Sanderling

[Bob Decker]

From yesterday's trip to the beach. 40D, Bigma 50-500mm @ 500, f10, 1/500, iso 400, 580Ex II w/ Better Beamer @ -2 FEC. Carbon fiber tripod w/ ballhead. RAW conversion via ACR: Slight boost to clarity, vibrance and sat, exposure reduced -15. Sharpening on bird in PS, noise reduction to background.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bob Glad your going after the little guys !!!

Did well with the whites and its sharp !!! Might like it better as a horizontal? .. with more room up front, showing all that much sand up top is not doing much !!

Tech wise no need to stop down that much, brings the bg into play, better using more shutter speed for safety !! Best alternative for these types is to hit the ground for that sweet perspective !!!!

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Bob,
I like your capture, would do well as a horizontal also. I would just take a hair off the top...congrats, looking forward to more...:cool:

[Bob Decker]

Thanks Gus. I might take a look at a horizontal. Somewhere along the lines someone told me that horizontal crops were somewhat "unusual" in avian photography. (He's a mod in another nature oriented forum... we'll leave it at that). I've tried to avoid them ever since.

Alfred, I'm trying learn where the line is between getting a sharp image with enough detail to please me vs. decent bokeh out of the Bigma. In portrait and wedding work I shoot at or near wide open a lot. This is an entirely different gsme. ;)

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Al nailed it, in bird photography we shoot wide open often. Think about it, you are trying to image something the size of a soda can and the FG & BG will compete for the eye, why ket em in the image. Unless it is a habitat shot the stopping down is the way to go. The best approach is to leverage DoF,..Artie say's he shoots wide open a lot (must read APBII).

Remember, DoF will be affected by FL (500MM) and distance to the subject too.

Horizontal crops are are probably 8 to 1 in this field IMO, the image will drive the crop most of the time. In this case bird needed somewhere to go - virtual distance.

Great use of flash technique, the dual catch light in the eye can be a bit distracting to some. Funny, when I take pictures of people, I find there is not a strong relationship between the two techniques, buts that me. Bob, your wrk get better ever post, keep em comng and I love this species.

[Bob Decker]

Remember, DoF will be affected by FL (500MM) and distance to the subject too.

With the Bigma, wide open tends to result in a significant reduction in feather detail. There's a tight rope to walk here and I imagine distance from subject is also playing a role... but it's going to take a little experimentation to find the right balance. To get "tack-sharp" on the subject I "seem" to need to be stopped down to f8 or more. I have a hunch wide open isn't going to be an option with this lens. But at closer ranges, like with these shore birds, I could be wrong. I'll have to go experiment some more soon.



I find there is not a strong relationship between the two techniques, buts that me.


That might be a fun discussion sometime. But we'll let it go for now. ;)

A lot of good stuff to think about. Thanks.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Bob, thanks for being so open to advise, you will grow fast that way. Many lenses (besides f/2.8's) have a sweet spot around 3 stops from their largest aperture, usually around f/8 or f/11. Like you said, only you know your lens. several months ago Al published a lens sharpness test document,...but a newspaper on the wall will do the trick as well to find its range. Some lens have good and better copies as well, like you said, keep experimenting and find the right balance, but in this business there is big dividends for being on the fight side of f/8 (smile). Great talking to you and love the image and your flash work.