Mr. Upland Goose

Hi, time to start flying again! ;)

Our first week out enroute to Antarctica was spent in the Falkland Islands. The Upland Geese were plentiful when we were hiking on the island.

Camera: 7D
Capture date/time: 1 Jan 10
Light condition: sunny
Lens: 300 f/2.8
Focal length: 420mm
Extender: 1.4
Distance:
Tube: none
Flash/Comp: no
ISO: 400
Exp Prog: Tv
Speed: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: f/7.1
Exp Comp: none
Metering: Multi-segment
WB: Auto
AF Drive: AI Servo
Tripod: no
Filter: None
Crop: minimal
Alterations: catch light slightly enhanced

Processed in LR 3 and CS5 -
plus Topaz Suite and Pixel Genius Sharpening.

All C&Cs gratefully appreciated!

Jay:
Good to see you posting. Sounds like the great journey continues on!

I like the diagonal placement of bird in frame, flared primaries, soft background. I would prefer a bit more space to the right, so the wing tip isn't crowded.

I am at my work monitor, so not as accurate, but I am not seeing a lot of detail in the whites on the leading edge of the wing, head looks good. Perhaps a bit of linear burn or multiply on a selection of the leading edge.

Look forward to more from your travels.

Randy

Jay:

I agree with Randy that it is indeed good to see you posting again. That's especially true since I understand that you were having some difficulties shooting BIF HH.

This is a nice one, although it seems that the point of focus may have been on the breast, since the head and wing focus seem a bit soft. I like the image as you have cropped, or originally framed, it.

Your image lacks feather definition in the very light and dark regions, but I think that could not be helped given the sunny conditions. Come on Canon, Nikon and the others. Give us tonal capture capabilities that will more closely approach those of our eyes!

Linda and I will follow you to Antarctica next year and hope to do as well as you have. :cheers:

Norm

Jay, nice to see a new thread from you! Good incoming pose, and overall comp. I love the translucent wing feathers, but that bit of backlighting gave you a darkish front-end and tricky exposure situation. Some flash would have helped here IMO. I see the feet and wingtips as the sharpest areas of the photo - some selective sharpening of the face and body would be good. Still a very appealing image and I'm looking forward to what else you have to share with us!:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Norm Dulak

Jay:

I agree with Randy that it is indeed good to see you posting again. That's especially true since I understand that you were having some difficulties shooting BIF HH.

This is a nice one, although it seems that the point of focus may have been on the breast, since the head and wing focus seem a bit soft. I like the image as you have cropped, or originally framed, it.

Your image lacks feather definition in the very light and dark regions, but I think that could not be helped given the sunny conditions. Come on Canon, Nikon and the others. Give us tonal capture capabilities that will more closely approach those of our eyes!

Linda and I will follow you to Antarctica next year and hope to do as well as you have. :cheers:

Norm

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Thanks,

With what group are you going?

We loved Cheesemans'; in fact, the four of us (me, Jackie, my brother Steve, and my sister-in-law Mary are already booked - without a deposit - to go back January 2014 for my sister-in-law's 60th). It is the most amazing experience I have every had.

I can probably open up the blacks a bit using Viveza; not sure about the whites given the bright sunlight of the day.

Quote:

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Perhaps a bit of linear burn or multiply on a selection of the leading edge.

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Thanks Randy, I know this is not ETL; however, please explain further about linear burn/multiply. Appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Quote:

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Some flash would have helped here IMO.

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Hi Dan, Absolutely agree if I had the flash AND the goose was close enough to be cooked with the flash. As a result of my shoulder I will unfortunately no longer be carrying even the 300 for HH; I will be limiting my self to that which is close enough using the 70-200 II/2X. Thanks,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay Gould

Thanks,

With what group are you going?

We loved Cheesemans'; in fact, the four of us (me, Jackie, my brother Steve, and my sister-in-law Mary are already booked - without a deposit - to go back January 2014 for my sister-in-law's 60th). It is the most amazing experience I have every had.

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Jay:

We plan a 3-week trip to the Falklands, South Georgia Island and the Antarctic peninsula, aboard MS Fram, with John Chardine as our ornithologist and photography expert. We'll have a luxury suite, center aft on deck 5, with our own private balcony. With any luck, we should be able to photograph marine birds following the ship at eye level. That should make times we are underway more interesting!

Norm

Wow, going with John should be a treat! Look forward to your images too! :)

Nice one Jay. As Daniel said, the head looks a little softer. Easy to lose in flight if using the central AF point. A step up in ISO to 800 would have given you some more DOF that may have helped. Congrats mate, you sure do get around. (in a nice way) ;)