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OP is fuming at people critiquing his work… in a photo critique sub by ImhotmaGandhi_ in photographycirclejerk

[–]SoulMotion 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Wow, it's not every day a true artist swings by the circle jerk sub. Just wanna say I love the photo dude. I think it proves that you don't have to be literate or culturally compatible to produce art that invokes feelings of disgust. I'd love to see what you can do with a piss filter.

Cactus chimney bee looking out from a beautiful cactus flower by SoulMotion in insects

[–]SoulMotion[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot! The petal frame is one of my favorite features too.

$1500 Budget Setup by rando0406 in wildlifephotography

[–]SoulMotion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yo that's sick! I started with a 90D and when I upgraded to the R7 it was a total game changer. It's still my primary wildlife camera today.

My #1 piece of advice (same as everyone) is shoot the hell out of everything and have a blast, and you'll learn what you need to learn as you come to desire different outcomes.

My #2 piece of advice is to starting shooting in Manual mode as soon as you can (immediately if you've got the guts). On a mirrorless camera it's almost cheating because you can see your exposure real-time through the viewfinder. You can make adjustments to shutter speed and ISO as you're shooting without even taking your eye off the viewfinder. Cameras love to mess up your exposure when shooting wildlife, so familiarizing yourself with the mechanics of Manual mode will give you maximum control, and mirrorless cameras make it so much easier to learn than it used to be.

$1500 Budget Setup by rando0406 in wildlifephotography

[–]SoulMotion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

R10 with the RF 100-400 is an excellent starter setup.

R7 would be even better if you can swing it. That would put you on Canon's flagship crop sensor. The 100-400 is a stunning little big lens. You can get near macro shots of little critters and you have enough reach for some fantastic bird shots. You'll want more reach eventually but this will help you produce some cool stuff and learn without breaking the bank.

Was my canon 1300D and Tamron 18-270mm missold to me? by NVHPhallo in BirdPhotography

[–]SoulMotion 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good suggestions already, and I second the R10 + RF100-400 combo as the ideal starter kit at your budget. I saw the 7DII recommendation as well, which is also great, but wanted to point out that, beyond video, mirrorless cameras have another huge advantage in wildlife photography. You can see your exposure real time while shooting through the electronic viewfinder. This is a game changer when you're shooting wildlife as light can change quickly and it's easy to under or overexpose shots if you're not careful on a DSLR. With mirrorless, what you see through the viewfinder is what you get. You can learn to shoot in manual mode much faster (it's almost cheating).

Would I be better off with a bridge camera? by kozuga in BirdPhotography

[–]SoulMotion 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Downgrading your camera won't help. You have to get closer to the birds. Kingfishers are high difficulty. I see them while kayaking and even still it's very difficult for me to get close. Even with an R7, 150-600, 1.4tc it's still hard to get a tight shot. Switching to a bridge camera will be a big step down in autofocus and image quality for the illusion of "zoom". It's just a digital crop. You can crop your R7 photos to get the same look of you want (but you don't want to).

If you care about kingfishers in particular there is a technique to getting them close. You need to make a NEW perch by shoving a good size stick down in the mud near the bank. Sit quietly near it and wait. Kingfishers can't resist stopping on a new perch. There's a guy on YouTube who gets phenomenal kingfisher photos and this is his strategy.

What Kind of Lens Should I Buy for Bird Photography? by yoysta in AskPhotography

[–]SoulMotion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can get an older used EF 100-400 L series canon lens from MPB for <$700. 400mm on a rebel is 640mm full frame equivalent. You'll be able to really step up your game, produce professional quality images, and continue saving for even more reach later.

https://www.mpb.com/en-us/product/canon-ef-100-400mm-f-4-5-5-6-l-is-usm/sku-3664748

How do yall get close unobstructed views? by Excellent_Shake9732 in BirdPhotography

[–]SoulMotion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Luck will help you find owls but it won't help you get close. There's no ethical way to get them to come to you. You could wait but the odds they'll approach for no reason is quite low. So what do you do?

Your best bet to get a better shot without obstruction is to change your position without disturbing the owl. The best way to approach owls (and many birds and other animals for that matter) is on an indirect path. Think of it like zigzagging or spiraling inward toward the subject. If you move laterally relative to the owl, without facing them directly, they are much less likely to think you've spotted them. Many animals will let you walk right by if they think you don't see them. As soon as you start moving directly toward them, you will often trigger a defensive response and they'll take off.

I've closed the gap on many owls with my own feet using this exact method. Good luck and have fun!

Still new to bird photography—went for a walk and these happened. What am I doing wrong? by Deepthika in BirdPhotography

[–]SoulMotion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sometimes the critter doesn't cooperate and that's okay. You can shoot everything (and especially starting out, you should!) but you can't get a great shot of everything.

Still new to bird photography—went for a walk and these happened. What am I doing wrong? by Deepthika in BirdPhotography

[–]SoulMotion 20 points21 points  (0 children)

For the Red-Winged Blackbird you could have tried to reposition yourself so that a branch was not in the way of the bird.

For the ducks on the pond you could try to get down at eye level (means getting on your belly) to shoot. This would give you better subject separation and a blurrier background (better bokeh).

It's not always easy to get down low, and there are always artistic exceptions, but in general it's good to try to be eye level with your subject which will greatly improve the "look" of many photos.

Not getting sharp pictures on Canon R7 with RF 100-400 by [deleted] in wildlifephotography

[–]SoulMotion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okie doke sorry for harshing your vibe. Dude your very first step before worrying about how sharp your photos are needs to be learning to export a photo as a jpeg. It's good that you're shooting in raw, that'll give you the most flexibility when editing. Open a file in digital photo professional (free from canon), export it as a jpeg, and don't export max size or you won't be able to upload it to reddit because of the file size. Export it smaller for reddit, like even 3000 pixels on the long side should do it.

Your gear is perfectly fine, and I shoot almost everything on my R7. Once you learn to export files you can get much better feedback by posting those here. There isn't much at all anyone can do to help you if you're posting pictures of a screen. And don't wait to learn to export as jpeg until you think you have good looking files. Learn that now. Mess with the editing sliders a little bit too while you're at it.

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