Tufted Titmouse

[kenn threed]

Hi all,

I don't want to burn you all out with our Bluebirds, so I'm going to offer up a Titmouse for your review this time. :)

I've got mixed emotions about this shot, but I do like it. Maybe someone here will tell me gently why I don't love it.

http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/Nature/Birds-Blossoms-Butterflies-VOL/titmouse8361/711642137_VH3gV-XL.jpg

Early morning light. Canon S3-IS ISO100 F4 1/800
Any comment will be appreciated.

Kenn

Kenn & Temple
Backyard Birders in St.Louis, MO
http://kenn3d.smugmug.com (http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/) <!-- / message --><!-- / message -->

[Arthur Morris]

The perch is less than ideal for several reasons. The EXP is good and I love the BKGR. The off-angled light and the shadows on the bird are image-killers for me.

[jfranciskay]

Overall a very nice shot. Exposure, clarity, pose, cropping all very nice. For me 2 things that hold it back a tad...the background color just doesn't seem to compliment the Titmouse. Also the unevenness of the lighting on the bird. Minor nits, a great shot overall.

[Jim Fenton]

I kinda like the background but the too shallow DOF and the uneven light take away from the image.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yep, the shadow is the first thing that crossed my mind here. There is also an odd halo along the left edge of the bird and perch. Nice BG! Pretty darn good for an S3. Is this with the telephoto attachment?

[Ofer Levy]

Lovely BG. pose and light. I have no problem with the shadow nor the perch which I actually like. Not crazy about the square crop though - would try to crop the original as a horizontal with more room at the bottom. Image quality doesn't look that great - I assume its due to the camera although I am not familiar with the S3.

[Dave Blinder]

Hi Kenn - I guess I'm in the minority, I find mixed lighting pleasing as long as there's sufficient shadow and highlight regions to balance a photo. I like the mood on this one. I don't mind the shape of the perch but I think the OOF region may be a bit too prominent here.

You know me from POTN. I don't know that I've ever seen better quality bird photos from a compact camera than what you present. With the exception of the S5, more recent compact/hybrids seem to have inferior resolving abilities.

[kenn threed]

Hi Kenn - I guess I'm in the minority, I find mixed lighting pleasing as long as there's sufficient shadow and highlight regions to balance a photo. I like the mood on this one. I don't mind the shape of the perch but I think the OOF region may be a bit too prominent here.

You know me from POTN. I don't know that I've ever seen better quality bird photos from a compact camera than what you present. With the exception of the S5, more recent compact/hybrids seem to have inferior resolving abilities.


Thank you all for your replies,

I think filtered light and soft shadow (especially early and late in the day) can be quite lovely and add a certain drama when captured just so. Not sure this Titmouse shot exemplifies the effect at its best, but we actively seek out the opportunities to make such captures. Here are a few other attempts (scaled and collaged):
http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/photos/727838889_AEWTp-XL.jpg

I doubt any 3 photographers will choose the same crop on any given shot or often agree about a perch. But to my main unease about the Titmouse shot, I believe Ofer got it right... the IQ on this shot really is not the best we've achieved with the S3. It's a very modest small sensor camera, but has full manual controls, and we often do get some very nice photos with. To Daniel, Jim, and Dave, a special thanks... I'm coming to realize that at full reach with our humble lens system, the DOF is often just too razor thin for the distances we shoot. We are sure not the only ones here who's shots sometimes suffer from this, but I'm happy for the realization and will work on avoiding this problem.

I find this forum refreshingly honest and helpful, and greatly appreciate this feedback.

Kenn

[Ed Cordes]

While I agree that frontal lighting is the standard, some times taking advantage of gentle side lighting can be interesting. Your original post has that shadow however. I would prefer it if it were not there. I agree that the perch is less than ideal, perhaps a crop to minimize it would help. Re your examples of other interesting lighting I like the bottom right. Looks like a portrait created of a person in a studio.