MSA O/N October, 2025 - "Birds"

[Don_ih]

the furriest bird I have ever seen

ummmmmm... If that's a bird, it's wearing a costume - fitting for Halloween.

 

[gijsbert]

Geese on a frosty morning in Amsterdam, old one, Minolta CLE TMY

 

[Roger Thoms]

Old, shot at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Nikon 8008s, Nikkor AF 35-135mm f3.5-4.5, Legacy Pro 100

Another old one, shot in the Sunset, San Francisco. Not sure which camera or film.

Also an old one, shot at Ocean Beach, San Francisco On a very windy day.

 

[Don_ih]

Welcome to November. Some excellent last minute images came in last night. Overall, there are some excellent photos of excellent birds here. They range from funny to serious to moody to absurd to pretty and pretty-unfortunate (e.g., dropping your camera after taking the photo).

I choose from the new whenever possible. In this instance, I'm handing the honour of choosing the new theme to @gbroadbridge for his photo of the swan paddle boat - not just for the interpretation of the theme but for being brave enough to probably seem like a stalker creeping around in the bushes taking photos of an unsuspecting family enjoying a fine spring day. So, congratulations to Graham!

 

[500CMShooter]

#1 - New image: 10/29/2025
"Where's Waldo, Where's Birdo?"
Hasselblad 501C with 120mm Makro-Planar lens. T-Max 100 at 100. 1/15 at f/8. Fill light with a Vivitar 283 flash unit aimed slightly under the statue

I had thought of giving up from the very start with this subject, lol, but I wanted a challenge and I sure got one! Also with the nature of black and white reversal this made things a little more complicated I think, more variables. I am always trying to challenge myself.

This owl statue is pretty much dark with the top highlight that looks more punchy in the slide. I used a Vivtar 283 to try to fill in the deep shadows as best as I could. Blasted it with full manual and I could see the statue just suck the light in, lol. A yellow #8 filter was used but it didn't help much with background tone but it did enable me to use the next bigger aperture to throw a little more of the background out of focus. The effect is very slight. I wish the owl was farther from the background. A green filter maybe would have been better but I have used green filters before and never noticed that much of a lighter effect with trees or bushes.

The nearly blending/merging of the owl and the background, on the earlier attempts when it was sunny out, is what made me think of the "Where's Waldo, where's Birdo?" title. This one isn't too bad as the others. This shot was taken when there was no sun out. It was actually a dead-flat day and this frame is the better out of all of the ones I have attempted.


#2 - Old image: New Year's Eve going into 1992
"The Bird"
Kodak point and shoot camera. Probably Kodacolor 100 or Gold 100. Best guess would be 1/30 at f/11, fixed, and definitely with flash.

Hopefully this one will be allowed, lol. If not I will understand. I came across this one just recently and just had to do it. It is a portrait of my late uncle's girlfriend at the time. Sadly she passed in 2019. Had a lot of good times. This was taken six months before graduating high school!

Loved the Birdo pic. Magnificent contrast with great black, grey and white tonal ranges.

 

[chuckroast]

Welcome to November. Some excellent last minute images came in last night. Overall, there are some excellent photos of excellent birds here. They range from funny to serious to moody to absurd to pretty and pretty-unfortunate (e.g., dropping your camera after taking the photo).

I choose from the new whenever possible. In this instance, I'm handing the honour of choosing the new theme to @gbroadbridge for his photo of the swan paddle boat - not just for the interpretation of the theme but for being brave enough to probably seem like a stalker creeping around in the bushes taking photos of an unsuspecting family enjoying a fine spring day. So, congratulations to Graham!

Well done all. Kudos to @gbroadbridge, and, of course to @Don_ih for the topic and this month's oversight.

But what shall the future hold?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Congrats, gbroadbridge!