Warbler

[Eric Patdu]

Hi all,

I haven't posted in here for a while. Haven't really done bird photography lately.

I would like to know if this shot works. There is no eye contact, head angle is not optimal, only the head is in focus, the crop is too wide. ..... but.... I kinda like the action shot. I am curious if there is something redeeming in shots like this one.

This shot was taken as the warbler jumped to the foreground branch.

P.S.: I would also appreciate your help in identifying this warbler. Is this the orange-crowned warbler? (If you need to see more "body parts" for conclusive ID, there is a full body shot of this bird in here)


Thanks!


Exif data: f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 800, hand-held

[Michael Wayne]

Hi...I feel it is a little busy and the leaves in front of the bird kind of take away from it. The birds, eyes, beak and head are in focus/clear but it drops off fast after that. I would have cloned the leaves out at the top and the one sticking out a little on the right hand side. But you see all of this. ;) The colors are good and if you are going for pure natural/action shot...you got it. ;) Kind of hard for me to C+C as I am new myself...but trying. ;) I have no idea what kind of Warbler it is...sorry I could not help.

[Eric Patdu]

HI Michael,

Thanks for your comments. I really would like to clone those things out but I'm not good at using the clone tools. I did it once on one of my photos and the outcome was worse than the original. :D
Thanks again for the comments!

- Eric

[Diane Miller]

If you have PS CS 6 (or 5, I think -- can never remember what features came when), Content-Aware Fill can be a miracle. Or the Patch Tool.

Those who object to the new paradigm of Adobe making more money off of us might want to get 6 while you can. I found it a worthwhile upgrade.

I have a tutorial on it at: http://www.adorama.com/alc/0013704/a...Product-Review.

[Michael Wayne]

Hi Eric,
I understand completely, trust me! It does take time, plus trial and error but give the tools a try, you can always go up to "Edit" and undo what you did, especially if you use layers.

Have fun with it, that is what I am finding out, I will do something and it may look great and I go hey, what did I do?! LOL I used to be so scared of doing anything to my images, but not anymore, I go in and do all kinds of things just to see what happens, especially to images I am not going to keep anyway, it helps me learn and make the ones I do want to keep better.

Sometimes I get a bad result from it, just go to "Edit" and Undo!

Do as Diane suggested, the Content Aware fill is a great tool for those things.

Have a good one!

[Eric Patdu]

@Diane, thanks for the link. You're article looks wonderful. I'll bookmark it and learn as much from it. Thanks!

@Michael, you're right. I need to spend more time learning the tool.