Thanks both for the comments. I would definitely have liked to get out and about a lot earlier in the day, but unfortunately that was not an option on this trip, so the tips on including suggestions of human activity are especially useful.

Had a spare evening in Berlin recently, so tried to take in a few sights. A bit different from anything I've done recently, so it was nice to experiment. Suggestions on what to do better next time are welcome.



The Brandenburg Gate, cliched postcard style.



Potsdamer Platz from near St Mattias Church



Sony Center

Nice set. I think 4 is my favourite, for the combination of background and bird.

Thanks all, I think you are probably all right. All the subjects were smaller in the frame than I'd have liked, so they are pretty tight crops, and I shot wide open because I wanted to keep the shutter speed at 1/1000 and I didn't really want to push the iso any higher. I had plenty of advice to stop my lens down when I bought it (its actually a 120-400mm Sigma), so next time maybe I should worry less about noise.

As it is I tried some noise reduction in pp, which has probably added to the softness. Might be one of those times when the pictures are technically off, but they do at least give me some record of an interesting day.

Congratulations. Where was it taken?

A few from Brandon Marsh yesterday, where I was hoping to see a kingfisher.


I watched a heron on the edge of the water and it seemed more interested in the bushes than the water. After about 15 minutes stalking, it darted into the bushes and came out with a vole.




The water level in the marsh was pretty low, as this view from one of the hides shows.




It took a while, but I finally spotted a kingfisher flying low over one of the pools. Eventually I figured out where it was perching - almost too far away for a picture.




I enjoyed watching for a while, and eventually it flew to a perch a bit nearer.

I saw a couple of reviews that said something similar. Once the rain stops I'll try and find out.

I've been looking for a longer lens for a while, and my new Sigma 120-400mm arrived today.

Only had about 20 minutes with it before it got dark - just long enough to check its all working, but I'm looking forward to spending more time using it.

Looking back through some of my older pictures I tend to have used to quite a small aperture - even on pictures that I was quite happy with (see below which was F8 ) I guess this might be because people talk about lenses being sharper when stopped down a bit. I'm now thinking that a wider aperture would make the subject pop a bit more.




Thanks again for the advice, I've now got a few things to try the next time I am out.

ccd333,
First of all, thanks for taking the time to look at my pictures and give me some suggestions. The lens I was using was the kit 55-300mm that came with my K-x.

For both shots I was using shutter priority - so I guess I underestimated the speed I would need for birds that are moving. Usually for things that might move, I try fixing the shutter speed and letting the aperture set itself. If I stick with that it sounds like I need to be a bit more proactive with the ISO settings to let me get better control of the aperture as well, or would I be better off fixing the aperture and tweaking the ISO to get the shutter speed that I want?

Full manual would obviously give me more control, but when walking about its a lot easier to have one or the other already set up.