White Breasted Nuthatch imaged at my backyard setup on 4/20/13. Canon 7D with a 400mm f/5.6. Image shot at 400mm at ISO 400, f/10, 1/250 sec and fill flash. Cropped, Custom WB and Noise Reduction in LR4. Shadow/Highlight, Levels, Curves, Selective Color, Unsharp Mask in CS6.
Great picture, really like this one. Lets talk opportunities, first thing that I see is a triangle on the left hand side. Consider cropping the left side at the tree and eliminating the see thru part of the background (that is called a triangle). One method I suggest is the paper drill. Take a piece of notebook paper and place it over the screen until you find the strongest image,..crop accordingly. The head angle is alright but better when level with the lens, looking away can weaken the shot. Thats why we take many pictues,..often call called spray and pray (lol) - hoping for the best picture.
You are on the right path here and I love the backyard setup especially the background - did you use a tripod and what was the flash settings,..for example ETTL -2?
I like you post processing workflow. On balance, this is a nice image what a great moment with nature, keep em coming and thanks for sharing this one!
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 04-29-2013 at 08:24 PM.
Very nice image of a hopping fast birdie! I've only had the opportunity once, (they're not part of the usual suspects here) and mine didn't turn out nearly as nice. I didn't really notice the triangle, but the crop somehow seemed a bit "off" for me...a little too wide and narrow. Agree it's got a lot of potential!
Thanks for the advice Jeff. I never gave the triangle a second thought, but you are right, without it the picture looks better. That is something I will watch out for in the future. I did use a tripod and the flash settings were manual 50mm at 1/8th power. Jeannean, thank you for your kind words also. Yes, these birds do not sit still for very long!
White Breasted Nuthatch
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