Goldfinches

As usual I risk my life by identifying birds!  This pair came to feed outside my open French window whilst I was having supper - I took shots between mouthfuls (mine!) They took it in turns to eat niger seeds from the bird feeder whilst the other either kept watch from a branch just above, or scavenged in the bed below.  I prefer the shots without the feeder in view, but what do you think?

I noticed  a green colour cast on the first shot and wonder whether this was because of the low sun lighting the bird through the leaves of the silver birch in which they were sitting.  I therefore rebalanced the colour using the white behind the  eye as the reference, But, experts, is it really white? Am I exchanging one cast for another? Comments please!

Little Downham Horse Trials

On Friday a group of us from Cambridge Camera Club went to the Horse Trials at Little Downham.  Though the weather forecast was dire, we managed to dodge the showers and had a good day with our cameras.  I took two cameras, my Nikon D4 with my trusty 70-200mm f2.8 which accounts for the first 12 of the images and my new Olympus OM-D E-M1 with a 75-300 mm lens which equates to a full frame 150-600 - I was keen to discover if I could use it at 300mm hand held.  I am happy with the results - I'd be interested to hear what my photophilic friends think!

Olympus pics start here - the first 3 are at between 250 and 300mm 

Preparing for an involuntary dismount - the only fall we saw all day - neither rider nor horse was hurt, though I think that the rider's dignity was bruised!  She had lost her stirrups at the previous fence (in the background) and had no time to regain them before take-off over the narrow boat (a fence used in the Olympics 3-Day Event in 2012)

Half Term Outing with Arthur and Joshua - Shepreth Wildlife Park

If it's half term Tuesday, then it's time for an outing with Arthur (5) and Joshua (3.5).  This week we decided to go to Shepreth Wildlife Park where I was playing with my Olympus OMD and 75-300 zoom lens.

The first animals we found were the irresistible meerkats, and then immediately came upon the porcupines which were so close that the lens was just too long.

Arthur then took Joshua firmly in hand to go to find the tigers one of which was obligingly relaxing in preparation for her first meal for three days which would be served a couple of hours later.we were able to get onto the bridge which gives a good high level view over the enclosure.

On to the Red Panda, the wonderful Snowy Owl, the buzzard and a large rodent like beast which sat up to pose for me, but whose name escapes me (prompt me someone!)

A quick visit to the play area and then lunch.

After we had eaten it was lunch time for the big cats.  I was interested that they made the tigers' task of finding their food (if not catching it) challenging.  Even thought the printed paper sacks containing the raw meat didn't generally contribute to naturalistic photos, I thought that the first shot did look a little like an old gent eating his breakfast whilst reading the Daily Telegraph.  All of the feeding shots were taken through square mesh safety fence, so are essentially tight crops down to a single cell in the mesh.  A little retrofitted vignetting reduces the effect of the wire.