.

Henryk_Bilor (20365) 2007-01-01 6:28

Hello Paul
It is great experience to see birds in our own place. I like watching some of them in my garden. Beautiful animal, good colours and excellent depth of field.
Happy New Year

cunejo200 (7157) 2007-01-01 9:47

Hi Paul,
I admire photographers who are into birds. They are far elusive for me and I don't have the patience. Wonderful capture of this fantail. DOF and composition are quite good. Happy New Year. Danilo

pablominto (40600) 2007-01-01 9:49

Hello Paul,
An excellent pose where the bird is living up to its name!
Narrow DOF works well, composition is pleasant and with good clarity in the colours!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Dubsie (342) 2007-01-01 10:14

Hey Paul,
Your visitor actually has an expression!! somewhat like..."oh well, if you must...but I am busy you see!"
So well done!! Your subject is talking to me and I am enjoying it thoroughly.
TFS,
Best,
Durba

sebinho342 (18740) 2007-01-01 10:16

Hi Paul, what a great picture here ! Your DOF is excellent at F4, you managed bokeh with perfection here and manage to get this bird in a brilliant way. I'm sure this bird would be proud to see your picture on TE.
Wish you the best in 2007.

xavshot (62389) 2007-01-01 10:21

Bonjour Paul
supebre bokeh et belle mise au point sur l'oiseau. Les teintes de l'ensemble sont superbes. Très belle photo !
Je te souhaite une belle année 2007
amicalement
Xavier

thea0211 (1355) 2007-01-01 12:58

:) he's a very cute little fellow! ... even if it's shot 39 - very well done - great DOF and beautiful colors - am sure you're backyard is also lovely!
tfs

may 2007 be perfect for you, paul!

cheers,
dora

feather (49860) 2007-01-01 14:13

Well done for persevering. With his head-on view and raised "eyebrows" he looks quite cross with you. Good DOF choice with no unwelcome bg distractions.
Best wishes for 2007
Kath

anesugur (16846) 2007-01-01 14:20

Hi Paul,
This is really nice picture.
Superb sharp and clear composition with beautiful colors.
Thanks and best wishes for new year. Uğur

danyy (68710) 2007-01-01 16:33

Hello Paul,

First of all, all best wishes for 2007.

And now the picture, a perfect use of a DOF (not wide) and perfect focusing on the subject.
Natural lights and colors. A very good job.

Best regards.
Daniel.

Budapestman (41836) 2007-01-01 16:58

Hi Paul!
Beautiful shot! Its a fascinating moment and splendid timing. Very fine imgage.
Happy New Year to you and your family!
George

Anna-- (7739) 2007-01-02 2:46

Ciao Paul,
thanks for the perseverance... and to have us to the end shown this excellently performed shot.
Have a great, happy new year
Anna

jafadabret (39557) 2007-01-02 5:24

Cette mésange est superbe avec une netteté qui paraît renforcée par le flou du fond. Photographier les animaux est très difficile surtout ces petits oiseaux qui n'arrêtent pas de bouger.
Du beau travail !
Jacques

tabora (13638) 2007-01-02 13:42

Bonjour Paul,
Superbe photo d'une rencontre avec ce moineau,j'aime bien sa queue en forme d'éventail.
Un bonne Année
Joseph

daddo (11342) 2007-01-02 17:39

Hi Paul. I can identify with your quest as I tried to photograph this little species when I visited N.Z. You did a marvellous job in terms of composition and the light which emphasize his tail. A purposeful little thing he seems to be, with those beady eyes. Nice work. All the best for 2007- let it be a year of wonderful images and times. Regards. Klaudio.

Angshu (33637) 2007-01-02 22:46

Hello Paul
It is so difficult to get such subjects pose for you ;-)..you've done really well here given the paucity of time to focus & frame. The focus is sport on. Amazing effect of DOF both in front of & behind the cute bird for us to focus on your seemingly cross subject (going by the eyebrows:-))
Regards
Angshu

napdsp (732) 2007-01-03 5:06

Perfect decisive moment. The bird's tail is just brilliant. Lovely DOF. TFS.

Happy New Year.
Nap

vincent24 (9038) 2007-01-03 7:54

Hello Paul,
Perfect focus on the bird,the DOF is so short!the digital gives us the possibility to shot a lot to have the good one,
best wishes for 2007,
vincent

maphoto (8076) 2007-01-03 11:31

Nice presentation Paul, nice DOF and natural surrounding colors, not always easy to get sharp images in this situation, well done !

Vato_Law (11666) 2007-01-03 16:42

Hello Paul,
Nice cropping to ehance the beauty of this little bird. The blurred background also did it's work here on what concerns enhancing the bird. I also like the textures of the structure where the bird is standing. Like the colours of this bird.
Cheers.
Paulo

mumek (17468) 2007-01-03 17:38

Good evening Paul!
Super macro with excellent depth of the field.
Great work. Happy New Year to you and your family
best regards
ziggy

parbo (10970) 2007-01-03 19:22

Hello Paul,

You captured a difficult scene very excellently. I like his blurry tail and blurry background too. Colors, his looks are really splendid. Congratulations.

I wish you and your family a healthy, happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Best Regards,

Ertugrul

ollie59 (776) 2007-01-03 20:20

Hi Paul,
what a great shot ,looks like your pics are def getting better as time goes on ,you did well capturing this little fella as they never stop still for a second ,always bobbing and twiching ,great detail on his face ,i just love his eyebrows
well done and hope you have a great 2007
Andy

capthaddock (28640) 2007-01-03 20:41

Hi Paul - very cute, and all the relevant parts are in focus, they know how to stand still in front of an oncoming car though, sad to say I have run over more birds on NZ roads than anywhere else in the world by far, thankfully no kiwis, and they cause much less body damage than kangaroos.

John_F_Kennedy (31355) 2007-01-04 2:50

Superb close-up. Clear details, sharpness, POV, lighting and composition are wonderful.
Achim

cuneyt-sb (6559) 2007-01-04 5:06

Hi Paul
Great POv and very sharp
Well done
Regards

izler (6) 2007-01-04 11:55

hello paul
here is really cute visitor with its nice exposure. composition, point of view, depht of field, colours, details and plain frame are great
TFS
regards
izler

chc (1468) 2007-01-04 13:54

Beautiful shot.
A nice happy new year card this 39th!
I wish you a Happy new year.
Christophe

Gregtom (7119) 2007-01-05 2:13

Hello, Paul!
You have choosen a really nice title. It suggests, that the bird really has visited You, while You were sitting somewhere in the park... Very well choosen shallow depth of field, so the main theme seems to be really important and clear. Good composition with blurred, curved line in the background. Good job!
regards,
Greg

tobourge (925) 2007-01-05 2:43

Hi Paul,

Patience always pays!!!

Your picture is really sharp. It looks like he was ready to fly away.

Well done!

Tony

prezntime (3945) 2007-01-06 13:26

Wow...
I guess I can't really say more than what has been said already..but the attitude of this little guy is great. THe features of his face really give your friend much personality. He seems to be wondering why you've invaded his personal space 8?}
Very well handled with superb DOF.
Regards,
Chris.

pastadog (12821) 2007-01-06 14:33

Hi Paul - thanks to you and to your "friend" for the patience... 39 attempts, wow! And it was definitely worth, it resulted in beautiful shot, the DOF and sharpness in the bird are superb; congrats! Daniel

Janice (4386) 2007-01-07 1:19

oh Paul, what a cute little fellow. I know they are NOT easy to capture and you have done so well here. Great result, well done.
Janice

AiresSantos (42040) 2007-01-09 3:07

Hi Paul,
Very nice picture with this lovely bird. I like the focus and how you framed the picture.
TFS and greetings
Aires

shirgold (2439) 2007-01-09 14:35

Hi Paul,
Great capture - Wonderful usage of the open apparture, getting only your nice subject sharp and clean, right on spot focus.
TFS - Shir

sebcz (2345) 2007-01-10 4:10

Hi Paul!
Yes, splendid shot. The shallow DoF worked perfectly, you hit the spot like a sniper! It's so shallow even the tail is out of focus! Great one.
Seb

riclopes (32977) 2007-01-10 12:04

Good that you had the patience of taking 39 shots to get this outstanding photo, Paul. Your beautiful bird is perfectly focused and in a great pose - it seems just about to move again. Very good shallow dof to make it stand out more. I love the curve of the blurred fence. Congratulations!
Ricardo

maximage (13369) 2007-01-10 17:13

Bonsoir Paul,
Tout simplement superbe! rien à dire seulement regarder. Un super bon coup.
Amicalement.
max

tonyking (1599) 2007-01-11 5:09

Hi Paul,
I've often thought it would be great to get a pic of one of these little guys. You've done an excellent job here! Persevering has definitely paid off because this is one of the best pics of a fantail that I've ever seen!
Your focal depth is EXACTLY right and the colours, detail, and light are spot on. Just as importantly, through cropping, you've achieved an excellent composition.
I LOVE THIS PIC!!

barrufeto_77 (25797) 2007-01-16 4:28

Hi Paul.

Woooooooooooooow. The moment is really excellent. How you caught this bird is lovely.

My compliments!

Rgs, Oscar

matman (29) 2007-01-17 15:31

Wow, a fantail sat still for a second! The colours in the background match the colours of the bird. Cool shot

Cheers
Matt

veronika (6022) 2007-01-19 11:55

Hi Paul,
excellent, i loooove it :)
You've done perfect cropping here, the bird is so sharp and his expression is so funny :))
Vero (be back)

PS - thnaks for letting me know that i had "1 year" yesterday :)

falcon53 (336) 2007-02-05 16:11

39th time lucky! The shallow depth of field is absolutely stunning.

prumod (8258) 2007-03-13 9:48

hi paul....
you've done a beautiful work... the detail of this small beautiful bird you have captured carefully... nice...
take care...
pramod

rushfan2112 (2965) 2007-04-24 4:49

Hi Paul, I must admit to having an admiration for good wildlife shots - and this one's excellent. I like the way you've isolated the little chap in middle distance. The blurred foreground and background allow the bird to dominate. Superb. Paul.

dyl (0) 2007-09-07 3:40 [Comment]

Show Comment +

sway (360) 2007-09-08 3:29

Great shot. perfect DOF works great to show him off.
Love the details and colours.
Well done.

Pitoncle (3743) 2007-10-09 11:54

Bonjour Paul,
Je découvre ta superbe galerie à l'occasion de ta visite sur la mienne et je dois reconnaitre mon impuissance à choisir une photo plutôt qu'une autre. Je choisis cette photo bien sur pour ses qualités mais surtout parce qu'elle me paraît décalée sur TE car il me semble qu'elle est plus du registre de TN.
A bientôt sur TE pour de nouvelles aventures.
Gérard

giorgimer (21136) 2008-05-05 4:16

Hi Paul,

excellent shot, I like a lot the effect given by the short DOF.

Very well done!

Gio

broken_nail (190) 2008-05-11 23:32

Hi Paul!!!

You captured a fantastic moment... the moment of challenge (you won at the end!).

He is really sweet! Thank you for sharing!

Best Regards
Gatti Matti

donluicu (23925) 2008-05-12 7:13

hi Paul
lovely image, excellent game with the low DoF...

congratulations, it's never easy.

bye

hispic (7399) 2008-09-03 1:43

Hi Paul,
The large blur makes this little visitor stand out a lot. I didn't know the bird in New Zealand has the eyebrow. The blur by large aperture is really beautiful.
Have a nice evening, Hisashi

lybil (942) 2008-11-26 17:04

Hi Paul,
Even it is the 39th picture but you have this opportunity to shot such photo. In netherlands, there is fews species and under the constant rain all the year, you have seldom this scenary to shot. A little bit jalous :)
TFS.
LB

kiks (6065) 2009-02-15 7:00

I have never seen a bird with eyebrows!! Wondeful and i reay like the 'attitude' of this little guy.
Thanks for sharing
KIKs