This is my first post, and after seeing so many amazing images I'm a bit intimidated, but I'm here to learn. The majority of my photography is done in my own backyard or on my ten acres. I pretty much feed anything that shows up and I try to provide shelter, water, habitat, etc. I'm at the 'no frills' stage of photography using a Nikon D5000, an 55-300 vr, and my brand new Sigma 150-500 os. I use Paintshop Photo Pro 3 for editing.
This Barred Owl showed up at my house over a month ago and has been here almost every day since. He's offered up many excellent photo opportunities (most of which i've wasted). After watching several failed attempts at squirrel catching and doing some research, I found they like fish so I bought some live sucker minnows. He readily takes the fish I offer him and has gotten to the point of almost begging, and will even take a fish off of a plate in my outstretched hand. I've tried many times to capture flight shots but i can never seem to get the focus right.
This particular photo was taken late afternoon and the sun was lighting up the clouds behind him and the snow in front of him, but not the owl himself. I liked the colors and even though it's got a bluish cast it's authentic to the light.
Levels
USM
cloning some blown spots in background, and reflection in left eye (looked like the black pit of doom) right eye was fine.
Anything else just ask and thanks in advance for any C/C
Jim, welcome to BPN! I'm new here too, so don't be shy. If you really want to learn and spend time here, you will learn a lot. This is the best photography forum for learning.
i notice that you posted a link. People will more likely to see your images and provide comments if you post s picture instead.
as for the image, this is a very cool bird. Sharp image, good exposure under difficult conditions. I notice the shooting angle a bit steep. Since you have a 150-500, you might be better off standing back a bit to reduce the shooting angle. I have seem stunning images with the sigma 150-500 here, so no need to apologize for your equipment.
shooting into a bright, cluttered background is difficult. You have made the bet of it I think.
Thanks! I didn't realize this was a link as it looks like a picture at my end. I'm not able to edit the post yet but I will as soon as I can. This particular shot was with the 55-300 vr, before I got the big lens.
Originally Posted by Loi Nguyen
Jim, welcome to BPN! I'm new here too, so don't be shy. If you really want to learn and spend time here, you will learn a lot. This is the best photography forum for learning.
i notice that you posted a link. People will more likely to see your images and provide comments if you post s picture instead.
as for the image, this is a very cool bird. Sharp image, good exposure under difficult conditions. I notice the shooting angle a bit steep. Since you have a 150-500, you might be better off standing back a bit to reduce the shooting angle. I have seem stunning images with the sigma 150-500 here, so no need to apologize for your equipment.
shooting into a bright, cluttered background is difficult. You have made the bet of it I think.
Hi Jim, and a big warm welcome to BPN! Thanks for sharing your image, hope to see lots more from you.
There is much to like in this image, as Loi mentions you have excellent detail and exposure, with the main challenges being the shooting angle and somewhat busy environment. This is a difficult bird to get in the open, so not a big concern on the bg. You biggest opportunity with this image is in the white balance. I'd be willing to bet that you used auto WB, as the image has the characteristic blue cast that auto almost always imparts. I always set my white balance manually, but that is an acquired skill and takes some experimentation. Meanwhile, setting your WB to "shade" would have warmed this image up and brought out the nice brown plumage that this bird wears. I took the liberty of making a white balance adjustment in PS, warming the image up considerably. Keep them coming!
P.S. - frills are less important than a good eye and good technique!
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Ooooh, very nice. Did you just change the white balance or something else? Looks a bit sharper and more vivid. I've actually had my WB set to cloudy like forever just for that reason. To be honest I can't decide. Yours is more authentic colorwise for the owl but sorta looks like summer. This moment was actually almost twilight reflecting off the snow. I've seen some comments about angles before but not really sure what to do about that. Stepladders or a camera on a stick? Thanks for the tweaks!
Welcome Jim! What a nice first image. The others have covered the basics. I shoot with a Nikon D7000 and use Auto WB most of the time and make adjustments in LR4. I don't like their preset white balance though, so adjust according to what I feel is truer. (I miss the mark quite often though.) As for the angle, if it's eating off a plate, you could probably use a step-ladder to get higher. What an opportunity to have this in your backyard!
Hi Jim, I only adjusted the white balance. I did go a little farther than necessary with the red/yellow for purposes of illustration. I'm sure the true color rendition is somewhere in between. Isn't it interesting that color can make such a difference in the perception of an image? Well done regardless of the white balance!
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Barred Owl Portrait
Originally Posted by Loi Nguyen
