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Bob the Builder…swallow style
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I was amazed to see swallows so close to a hide in Wexfords North Slob. After a couple of minutes one of them came in through the hatch in the hide and landed on the spring over the door. The pair were building a nest inside the hide!! I got my young lad to sit almost in the hatch that they came in through once they had exited so that I could get a close up shot next time they tried to enter (you gotta make the shots somehow :wink: ). I was lucky that there was a length of timber protruding about 10ft away from me that they landed on. Here’s the result. Again, it’s a simple picture but the addition of the building materials is a nice extra.
OK, the story isn’t up to Aidans masterpieces but here’s the photo anyway :D
Not many of us have been lucky enough to shoot one of these guys up close. I sure haven’t. Well done.
What processing did you do to the photo?
Fantastic capture. Lovely colours and dof. I was trying to shoot these myself today
at a derelict house near Navan but came home with nothing. Amazing closeup.
Great work indeed.Rob.
To be honest Aidan, very little. I didn’t think the head/eye area were sharp enough as the auto focus had picked up the body as the centre point so I applied a freehand area around the head to mid body with feather 20 and added a sharp mask to strength 150, threshold 1.9, then cropped to fill the frame. It was taken from about 10ft with a Bigma f8, ISO400 and EA +1.3. I’ve added the original below. The only thing done with the original is it was compressed to 800×600 and sharpened.
If you’re in Wexford these are building at the moment on the new 2 level hide on the entrance to the carpark in the North Slob. They’re in the lower hide but I do see a nest in the upper hide too. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel when they’re this close.
Thanks Rob.
I didn’t go out with the intention of catching this. It’s kinda difficult not to when they’re building about 2ft over your head. I tried to get a few of them doing the building with a flash but none bar one were worth even keeping. I may post this one later but the focus is way off being in the dark and the bugger had red eye :lol:
“the auto focus had picked up the body as the centre point “
OK … I use centre point focusing. I’ll meter of what I need to meter from, focus on the eye and compose the shot. 99.9999% of the time, the eye should be what you focus on and should be what is sharpest.
I noticed there was a slight softness in the shot.
I’ll usually sharpen the entire image. I shoot RAW so the shot always needs to be sharpened. I also figure that I’ll always sharpen more itnelligently than the camera would if I shot JPEG.
On the crop, I’d leave a little more room on the left while trying to keep a 6*4 ratio.
Yeah, I had tried focusing on the eye but the lens is a heavy thing to use without tripod but I had it leaned on the hide wall but it used to hunt way into the background. I was hoping the body focus for something so small would cover it all – mistake #1. :oops:
I would usually sharpen after all else was done but I did make a slip up in this one. I selectively sharpened up the head to match the rest of the body. But after compression I selected not to sharpen again obviously causing the soft look – mistake #2! :oops: :oops:
I appreciate the advice Aidan. I’ve a long way to go to catch up with your quality & range. Advice and pointers from this site are always welcome coz I ain’t no expert. :)
A big lens is a tough thing to get used to. I’d highly recommend getting a monopod … a decent Manfrotto monopod and a store brended ball-head cost me around ?35 up in Belfast. I’ll use that combo if I’m out and about shooting. It’s light, easy to carry and quick to set up.
We must organise an outing to the Slobs someday , Have heard a lot about it.But a good knowledge of the area is essential and the times of the year to visit. Its a great shot and as Aidan said not easy to get close to these guys.I like the way the Angle of the perch hes sitting on brings the eye to the center of the image.
Thanks John.
There’s 4 hides at the slob, a large lake, visitor centre where you can feed the “ducks” and a viewing tower complete with 2 telescopes and it’s on the sea front. It’s all well contained and the winter is possibly the best time of year for migrant birds but it still contains a lot of local residents. I don’t know avout venturing further into the slob lands as there are a few restrictive notices on locked gates around the area. For the more adventurous the Raven Point side may be a better approach. Although I live in Wexford I haven’t visited the slob that often. Aidan may be a better advocate of it’s strengths, timing etc. but you can get up close and personal with many breeds of birds (See below). I also spotted goldfinches as well as the more common garden birds in the half hour I was there.
I’ve been a few times. Couldn’t see anything from the hides … the wildlife was always on the other side of the lake. My best time was when I walked to the end of the Raven Wood and along the wall. You CANNOT cross this wall into the reserve. Sat on top a month or so ago, I did see a Hen Harrier hunting and at a distance saw plenty of Little Egrets, Swans, Oystercatchers, gulls, etc.
Huge population boom there, Lady’s Island and the little known (and hard to find) Tacumshane Lake every Winter.
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