Pair of House Swallows

[Mark Theriot]

Similar to the situation that I had last week with a pair of Doves, the second bird is out of focus due to the short DOF. However, given the HA, background and composure - I think this one looks ok.

Opinions on this subject and other critique elements requested and welcomed! I'm learning a lot here!

Mark

Hand-Held
400mm
F/5.6
1/1000
ISO 200
+0.5 Exposure

[Desmond Chan]

Are house swallow and tree swallow the same species of bird?

Anyway, I don't mind the second swallow is oof, the head-angle of the first one - nearer the camera - could be a concern. Composition-wise I myself find no issue there. The background is interesting, reminds me of a gradient filter :)

[Mark Theriot]

Hi Desmond, thanks!

I went back and forth on the HA (almost deleted the picture) but I found it interesting for some reason. Here is another one from the set with a more traditional HA.

Mark

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Mark,
I like the capture, the head angle on the first bird does not bother me because he is busy looking at something that caught his attention in his natural habitat, the second out of focus bird is fine the way it is. A few points to consider...the base image is under exposed and the subject are too centered in frame...the area around the eye is too dark lacking details and the whites on the breast and neck is running a little on the hot side...also the point of focus was not on the eye, thats why its soft and out of focus...I modified your base image and composition, to illustrate these points...I started by cropping from the right side of the frame, and adding more canvas to the left side to give the bird more room to look into and thus off center them at the same time...I adjusted the mid-tones and adjusted the black point to bring out more details...also selective sharpened the eye and toned down the hot whites...and finally I ran a low intensity pass of noise reduction in the background...see if this presents best to you...:cool:

[Mark Theriot]

Hi Gus,
Thanks for the detailed information and the sample. (It looks great!)
- Yes, I agree on the crop - it does look better. I knew better, it just seemed like so much empty space I was hesitant.
- On the exposure, I stopped because I was starting to blow out more of the breast. I went back and pushed it and watched the histogram and "hot spots" as I did it. Noticed I was able to get better exposure without it blowing anymore out. Much better - although I still need to correct the bright white in the breasts.
- I checked the RAW image in the Canon SW to see exactly where my focus point was - I was using just my center point and caught it right on the upper breast. (steady hands are still a big challenge for me to try and stay on the eye)
- Backing off on the Black Point also helped me as well.

As for the other changes you made (which really made the difference) I'm going to have to learn my tools better. I use Aperture and have the Nik plug-ins. I'm going to start experimenting with the "control points" in the Nik apps that allow me to target selective elements - I think I might be able to do what I need there. (I've got a copy of Elements and I may just need to learn PhotoShop to take my images up a notch.)

For example, toning down the hot whites in the breast - I have a Recovery slider that gets me part of the way, but from there the best native tool I have in Aperture (to the best of my knowledge) is a highlights slider that has a more global effect.

I'm going to use your copy as a target and see if I can fully recreate the changes with my tools. Thanks again for taking the time!

Mark

[Gus Cobos]

It's my pleasure Mark...if you need any further assistance or have any other questions, feel free to ask...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Mark The second bird looks good Normally we go for mirror images for the second bird but in this case I like how he is looking at the other. Very pleasing.

Exposure wise you did well ... just softer light is needed. You will always block the shadows or blow highlights in this type bird with harsh light ... or actually slightly harsh light !!! Excellent image !!!