A Very Close Water Rail

[Olybirder]

We went for a walk to Oulton Broad this afternoon in the glorious sunshine. A couple of families were feeding the ducks and when we went to have a look we were amazed to see a Water Rail amongst them, feeding in the open. These birds are notoriously shy and I usually only catch glimpses of them amongst the reeds.

It was a wonderful, unexpected treat to be able to photograph one out in the open, 2-3 metres away in superb light.

E-M1 and 75-300 II.

Ron

[Bengeo]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Amazing shots. Perhaps it was very hungry! Never seen one staying in the open like that.

Andy

[Greytop]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

An opportunity you have quite clearly grabbed with both hands.
Stunning shots Ron.

[Olybirder]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Thanks for the comments, Andy and Huw. It was one of those rare occasions when everything unexpectedly comes together, completely out of the blue. I am still buzzing.

Ron

[tomphotofx]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Absolutely stunning shots, right time, right place, great light too.

Tom

[PeterBirder]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Wow.
A fantastic bit of luck and great shots.
I've never seen one out in the open like that either.
My son takes the Grandchildren to Oulton Broad to "feed the ducks" but sadly I doubt he'd recognise a Water Rail.

Thanks for sharing.

[Wee man]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Super detailed shots.

[DavyG]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Excellent images Ron and well caught.

Did you carry out any pp on these pics?

If so, how do you process these?

Dave

[Mrs T]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Wow, those are great Ron. Looks like you made the best of the opportunity.

[Martin2901]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

I echo all the comments. What a great find and fantastic images.
Well done indeed

[Olybirder]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Did you carry out any pp on these pics?

If so, how do you process these?

Many thanks for all the kind comments.

I always shoot Raw these days and develop the images with Lightroom 5, Dave. When photographing birds I find that I am so busy following the bird in the viewfinder and looking for the right moment to press the button that I don't have much time to 'fiddle' with the camera settings, so Raw gives me the opportunity to correct most problems at home later.

I follow a fairly standard workflow, adjusting the various sliders as necessary, but the light was so good for these shots that they didn't require too much adjustment.

Ron

[David Morison]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Lovely shots and in good light. Although skulking in the breeding season their numbers increase a lot during the winter from migration and in cold weather more are seen in the open. I remember on this or another forum a few years ago someone posted images of one on a garden bird table!

David

[wellyboot]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Absolutely stunning Ron. Definitely made my day!

[StephenL]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Those are lovely sharp shots of a very shy bird.

[DavyG]

Re: A Very Close Water Rail

Many thanks for all the kind comments.

I always shoot Raw these days and develop the images with Lightroom 5, Dave. When photographing birds I find that I am so busy following the bird in the viewfinder and looking for the right moment to press the button that I don't have much time to 'fiddle' with the camera settings, so Raw gives me the opportunity to correct most problems at home later.

I follow a fairly standard workflow, adjusting the various sliders as necessary, but the light was so good for these shots that they didn't require too much adjustment.

Ron

Thanks Ron,

I normally use PS CS5 however, it's been so long since I spent any real time carrying out pp on my images that I can't remember how I used to do it.

I'm considering taking up the Adobe offer for Oly users to access PS and Lightroom CC as this will give me access to the Adobe RAW converter for my E-M1 files.

Congrats again on your excellent images.

Dave