Theme: Frosty Tufted Titmouse

[annmpacheco]

This is another yard bird that I photographed last winter. I really enjoyed the challenge of shooting with high ISO's and finding various perches throughout my yard, woods, and gardens. I also feed the crew daily and perhaps they are a bit comfortable with my presence. Here a squall arrived and i just couldn't call it a day. Any suggestions for shooting in the snow? I did stamp over a large snow blob in the ULC.

Canon 1DX
500mm
ISO 2500
f7.1
1/320

[Mike Poole]

Lovely pose Ann, great wintery feel to the shot. I'm slowly learning how high I can push the ISO on these modern full frame cameras and I think with hindsight pushing the ISO further may have given you a little more sharpness for the fine detail in the head with a faster shutter speed. How large a crop is this?

Regarding the snow itself, at close distances I don't know of any way to avoid the odd large white blob and I wouldn't have noticed any cloning had you not mentioned it, nice work.

The only other thing I'd think about is if this is a back yard setup, is there any way you could move position to avoid the large white stripes in the BG. It's not too bad on this occasion, but could interfere with shots on brighter days.

Mike

[Karl Egressy]

Great yard bird to have, it's a rarity around here.
Nice pose and the snow flakes add to wintery mood. B
right stripes were mentioned.
I would go for as 7x5 crop, it would look better.
Also, I would apply some noise reduction to the background.

[Lorant Voros]

Very nice winter feel with this little bird; I especially like the snow flakes on the head. Agree with Mike's suggestion and don't be afraid to push the ISO on the 1DX. I'd sharpen the wing a bit less and do NR on the BG. TFS.

[D. Robert Franz]

Great shot and I love photographing when the snow is falling. Fine looking subject as well. I just wrote an article on shooting duringn winter on my blog if you care to read it go here. http://www.franzfoto.com/photography/winter-nature-photography/

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Sweet bird and pose. I love the snow, and especially the bits on the bird's forehead. The dainty, slanted, barren perch is just perfect for this bird as well as the season.
Agree with NR on the BG. Lovely image.

[annmpacheco]

Great shot and I love photographing when the snow is falling. Fine looking subject as well. I just wrote an article on shooting duringn winter on my blog if you care to read it go here. http://www.franzfoto.com/photography/winter-nature-photography/ Thanks Dale, I'll take a look.

[gail bisson]

Hi Ann,
The most important thing to remember when photographing in snowy conditions is to use single point autofocus.
Sweet little titmouse. We do not have these in Nova Scotia.
I like your DOF and your techs. Is the nictitating membrane over the eye? The eye looks a bit dull.Not your fault if it is but I would selectively use the carity slider in LR and see if you can get it "blacker" You can also select the eye and use curves to do this.
I would also do some NR on the bg.
Nice image,
Gail
I am not crazy about the white stripes in the BG. Is this a set-up?

[annmpacheco]

Hi Ann,
The most important thing to remember when photographing in snowy conditions is to use single point autofocus.
Sweet little titmouse. We do not have these in Nova Scotia.
I like your DOF and your techs. Is the nictitating membrane over the eye? The eye looks a bit dull.Not your fault if it is but I would selectively use the carity slider in LR and see if you can get it "blacker" You can also select the eye and use curves to do this.
I would also do some NR on the bg.
Nice image,
Gail
I am not crazy about the white stripes in the BG. Is this a set-up?
This is single point autofocus, were you referring to spot single point? I don't believe the nictitating membrane is causing the dullness. The white stripes are the space between two trees as this perch was a branch/large stem from an overgrown hydrangea at the edge of the yard/woods, so i sat on my porch and waited for birds to land on various barren shrubs, plants, etc, ... Since the feeders are nearby I think it is fair to call this a "set-up."
Thanks for your help and I am working on reducing BG noise, etc, ... Ann