White on Fog with Flash

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04-02-2009, 02:19 PM
Arthur Morris

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White on Fog with Flash

This was created on the Hooptie Deux (thank you James) on Wednesday morning in the fog/clouds. Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens (handheld) with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 2/3 stops: 1/640 at f/5.6. Flash in hot shoe with Better Beamer. High speed synch. Fill at -1. (I like to use lots of flash with white birds in low light.)

For more images and tales from the trip, check out today's blog entry, "Tough Conditions, Great Images," here: http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/

All comments welcome. Don't be shy.
04-02-2009, 02:35 PM
Ákos Lumnitzer

Perfect wing position. Like the lighting. I think you did very well in the conditions. Now off to the blog.. :)
04-02-2009, 03:26 PM
Axel Hildebrandt

Great exposure control, details and pose. There is a little halfmoon-shaped spot above the bird's right wing.
04-02-2009, 03:34 PM
John Chardine

Beautiful "white on white" exposure Artie, and there's even detail in the black wing-tips. Hard to tell but it looks like you had a head rotation to give you nice eye contact. Looks like the ibis is looking down on you.

I don't see the spot above the wing and the calibration strip looks perfect on my MacBook monitor.
04-02-2009, 03:38 PM
kevinmat

Beautiful image again Artie! Agree - the exposure is exquisite in those conditions and the wing position just about perfect. Again, it really is helpful seeing how you shot this in detail. Thanks
04-02-2009, 04:02 PM
Harold Davis

awesome exposure and tack sharp! i love those breeding colors in the bill. nicely done!!
04-02-2009, 04:10 PM
Thonnaksar NOP

Love that pure white of the sky and natural colours of the bird. The balance of the lightings is perfect ! So far, I've never managed such balance with my Better Beamer. I need to practice more often...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

I like to use lots of flash with white birds in low light.

When I use fill flash in low light I often have issues with weird eyes of the bird. Have you ever experienced this before ?
04-02-2009, 06:51 PM
Arthur Morris

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Axel Hildebrandt

Great exposure control, details and pose. There is a little halfmoon-shaped spot above the bird's right wing.

Thanks Axel. You are too good. I never would have seen that and had to search even knowing where it was... Please confirm that it is now gone. Thanks.

BTW, I found this in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

<DT class=hwrd>Main Entry: Axel-eye<DT class=func>Function: noun </DT>
1 : the ability to see fine detail 2 : one that sees or observes more keenly than an eagle
Axel–eyed \ˈax-əl-ˌīd\ adjective
04-02-2009, 07:04 PM
Arthur Morris

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thonnaksar NOP

Love that pure white of the sky and natural colours of the bird. The balance of the lightings is perfect ! So far, I've never managed such balance with my Better Beamer. I need to practice more often... When I use fill flash in low light I often have issues with weird eyes of the bird. Have you ever experienced this before ?

Hi Thonnaksar, Using the beamer is like using a bigger hose to fill a bucket with an automatic shut-off. Whether you use a skinny hose (just the flash) or a fatter hose (the flash with the beamer), the flash shuts off when the bucket is full, i.e., when the desired level of flash is reached. What you need to do is learn how to use flash, not learn how to use a Better Beamer. :)

Best way to learn: see the Flash Simplified Section in ABP II (that plus tons more, 916 pages in all on CD only).

And yes, flash often messes up the bird's eyes. This one was not bad with only purple pupils. I used a Quick Mask and then de-SATed and darkened it. All fo the Digital Eye Doctor techniques are described in detail in Digital Basics. You guessed it--that plus tons more! :)
04-02-2009, 07:10 PM
Axel Hildebrandt

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Thanks Axel. You are too good. I never would have seen that and had to search even knowing where it was... Please confirm that it is now gone. Thanks.

BTW, I found this in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

<dt class="hwrd">Main Entry: Axel-eye</dt><dt class="func">Function: noun </dt>
1 : the ability to see fine detail 2 : one that sees or observes more keenly than an eagle
Axel–eyed \ˈax-əl-ˌīd\ adjective

Thanks for the laugh, Artie! Axel-eyed sounds much better than pedantic. :)

It's better, but there was still a bit left. I removed the spot in this one.
04-02-2009, 07:11 PM
Randy Stout

Artie:

Fine technicals as mentioned. My first thought when I saw the image was, that the eye contact from the head turn was what makes it special for me. John commented on the same thing. The angle of the bird in the frame is very effective as well.

I have had sandhill cranes turn their heads to look down on me during an overhead pass, and always think it adds a lot to the image.

I like the Axel-Eye bit too!

Cheers

Randy
04-02-2009, 07:15 PM
Randy Stout

Hey Axel:

Did you notice on my snowy reflection picture, I rotated the bird 2.29 degrees? It looked OK to me, because of the angle in the frame, but I knew you would comment on it, so I did a preemptive fix!

I wanted to pass the "Axel-eyed" test!

Cheers

Randy
04-02-2009, 07:24 PM
Daniel Cadieux

Pretty darn cool. A good lesson in flash use, and a good read on the new blog too. With all this talk of spots I'm surprised no one has yet seen the one touching the left edge...almost midway up the frame! ;-)

P.S. "Cadieux" sounds just like "quatre yeux" (french), which means "four eyes"
04-02-2009, 07:30 PM
Axel Hildebrandt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux

Pretty darn cool. A good lesson in flash use, and a good read on the new blog too. With all this talk of spots I'm surprised no one has yet seen the one touching the left edge...almost midway up the frame! ;-)

P.S. "Cadieux" sounds just like "quatre yeux" (french), which means "four eyes"

You are right, Mr. 4-Eyes, I'm wondering if it is due to jpg compression since the original is just about 100kB.
04-02-2009, 07:51 PM
Arthur Morris

I give up! Thanks guys. I can actually see what Axel did by looking at my repost, titling the screen, and then scrolling.... And now Daniel on my case too! I did add a bit of canvas left, and yes, a nice stare down.
04-02-2009, 07:59 PM
Axel Hildebrandt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy Stout

Hey Axel:

Did you notice on my snowy reflection picture, I rotated the bird 2.29 degrees? It looked OK to me, because of the angle in the frame, but I knew you would comment on it, so I did a preemptive fix!

I wanted to pass the "Axel-eyed" test!

Cheers

Randy

It does look good. The easiest way to see if it needs rotation is to draw a line from the eye to the eye in the reflection with the ruler tool.
04-02-2009, 08:20 PM
Randy Stout

Axel:

I went from bill tip to bill tip, but same concept. I had just enough room that nothing got clipped with the rotation.

Randy
04-03-2009, 01:02 AM
Stu Bowie

Excellent exposure on the whites Artie, and great use of the flash. Very well captured.
04-03-2009, 07:31 AM
Mark Dumbleton

Great image Artie! Lovely use of flash! Learning alot about In-flight flash use!
Thanks for sharing!
04-04-2009, 02:42 AM
Grady Weed

I guess this is why Fabs calls you maestro! You know its good. Now so do we. Love it. White on white is always a eye pleaser to me. Excellent use of the flash Art.