Double Breasted Cormorant in Nest with Chicks, Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Hi! I'm new to the forum, and to posting. I wanted to post an image out of camera for feedback. I am new to bird and nature photography, and working on exposure/evaluative metering. I have a Canon 5dMarkiii ~ and it does not allow evaluative adjustment in manual. I've been working with changing out my ISO to try to achieve a good exposure for the birds. I feel like I am also still not sharp enough. Shooting with 600mm f.4 and 1.4 teleconverter. I used a single point af with the point on the parent eye. Aperture set at 5.6 ... but maybe it would have been much better to use something closer to 8? Thank you for any suggestions you might have. Gabrielle

I'll get the ball rolling: If you could have gotten this shot from a different angle, slightly higher to reduce clutter and about 90 degrees or so to the left so that you were more on sun angle, you might have fewer issues attaining proper exposure; it looks like you did pretty well from this position, though. I kind of like the side light. At what ISO and shutter speed were you shooting here? On a tripod, I assume, or handheld? Nice, nice moment.

Hello Gabriella, welcome to the forum, this is the place to learn! There is nothing wrong with your kit, just don't over complicate things. There are some basics that make a big difference. For example looking at your post, the light is not at the best angle, where ever possible have the sun behind you. The part bird lower left doesn't add to the shot and same for the stick crossing the wing. List all your settings in each post which will help with giving the best advice.

Hi Gabrielle, and a warm welcome, (hey hope you do some macro too!!:w3) I am not sure what you mean when you refer the Mk III "and it does not allow evaluative adjustment in manual", the metering and the exposure settings are different entities. Ah, I think the penny has dropped perhaps you refer to the inability to leave the initial ISO setting fixed but you are not able to dial in some under or over exposure? I know I found that aspect frustrating when I had one (problem fixed with 5DIV). Looking at the image I suspect it was a little underexposed at capture. I situations like this one the chances are you will be able to get numerous images so would personally have taken some to determine at which point blinkies were just beginning to appear and then use that setting or the one immediately below. I agree with previous comments relating to composition and light direction.

Hi! Thank you, Matt! Your suggestion about changing the angle to shoot is a good one. I'm new to using a tripod, have only used a monopod. I love the added stability, but do find it so difficult to move around once I've set it. I'm still always thinking that my whole rig might dislodge and end up in the drink, and there will be no fishing that out! Still, maybe I could have made a better selection to start! Do you think it would have been wrong to stand on a bench? On this particular day, I was out photographing around 2:00-3:00. It was the only time available to me. I considered not going at all because that light is pretty tough. In the end though, I love to see the birds and try to photograph them; and so decided it is always good practice. I have been trying to work on exposure because I'm always over-exposing some part of the bird, especially if any white plumage is involved! Thank you again for your time and thoughts!! Gabrielle

Hi Jonathan, thank you! I'm hoping to learn a lot here and looking forward to getting to 'know' other nature photographers! I do love macro! All my shots though are pretty rough to share with anyone but my mom -- who loves everything! :bg3: Macro is a very, very demanding area of photography, isn't it? The amount of forgiveness to any shot is like in the mms or less! I'll look for some of your macro shots! Yes, I meant that the MKIII offers no direct tool for exposure compensation while in manual. So, I've been trying to use my ISO as a compensation tool for a specific shot or set of shots. For instance, on this tree there were both nesting Snowy Egrets and nesting Cormorants. I set my exposure for the Snowy Egrets and then used the ISO adjustment as I focused to change the exposure for the cormorants. Smart idea, Jonathan to adjust the exposure a few times in the series of shots. I literally never considered that at all! Thank you! I'm going to try to watch better for my angle of shooting the subject too. At this particular location, there is a walkway that runs over the wetlands ~ I always select what seems closest to the subject birds. It might be a better approach though to look for a better overall angle, including the way the light source is falling. These suggestions from you and Matt will already help me to think through what/where a lot more! Gabrielle

Theres a lot to learn Gabrielle, and you'll learn it all on here.

Your in the right spot to get those questions answered. The interaction is nice as is the background. The bird in the left foreground isn't helping anything. You can add exposure compensation in manual you just have to do it manually. Hope to see more.

Pretty neat to have access to this nest. Lighting was tough coming from behind. In a case like this you can time your presence, or your plan your physical location if possible, with the sun at your back, or go on a cloudy day where this does not matter much. The bird at lower left is not adding anything, so if you were able to I would have gone to your right a bit more a re-point your lens tot he nest, this could have eliminated that bird from the scene. Yes, with that distant BG you could have stopped down in this case, but f/5.6 does look OK here IMO. I just leave the ISO to the highest acceptable value to me for a scene, and dial in more or less shutter speed when needed.

P.S. I know I already welcomed you to the forum in your "Introductions" thread, but welcome again!! :S3: