michali Posted March 3, 2010 Share #1 Posted March 3, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Sony Alpha 850 & Leica Vario-Elmar 105-280mm Perfect light yesterday afternoon. European Roller- One of my favorite birds. These birds migrate south to Africa from Spain, the Eastern Mediterranean, Poland and as far away as Central Asia. They spend the summer (October to April) in the Southern hemisphere and then return to North Africa, Europe and Central Asia. This northerly migration is a spectacular sight and takes place in early April with flocks of birds numbering hundreds of thousands all rapidly departing within a few hours. It’s as if an instruction to immediately head north has been sent out! Sadly their numbers are rapidly declining as a result of mainly being hunted along their migration route. Their conservation status is now considered as “threatened”. Thanks for viewing. [ATTACH]190856[/ATTACH] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 3, 2010 Posted March 3, 2010 Hi michali, Take a look here European Roller. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
stuny Posted March 3, 2010 Share #2 Posted March 3, 2010 Mike - Are they hunted for their feathers? Beautiful shot; beautiful subject. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share #3 Posted March 3, 2010 Mike - Are they hunted for their feathers? Beautiful shot; beautiful subject. Stuart- Thank you as always for your comments. They're hunted mainly for pleasure; as is common in many Mediterranean countries any and all birds are fair game for sport shooting. In places like Oman they're hunted for food, they're considered a delicacy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinchico Posted March 3, 2010 Share #4 Posted March 3, 2010 Mike Beautiful shot I think they are hunted for there meat. Herb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
George James Posted March 3, 2010 Share #5 Posted March 3, 2010 Mike, Superb shot, beautifully sharp and a lovely catchlight in the bird's eye. The Sony Alpha / Leica combination is certainly producing remarkable results. George Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauledell Posted March 3, 2010 Share #6 Posted March 3, 2010 Mike, A great shot with lovely composition, colors and sharpness. Thanks for posting and the narrative. It is very interesting. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaibleu Posted March 5, 2010 Share #7 Posted March 5, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Could you please expand on the Leica/Sony combination? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share #8 Posted March 5, 2010 Could you please expand on the Leica/Sony combination? To cut a long story short, after some research I bought a Sony Alpha 850, a reasonably priced full frame DSLR with the sole intention of using it as my "R solution". I converted a couple of my R Lenses using LETAX mounts. It all works perfectly, focus to infinity is achieved, exposure and focus are all fully manual. I prefer it this way for wildlife, which is what I'm using this kit for. I posted another thread with more details and pics of the converted lenses. http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-forum/116763-r-lens-solution-via-sony-dslr.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share #9 Posted March 5, 2010 Herb, George and Paul- Thank you for taking the time to comment, much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglouis Posted March 5, 2010 Share #10 Posted March 5, 2010 Lovely shot. Interesting camera/lens combination! Is that significanlty cropped? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share #11 Posted March 5, 2010 Louis- Thank you for your comments. To answer your question, it's cropped to 30%, this Roller was quite relaxed and I managed to get about 4 meters away, in my Land Rover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaibleu Posted March 7, 2010 Share #12 Posted March 7, 2010 Thank you Mike. I was hoping that a specific adapter would exist similar to the 4/3 I now use with an Olympus body (E-30), but which does not give full justice to my R lenses, and furthermore is useless with WAs including the 28 PC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdb Posted March 8, 2010 Share #13 Posted March 8, 2010 Exquisite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share #14 Posted March 8, 2010 Thank you Mike.I was hoping that a specific adapter would exist similar to the 4/3 I now use with an Olympus body (E-30), but which does not give full justice to my R lenses, and furthermore is useless with WAs including the 28 PC. I believe that you can use an R adaptor with the Canon system. Novoflex among others make an R to Canon adaptor, which does not necessitate changing the mounts as I've done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share #15 Posted March 8, 2010 Virgil- As always thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vla Posted March 8, 2010 Share #16 Posted March 8, 2010 mike, impressive shot, perfect in any way. lighting and sharpness are such that for a moment i was not sure whether this is a shot of real bird in its habitat or some sort of studio set-up. of course, after looking at the eyes and studying the background this becomes clear. however, to me this weird ambiguity makes this picture particularly intersting. markus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albert Posted March 8, 2010 Share #17 Posted March 8, 2010 MIKE When I grow up I will be very proud of such a sharp well-orchestrated photograph. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allamande Posted March 9, 2010 Share #18 Posted March 9, 2010 Mike, I hope someday you will use all this to raise some consciousness about the plight of all these magnificent creatures. I want to say "how can anyone hunt them for pleasure or for any purpose?" but I know better and I shouldn't say. The image conveys how lovely they are in the strongest way possible. Ece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share #19 Posted March 9, 2010 Markus and Al- You are too kind with your comments, thank you. I was extremely fortunate that the light was just perfect that afternoon. Mike, I hope someday you will use all this to raise some consciousness about the plight of all these magnificent creatures. I want to say "how can anyone hunt them for pleasure or for any purpose?" but I know better and I shouldn't say. The image conveys how lovely they are in the strongest way possible. Ece Ece- Thank you for your comments I really appreciate them. Without wanting to get controversial or political on the Forum, people however must be aware, we are presently facing a major onslaught on Africa's wildlife, especially elephant and rhino. This is driven mainly by Chinese and Vietnamese poaching syndicates with big money behind them. All this for human vanity and stupidity; elephant ivory for trinkets and rhino horn for aphrodisiac potions! The statistics of animal numbers being poached at present are horrific and compare with the dark days of the early to mid 1980s when close on 400, 000 elephants were slaughtered. My group is in the process of launching a world wide media campaign to raise awareness and stop the slaughter before it's too late. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicanut2 Posted March 13, 2010 Share #20 Posted March 13, 2010 Excellent picture, makes me wish I didn't sell my 280mm F/4. Cheers Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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