Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

D4 300f2.8 + TC20EIII (600mm) f/8 1/250 ISO1600 Spot HH
-1.5 stops in conversion Vivid Picture Control, detailing, sharpening, toned down yellow leaf, cropped 65% remaining

Large range of lighting had me in spot metering... metered off shoulder. Beak blown in uncompensated conversion & darks washed out.

The other direction in exposure from my last post ;-)

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Michael, sorry to be so late to comment - don't know where everyone else is but I sure would like to see more commenting in this forum!

I guess you are still experimenting with exposure ideas, but -1.5 stops in post is a lot IMO. Always better to get the exposure right in the camera - did you use the metered value? The techs seem really odd to me, way over-exposed at ISO1600. I think you lost detail with your hand-holding at 1/250 with all that glass. I find the vegetation in front of the tail and feet to be distracting.

[Jon Rista]

Hi Michael,

Very nice shot. Detail is great! I definitely agree with Kerry here, you probably want to use a higher shutter speed in-camera to reduce overall saturation in the original photo. Even with a -1.5EV pull in post, things still have that "overexposed" feel. You could probably pull exposure down another 0.5EV, and use curves to add back in some highlight tonality where it belongs, and have a much richer, more naturally color saturated result. Next time you get a chance, try a 1/1000s shutter speed (assuming the same lighting conditions), and you'll probably like the out-of-camera results better.

I'll also offer a counter-point to Kerry's argument about the foreground foliage. If you can blur it enough, such that it just becomes a large indistinct but very translucent green OOF blob, it can actually add a bit of style to such a photo. As is though, I would agree, finding a way to eliminate that foreground leaf in the lower left corner would probably produce a more pleasing photo in the end.

I'd love to see a repost with stronger exposure compensation in post...-2EV, maybe -2.33EV, and some curves work would probably bring out a lot of the color and detail in those highlight areas. :)

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Kerry, Jon,

Thanks for the comments. I was playing with exposure a bit or more to the point playing with the limits of post-processing... this one is a bit of an outlier. Jon, I did try one taken down even further and it does look better.

The ss... yeah, I know... thanks ;-)

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Kerry Perkins]

Michael, I know that you are a scientist and work in the imaging field. While post-processing is the bomb in your field, it is something that should be used sparingly in nature photography. When it comes to exposure, it is always better to get it right in the camera. It is absolutely imperative that you get the best possible image during the capture. Everything else is artificial augmentation. IMO, this is the area where Arthur Morris excels and puts most of us to shame. When you have done your best work in the field, the post-processing is all about sharpening for presentation.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Thanks, Kerry. I'm working the boundary conditions for my camera... I agree that it is best to get the best possible exposure, but don't agree that everything else is artificial augmentation. Shots unaltered by pp are IMO just aligned with the default tonal settings. Which is fine, if the subject, lighting, etc. are similarly aligned. Often they are not (to my eye). Here I'm exploring how much can be done while preserving "good exposure" data. This one clearly didn't work so well.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Kerry Perkins]

Michael, no worries! I give you high marks for experimenting and learning what works and what doesn't. Many photographers are intimidated by the range of adjustments that are available both in the capture and post-processing phases of image making. Of course RAW images require some manipulation to make them presentable, I am just saying that "heroic efforts" in post do not make up for proper technique in the original capture. I have proven this to myself with my own captures, as I too am a skeptic...