Birds in black and white

[Elin Laxdal]

Isn´t it amazing how different birds shots look in black and white compared to color ?  I always enjoy seeing the difference when processing bird shots.

This was taken last night – while shooting the loons on the lake a very brave dunlin did all it could to catch and keep my attention – probably to divert it from its nest close by.

Shake it baby

[Patrick]

Yes i fully agree they can look splendid just like this one you posted , i always have a look to see how they look in mono , i find crows can look magic in black and white , ravens , rooks , and the  beautiful jackdaw work a treat 🙂 , these are mostly what i see round this way but there is lots of waterfowl that will and do look fantastic when seen in black and white.

Lovely shot Elin and thanks for showing 🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks Patrick

[Frogdaily]

Elin, love the way the patterns in the bird mimic the pattern in the rock – great capture and will be a great Throwdown – thank you for starting it

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks Belinda – look forward to seeing more of your.

[Frogdaily]

[Frogdaily]

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks Belinda 🙂 The top shot is absolutely fantastic ! Great story, movement, composition work very well in B&W. The lower shot is lovely.

[Patrick]

Yes , Two lovely shots Frog thank you for showing them 🙂

[Frogdaily]

Thank you Patrick

[Frogdaily]

Thank you for your kind feedback Elin, much appreciated

[Patrick]

 

[Elin Laxdal]

Ah one of my faves – love their fierce looking eyes – and hairdo on a windy day. Lovely shot Patrick.

[Patrick]

Thank you Elin , Beady eye watched every move i made haha.

[Kenneth Wong]

@patrickw-2 Very nice.

[Patrick]

Thank you very much Kenneth

[Federico Alegria]

good initiative, hope it gets crowded in no time! 🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

A golden plover male that made a great effort to stay in front of my lens earlier today. Probably diverting attention away from his nest.

[beth]

shot against a cloudless blue sky

[ElinL]

Stunning shot – is it an egret ? The good thing about clear blue skies in the background is how you can play with them.

[beth]

@elax, yup, it’s a great egret.  blue skies are great for the background, but they can make it hard to get a good exposure.  i lost a few feather details on the egret’s backside.

[Patrick]

Super frame Beth , i would have that on the wall 🙂 , thanks for posting

[beth]

thanks patrick.  i’ve sold it a few times.

[Patrick]

Good stuff i can see why , lovely one 🙂

[Tersha]

[Elin Laxdal]

Nice capture Diane. What species is it ?

[Tersha]

Thanks Elin, I think it’s a goshawk. It sits in the garden sometimes looking for an easy meal!

[Patrick]

Gorgeous bird Tersha 🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

Egg thief and chick killer

[Patrick]

Gorgeous shot , i would not like to have that reputation 🙂

[beth]

looks like a  shot out of an old viking movie.  like we’re waiting on odin to show up.

[Patrick]

Black headed Gull

[Elin Laxdal]

Also an egg thief and chick snatcher – a noisy one – well caught 🙂

[Patrick]

They move so fast and it always looks effortless it can look like a lazy wingbeat they have then they are on to any loose picking they spot.

[Elin Laxdal]

Caught this one sneaking around silently looking for eggs and chicks for dinner.

[Patrick]

Not seeing your photo Elin , could just be me will look again in a while @elinlaxdal

[ElinL]

It was uploaded all right – @Admin – could you please help ?

[Patrick]

not seeing it 🙁

[ElinL]

Me neither

[Patrick]

Ah so not just me , I am not sure what is going on but some days i look at the blog and all the latest news and info was found at the bottom then a few hours later it is back at the top ( where it should be ) it must be something to do with time zones for the server to update , It is all i can think of.

[ElinL]

Its there – ta ta !!!

[Patrick]

Can now see it , lovely frame .. it looks like it has seen a few things ie not a youngster 🙂

[Tersha]

[ElinL]

Super shot Diane – well caught !

[Patrick]

Batman , i just need robin to show up 🙂

[ElinL]

I have seen this starling shot before – loved it then and still do. A great moment you caught there lol.

[Patrick]

This is a new shot Elin shot this only last week 🙂 ..

 

[Elin Laxdal]

Patrick – you have posted a shot of a very wet starling before – or am I dreaming ?

[Patrick]

Elin you are 100 percent correct that other one it does look very like this so i can see why it looks like the same image , you are def not dreaming my friend 🙂

[Kenneth Wong]

Very interesting exercise. I tried converting a few of my images just to see what they would look like.

[Kenneth Wong]

[Kenneth Wong]

 

[Kenneth Wong]

[Kenneth Wong]

Something went wrong with this upload…going to try again…

[Patrick]

All lovely images Kenneth

[Kenneth Wong]

[ElinL]

Brilliant series Kenneth – all of them work great in black and white. The owl is my fav.

[Kenneth Wong]

Thanks @elax.

I not sure how much I like it in B&W. Here’s what it looks like in color:

I made the picture in early September and I think that the Fall color and mood set by the golden hour light in the background gets lost.

[Elin Laxdal]

It is lovely in colors – but I think it really excels in B&W. Maybe its the expression in the owls face that becomes more noticeable – the look in its eyes as if its thinking “who the hell is this one-eyed guy”

[Kenneth Wong]

@elinlaxdal Thanks, I really appreciate your opinion.

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Jeesh, there are some crackers in here. I gotta get on this!

[ElinL]

🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

A shot from last night – the second pair of loons with their little ones fresh out of the eggs, probably only a day or so old.

 

[Patrick]

Beautiful shot , majestic birds 🙂

Has your weather improved much ? , we have had a months rain in the first 10 days of july .. no such thing as a summer these days .. i’m just glad skin is waterproof 🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks Patrick – they are the coolest of birds. You poor guys seem to have gotten our rain by some cosmic mistake. Now it is back to where it belongs 😉

[beth]

wonderful atmosphere elin!  the mist in the air is fantastic.

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks Beth. It is not mist – it is flies. Dust mosquitos we call them – with an occasional stinging variety in between.

[beth]

that’s hilarious.  they look just like rain.  i’d hate to be in that swarm.

[Elin Laxdal]

A lot of people run or bike without nets in the area – I wonder what their lungs look like. You get used to it 🙂

[Frogdaily]

What an awesome experience Elin to capture these precious little ones – would love to have been there to see them.

[ElinL]

Thanks Belinda – they are a joy to watch 🙂

[Patrick]

Some of the neighbors homing pigeons on the daily fly past

[Elin Laxdal]

Nice – you are lucky to have such lovely neighbours – it is fun to watch them doing their afternoon flight exercise.

[Patrick]

Yes indeed every day unless stormy , they are nice to sit and watch from my back door step with a coffee 🙂 , On the weather side of things it was only last week i notice a group of swans or geese really not sure in formation flying very very high above the house it was almost dust and i missed the opportunity of a nice frame but it was the first birds i noticed that had arrived here very late in the season from god knows where , then the next day i spotted the swifts had arrived and now the goldfinch are knocking about the trees out back … Everything i seen normally gets here about 3 or 4 weeks earlier in years gone past , Our world is truly in a flux.

[Elin Laxdal]

Change in migration can be explained by changes in the winds in the higher atmosphere…. whatever that means in the scheme of things. Late nesting and late chicks can be a problem if winter sets in early. Here the nesting is very late for some species – we had an unusually bad snowstorm late in June that lasted for nearly a week, resulting in thousands maybe tens of thousands of dead migratory birds. Beyond tragic but not the first time in our history. How is your refurbishing coming along ?

[Patrick]

I seen the snow you guys got and i was gobsmacked at the timing of it , the poor birds have not had it easy between bird flu and the climate , Refurbishing is slow to be honest but i can see the finish line thankfully i have one long hallway to paint and then just my kitchen ceilings and walls , I sneaked out a couple of times this week with my camera because i just couldn’t face any more primer haha.

[Frogdaily]

Here is another seagull … I tried getting a pelican but wasn’t happy with it so will keep trying

[beth]

nice, rich tones.  pretty sure you can photoshop a double chin on that gull and call it a pelican.

[Frogdaily]

lol Beth – may have to do that

[Elin Laxdal]

A lovely catch Belinda.

[Frogdaily]

Thank you Elin

[Patrick]

[Elin Laxdal]

Lovely shot – singing its heart out 🙂 What type of bird is it ?

[Patrick]

Not 100% sure but i am convinced it is one of the flycatcher type , this was on the west coast of ireland while i was on holiday , the tree was just outside my bedroom window almost level it seemed like it was calling a mate , it was mid june ? , The place was alive with birds , curlew , oystercatcher , cuckoo , kestrel .. like always never enough time to capture them all 🙂

[Federico Alegria]

natural high-key!

[Patrick]

Thank you mate 🙂

[Patrick]

[Patrick]

[Patrick]

double post , sorry

 

[Elin Laxdal]

Sometimes you think they must be joking

But down it goes

[Patrick]

Beautiful nature Elin 🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks 🙂

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Hi Elin, yes, looks very different in black and white and your photo looks almost abstract. Love the reflection and the composition 🙂

[Elin Laxdal]

Thanks Dahlia 🙂

[Patrick]

Thanks very much Beth 🙂

[Patrick]

[ElinL]

Lovely shots Patrick – clever they are and mischievous. Would not mind having a flock in my backyard.

[Patrick]

Thank you Elin , i counted them and could reach 20 , there is one that since it was born has had some kind of issue with trying to take off , its feathers are not as black as all the other birds they are slight brown , it looks like the feathers have not developed properly , Say that it seems strong and just as cheeky as all the others and holds its space when it comes to eating , The bird can fly ok as long as it has some height to jump from but when it is on the grass in the garden it needs to use a small outdoor gas box to jump up on then jumps onto the fence then once again needs to jump on to the neighbors sat dish ( just bunglow height ) once he jumps from the dish he is on the roof safely and can fly ok from that spot , a few times he /she tried to take off in a panic and landed in my bushes then on the same day it landed in the hanging basket on the fence haha ,  i will try get a short vid clip and show you how it gets on the roof.

[Elin Laxdal]

What a sweet story – thanks for sharing Patrick.

[Patrick]

He/She was not for playing today ha , it sat on my roof basking in the sun

[Elin Laxdal]

Sometimes a girl needs a quiet day lol

[Patrick]

Haha , true 🙂

[Author]

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