I notice you are junior member so clearly there are many things you can learn & maybe just as many you could teach me. I hope the following helps as its meant as help rather than critical appraisal.

I imagine you are disappointed that they are not sharp or not perhaps focused correctly. I also imagine its very difficult to get this right. Your camera has probably got a servo mode & once you get focus will keep it when the bird moves. Also take shots using the motor drive so you get multiple frames per second but be careful to ensure you get focus right since you could find you take many shots all out of focus because the attention in the first instance was not precise. If you have custom functions for birds in flight you can employ outer focusing points to assist keeping the bird in focus.

A trick that you can use is to ensure your shutter speed is at least above 1000 sec that way you are not going to get softness caused by the slightest movement. The second image looks small considering you are using a 500mm lens? Were you to far off?

Gerry

Hi Patricia you must be well as the portfolio has started to burgeon again. I really like this the angle the colours & the relaxed nature of the pose my one niggle the distance above their heads versus the tight crop to the girls feat. I have learned since doing weddings to make a conscious effort to point the lens towards the earth this may help you!

Gerry

i really like this the idea is great very absract & well framed. my kind of image! for me there are two things i would have improved on. firstly focus its difficult but i guess you have not got the focus quite right as on my monitor it looks unsharp (of course i may be wrong). secondly though i am not a complete advocate of having everything straight if you are looking for symmetry it pays to adjust the perspective to get a flat straight image it assists in this feeling. sure this is matter of opinion but i can't help but think it would have improved this no end.

i hope my comments are not construed in any other way than helpful.

its a moot point andrew. i am inclined to agree with you but in this instance it really does detract. why? well technically it is possible to achieve focus on both birds. some cameras sure will not have the speed built in to focus quick enough but top end semi-pro & pro machines will. most bird photographers pride themselves on achieving crisp sharp images of the birds plumage so will find it difficult to like a blurred capture albeit of such a dramatic event.

if your camera has the feature put it on a1 servo mode this will maximise the focus speed. to avoid choosing aperture or shutter speed put it on programme (if it works in servo mode then if not select av mode) check the manual under sports shhoting & make any custom adjustments accordingly.

hop you don't think me being bombastic i though i might just help. if you want to pm me feel free.

gerry

this is a nice shot that could have been even better were the tiger looking into the lens. its a difficult scene because of the dark background which looks under exposed while the fur to the left of the nose & right eye is overexposed. i am not sure the twigs to the top right add anything or for that matter those by his flanks.

how to correct this well i might have taken more shots & attempted to get one with his face facing the camera that way you would avoid the overexposure since the sunlight is coming from the tigers right.

as i say it is a nice image but one i think could have been improved on.

gerry

if you look to the left the horizon slopes away. many of the top landscape shooters have foreground interest at the least & on beach scenes like this will be an object like a large rock or boulders taken at such an angle that it leads the eye into the image. the key is getting the foregound exposed well & thats the tricky bit. you can use fill flash but its difficult to get it so it looks natural so thats why many top shooters use filters or do some work in ps. background interest is difficult on seascapes a boat perhaps or better still alter the angle of view so as to create a background like a sweeping cliff line. the key for all this is balanced exposure that in sunsets & sunrises is difficult because of the low shadows. sunsets alone sure can be stunning & i am like you i reach for my camera when one is there if i have it to hand but without additional interest they can be a bit bland.

i do realise that your intentions may just be posting pics you took & are not here for critique so please don't take my feedback in any other way than its meant; positively!

gerry

it is a nice scene though the foreground is rather bland & there is little to hold the sunset together in the background and unfortunately the horizon is not straight. a simple adjustment using rotate in ps or any other proprietary software will fix the horizon bringing interest into an image means choosing a different location i know thats not always easy.

gerry