First image on BPN

[Jim Poor]

http://www.pbase.com/jimpoor/image/64834639/original.jpg

Taken when I first got started. I wish I could have moved to get the bird more centered in the palm fronds, and now I might actually think to try it. Oh to go back and reshoot all the places I was when I didn't know what I was doing.

I was shooting JPG at the time :(

D70 80-400VR @ 400mm
1/1000 @ f5.6

[Fabs Forns]

Hi Jim,
Well, let's get to work :)

Love the background and the main perch, tough I would not have the nut bisected. Easy to fix.
The OOF light perch is a big distraction and takes away from the image.

Wish for head turn on the bird for two reasons, one, more intimacy with the viewer, second, the eye and tip of bill will be on the same focal plane, thus rendering both sharp.

The cut branch behind the bird gives a nice framing, and you cut crop some from left.
I suggest blurring and burning the light branch. In case you need to know hoe, there's a link to a small tutorial in the digital workflow forum.

Hope to make your BPN experience a fuirtful one :)

[Jim Neiger]

Hi Jim,

Fabs has covered just about everything and given you some great advice. In addition to what she mentioned, the light angle is less then ideal on this one. In the future you may want to try to avoid some of the bg distractions that fab mentioned, wait for a head turn, and try for a more direct light angle with early or late light.

[Jim Poor]

Thanks Fabs & Jim

I've actually considered cutting the bird & perch out, cloning the OOF wood out and blurring the whole BG enough that the lines from the palm fronds just remain in evidence., I'd then drop the subject back in more at the point where the fronds come together.

I'm not sure this image is worth all that work given the lighting and pose though.

I also got the lens & exposure data wrong. It was the 600 /f4 : 1/160 @ f4. Read the wrong data the first time.


Thanks again,
Jim