Narcissus Flycatcher

[John Wright]

http://www.wrightphotography.com.au/images/narcissus-flycatcher-bpn-1117.jpg

Canon EOS 7D, EF300mm f/2.8L IS + 1.4x TC, 580EX Speedlite, 1/60 sec at f/8, ISO 400, tripod

Had the first rain-free morning for 2 weeks here, so I went to a nearby mountain pond to try and photograph Narcissus Flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina). I set the flash at a bit of a wide angle to the camera - about 70 degrees or so. I had the remote flash set to ETTL with a zoom of 24mm and about 3 or 4 metres from the pond. Just wondering if it is too dark and how I can compensate for it? Dial in +1 on the flash exposure? +1 on the exposure itself? Or go the other way and dial in -1 or so? Any suggestions of how to make the flash more natural would be great! (maybe I need another Speedlite! :)) - Oh, and this shot has been slightly cropped to improve composition.

Cheers,
John

[Daniel Cadieux]

John, before reading your text I couldn't tell you had used flash (and that is a good thing), but there are some lighter areas of the bird that look overexposed so you definitely did not need more light. I like the idea of the image, good low angle and a reletively nice reflection...but I find the many whites spots scattered thoughout the BG distracting. A bit of TLC with the clone and patch tools should do the trick nicely to remove those if your personal PP ethics allow it.

[John Wright]

Thanks very much for the feedback, Daniel. Yes, the scattered highlights are the flash reflecting off either wet ground or sprouting leaves - I guess I could clone them out. I was more concerned about the harsh shadow cast by the flash, so I guess you are right - maybe dialing down the flash to -0.3 or -0.5 might work. Actually I just found a used (but new) 430EX II for about $200 that I have ordered, so hopefully I will be able to cancel out shadows with the second remote.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Ditto Daniel's comments . Sweet reflections and many thanks for sharing John !

[Dumay de Boulle]

I like the reflection, good sharp detial and I like the colours of the ground surrounding the bird, the bird stands out nicely on the surroundings...Ditto daniels comments regarding hot spots

[John Wright]

Hi - I went into LR2 and cloned out some of the hot spots - hope this version is better.

http://www.wrightphotography.com.au/images/narcissus-flycatcher-bpn-edited-1117.jpg

[Fabs Forns]

John, the repost looks so much better. Good use of flash and comp, a bit tight, but not not terribly. Thanks so much for sharing it.

[Stu Bowie]

John, great job on the repost, and I like the low perspective. Good to see the reflection too. I would maybe remove two of the three catchlights.

[John Wright]

Thanks Stuart - you guys (and gals) are giving me lots of new things to keep in the back of my mind when PPing! Here is a further edit that takes out the 2 smaller catchlights:

http://www.wrightphotography.com.au/images/narcissus-flycatcher-bpn-edit2-1117.jpg

[Stephen Stephen]

John a very nice image overall but your adjustments, as sugeested by others moves this one up another notch.

[John Wright]

Thanks Stephen - I just noticed that the eye in the reflection has an extra catchlight too, so the final version now has the smaller one cloned out. I've decided to have it printed and put on the wall! :)