Bird photography competition - Discussion

purpleclouds

purpleclouds

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Phil
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As the quality of work in these two forums keeps on increasing, and seemingly the number of regulars too, would anyone be interesting in creating a small competition?

The aim of it would be not necessarily who gets the most fine feather detail, but we could include points for the techniques used etc. I think this would then promote a better use of field craft, and really help some members develop or hone their skills. Wildlife photography has always been about innovation, and I like to think on here, we are full of it :D

Details could be ironed out..but here is roughly how I might do it..

- Pick a species for everyone to concentrate on
- Set a deadline - around 2 weeks, so that at least those who can only do weekends, at least then have 4 days.
- Set equipment limits - 300 - 400mm? Or perhaps for example, robins...50mm to make it more fun and experimental?
- Votes cast by forum members? We could even try to get in outside judges when it matured a little?

Discuss :D
 
I need to improve so I would be up for this
cracking Idea::thumbs::thumbs:
 
As long as bloody Robins and Mute Swans a re banned. Sick of em;):D:lol:
 
toxicris said:
I need to improve so I would be up for this
cracking Idea::thumbs::thumbs:
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Fantastic :D Any ideas to throw in to the mix?

BRASH said:
As long as bloody Robins and Mute Swans a re banned. Sick of em;):D:lol:
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:lol: Well to make it fair, we need to concentrate on species that are readily available to all...and remember, innovation! Make them look different, take a WOW photo!

Of course, as people become more confident we can move up the species list ;)
 
purpleclouds said:
Fantastic :D Any ideas to throw in to the mix?



:lol: Well to make it fair, we need to concentrate on species that are readily available to all...and remember, innovation! Make them look different, take a WOW photo!

Of course, as people become more confident we can move up the species list ;)
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Yeh but every body who posts a Robin thinks it's a Xmas card and Mute Swans are so easy to get at but most pics I have seen on here of them are a bit samey and not interesting. That's just my opinion though and I'm not suggesting I could do any better, just sayng unless they are so different (like the ones of the Robin on the snowy boot a while back) they simply bore me.
 
In flight? Trying to pull a worm from the ground? Never seen shots like them :p I've not seen one on here that was shot with a 50mm prime either...so the story behind how it was achieved would be more important than the shot itself...which is where innovation comes in :)

But I know what you are saying, robin on a branch is just a robin on a branch...details can be ironed out ;)
 
Up for this. Not too worried about creating a competition(might put some off) but targetting a particular species/setting sounds good.
 
Could be up for this if I have the time, been abit busy of late,

Nice to see my 50mm Robin is still alive and in the mix. :D
 
I think that this is a really good idea. I'd be up for it.
 
Veracocha said:
Up for this. Not too worried about creating a competition(might put some off) but targetting a particular species/setting sounds good.
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It doesn't have to be some official competition type thing..just a mutual effort amongst those who wish to partake!

A lot of the shots on here now are incredibly good, but it isn't very often that they are obtained 'interestingly'...getting a shot of a bird with 800mm is something a lot of us could do as we know how to use cameras...but we can't all afford the luxury.

Obtaining the same shot with 300mm would be far more interesting...especially with the more rare species! I can't remember who it was, but caught the SEO and barn owls with a 250mm lens...that was impressive, sure they wern't as detailed/close as Ian or Joe's, but the story behind was more interesting...and with a little more work the results could improve even further!

I've been flicking through my Wildlife Photographer of the Year book and some of the shots in there are awesome, and the overwhelming majority are shot with normal, everyman lenses...which shows it can be done.

I just want to get people thinking about how to improve their shots and more importantly, how they go about getting them...as this is what wildlife photography is about!
 
Great idea, I would defiantly be up for this, maybe split it up into sections to how many years you have been photographing wildlife.
 
Sounds interesting and I would be up for this - are you thinking of having one competition or something ongoing - if ongoing they maybe the sections could be
common garden bird in a bush/on ground/on feeder/on unusual object
waterfowl on water/in flight/
domestic bird

When I first joined TP there only seemed to be a couple of bird photographers who really stood out, now there are many - with, it seems more specialist photographers joining all the time.
 
Good suggestion Phil.
 
I might be up for this too ;) waiting to see how it pans out now:popcorn:
 
Excellent idea.

One of the reasons I brought my new super duper zoom lens was to do more bird photography. Only one problem at moment is DHL have it!
 
Good idea. I'll join in time/weather permitting. I've been thinking about gulls with a wide angle for a while, just waiting for the right weather
 
I think you should just get this up and running. Perhaps as the person who thought of it, you should simply choose a species/category, set a date for final submissions, and then announce it.

Great idea...
 
I'm glad people are interested....I think I will write something up tomorrow once I am home again :)

Wide angle gulls sounds like a good one...any gull, no more than 50mm...
 
This sounds like a great idea. I would have a go, providing I have the time. I think setting a 2 week limit would be a good idea. Should really generate some interesting shots (and no doubt a very average one from me!)
 
CumbrianCanary said:
This sounds like a great idea. I would have a go, providing I have the time. I think setting a 2 week limit would be a good idea. Should really generate some interesting shots (and no doubt a very average one from me!)
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cosmix3 said:
How long we got.....


We must be mad..... :help: :help: :help:
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20 minutes....ready, set, GO! :nuts: :lol:

2 weeks should be enough for gulls...most streets have one or two to go around :lol: I've already got my shot in my head, however it'll mean a trip to somewhere quite unpleasant :(
 
You`ll be fine Phil, Manchester is one big tip.................:naughty:
 
Could be up for this if I have the time, been abit busy of late,
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The story of my life - but sometimes one needs recreation so I'll try it too
 
OK, so it's 'Wide Angle Gulls' and we have until Sunday 8th March yeah...? Can you confirm purpleclouds please... thanks.
 
toonamp said:
A champion idea :)
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You in then? :D

Official announcement

Theme: Gulls
Equipment: Wide angle (50mm max on a 1.6x sensor, 75mm full frame)
Deadline: 5pm Sunday 8th March

I think for the first one, if we keep it in this thread seeing as it is developing nicely...we can see how many entrants we get etc...then ask them upstairs if we can create a poll and get some votes in :) Then from there on have a new thread for each round!
Tell me if I've missed anything :bonk:
 
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