Wilson's Storm-Petrel - dancing in the first light

[Hilke Breder]

Bird seen from the back reflected in the mirror-like sea in the morning - a rather abstract image, but I liked the composition. Taken with a Nikon D300, Sigma OS 150-500 mm f/5.0 -6.3, ISO 1250, exposure 1/1600 sec at f/13, focal length 500, EV 0.

Hilke Breder
onejackdawbirding.blogspot.com

[Harold Davis]

abstract, OK, i'll give that to you, but i personally dont feel a connection to the bird here with it flying away. would rather have it be able to tell some kind of a story and i cant figure it out.

on the tech side, if you were shooting flight shots, you definitely want to try to shoot wide open. if you were wide open you would have been able to drop your ISO and not have as much noise to deal with. ISO 400 at f/6.3 would have given you 1/2000s which has more shutter speed, better AF tracking and less noise to deal with in PP.

keep them coming.

[Phil Ertel]

I have to agree with Harold critique . Perhaps if the reflection had been clearer this might have worked. Was this a crop? I ask because it appears a bit soft to me and lacks detail. As presented I think it needs some counter-clockwise rotation. I do applaud you for trying something different it is how we grow. Thanks for sharing.

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Hilke,
I like what you were trying to do here, but the reflection is not solid...agree with Doctor Davis on the techs...also would run some noise reduction in the background...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Good advice given by Harold. I like the water droplets on the left, it made me feel like the bird miss the landing. The shadow on the bird is kind of distracting and I might try to rotate the image clockwise. Congrat on trying something different too, like what other have suggested a clearer reflection will make this better.

First time seeing post made by this lens (Sigma 150-500 OS), how is the lens, you like it?

[Lance Peters]

Harold has nailed it ---
ISO To high
Aperture too high
Also parts of you bird are in really deep shadow - indicating your light was not behind you - not always possible but will give the best results. Does seem to lack some details - maybe from a large crop.

Keep experimenting and keep them coming :)

[Hilke Breder]

Thanks for the helpful critique. The photo was taken from a moving boat. It was cropped from a much larger image. I do like the Sigma OS 150 - 500mm lens, since the optical stabilization allows me to really expand my range, realizing of course that the images are going to be somewhat soft. It's not too heavy to carry and hold and price is reasonable. I am taking the photos to document what I have seen not for publication. In addition to get a beautiful image would be a real bonus however; so I'll keep trying.

[Alfred Forns]

You can make both !!! Any image to document a behavior can be pleasing !!!

Tech wise agree with suggested settings, no need to stop down that much and in the boat you will relying more on your speed !!! Remember to have the light behind you ( if possible) to avoid deep shadows on the shaded side of the bird !!! ... .and beautiful image you are going to get !!!