Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Young Sparrow with its lunch

  1. #1
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    157
    Threads
    19
    Thank You Posts

    Default Young Sparrow with its lunch

    A group of young sparrows kept jumping in and out of a large bush as they were hunting for insects. Occasionally they would perch for more than a split second and give me some opportunities.

    Comments welcome

    Pete



    Nikon D300s, Nikon 300mm (f/4) with Nikon 1.4x TC. Monopod.
    F/6.3, 1/320 sec., ISO 800, exposure bias +0.3

  2. #2
    BPN Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Dallas, Texas.
    Posts
    6,260
    Threads
    426
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Peter, nice catch. I liked the composition and the sparrow's head turn. Light was a bit too harsh creating lots of distracting shadows. In processing, you can try reducing the contrast a bit. Hope you get the opportunity again in soft light.

  3. #3
    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    12,731
    Threads
    910
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Peter,
    The first thing I thought of when I saw this was that you need more room on the right as the sparrow is looking to the right. However, the RHS probably has lots of busy foliage so the best thing to do would have been to wait for the bird to look to its right (our left).
    If you have photoshop, I would use the shadow and highlights feature and try to brighten up the shadowed areas.
    I really like all the bugs in the mouth and the clear view of the feet.
    You can post the image larger at 1200 pixels by 900 pixels ( new unofficial guidelines). it helps my old eyes to see the image better!
    gail

  4. #4
    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    26,273
    Threads
    3,977
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Tough harsh light for sure, and that is the main concern here. I normally do not like to photograph birds when the sun is so strong...I do realize sometimes we need go out whenever we can especially if we lack the time otherwise. In this case you can either find shaded spots, or use fill-flash to lessen the shadows. I do like the pose, sharpness, bill full of snacks. It must have been fun to observe the young ones!!

  5. #5
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    157
    Threads
    19
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Kaustubh,

    Thank you for the comments. I agree, the lighting was definitely harsh. I will repost based on your comments (and Gail's and Daniel's). I'm not sure the shadows can be completely dealt with, but the overall presentation can be improved. I'll re-post soon.

    Pete

    Quote Originally Posted by Kaustubh Deshpande View Post
    Peter, nice catch. I liked the composition and the sparrow's head turn. Light was a bit too harsh creating lots of distracting shadows. In processing, you can try reducing the contrast a bit. Hope you get the opportunity again in soft light.

  6. #6
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Posts
    157
    Threads
    19
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thank you Kaustubh, Gail, and Daniel for comments. I've re-posted here. Slightly different crop. The shadows were definitely the main issue here. Gail - you're correct, everything to the left of the bird (to our right) is just more of that thick foliage. I also posted a bit bigger - if that's too much let me know. In LR and NIK (viveza) I brought up the shadows and tried to lessen the contrast a bit. My inclination is that I probably need a much tighter crop to really make this work.

    Pete


Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics