Blue Tit

[Richard Unsworth]

Feeding on sweet acorns. These are a major source of food for birds and animals here in the Montado.

Sat on a chair, sun behind, lots of work in CC to remove blurred branches - the Oaks are so complex, hard to get anything clear.
Could watch the birds for hours :-)

Process using Topaz and CC
7d 100-400@385 f5.6 ISO 400(significant) 1/800 handheld manual exp

[Randy Stout]

Richard:

The mixed light makes for a difficult situation here. The shadow on the birds face is the biggest issue for me.

The lighting on the acorns is bright enough that they tend to dominate the image to my eye.

Sounds like a location that you can continue to work, and hopefully capture them in more even lighting.

Cheers

Randy

[Richard Unsworth]

Yes Randy it is a real challenge.

Harsh sun from the word go, all day, complex environment , its fun though!

[keith mitchell]

Hi Richard.
Agree with randy re the shadow which is a pity, the bird itself looks super sharp and the colour that I can see look good.

Keith.

[Richard Unsworth]

Thanks Keith

Yes, I will need to stay on them, there are many per tree, 40-50 at the moment.
Of course I have better Blue Tit images in the first regard ie the shadow, but was rather struck with the Acorns!
The 7D performs much better for me at ISO 400 showing little noise in this instance, 100-400 better just off max
I have another year here at least!

[Lyle Gruby]

Beautiful subject. A flash would help you balance everything out in a situation like this.

[Richard Unsworth]

Thanks Lyle

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Richard, I quite like the comp, but sadly as you say, the light was not on your side, creating hard shadows and perhaps in parts, blown whites.

Just quickly taking it into LR it seems you can bring a bit more detail out using the shadow slider and then adjust the others to balance the exposure like dropping the whites to ease the highlights. The Blue does look very saturated in colour, but going punchy does separate the contents, however IMHO just easing the colour gives a more 'natural' look. If you do this then do it as an adjustment layer so you can target the area and ensuring you are not making a 'Global' change. I can see there was some cloning done, as there appears to be a shape of a leaf top right & a branch, and some ghosting around the Acorns, but that might be some masking? Also have you added any NR or has it stemmed from your 'blurring', the acorns look very smooth, likewise in parts the chest of the Blue tit has no feather detail or zero detail in the visible leg?

Just a thought, but perhaps making a set-up may help getting the shots you want and avoiding heavy cloning/blurring? Sorry to here your LO's are not around, hope you find them soon.

TFS
Steve

[Richard Unsworth]

Hi Steve

You saw it..cloning....well done. I will try out your suggestions.

I 'll get 'em owls and tits!

Also seen Hen Harrier today, along with potential Bonelli's Eagle.
Lets see what the coming weeks bring.
You critique most welcome :-)

[Steve Kaluski]

Richard, if you do decide to do a set-up, just check when the sun hits the branches and how long for. Just do some 'mobile' locations, so when the birds do come down, you can move the branches easily, maximising in obtaining 'cleaner' shots of this little bird and reducing any 'computer pruning'. Will lookout for your shots in the coming week(s).

[Richard Unsworth]

OK Steve

The Oak area is full of birds. I am thinking of setting up a hide in the woods.
Its a pretty special place the Montadol I have clocked 100 species here in one year on just 20 acres.
Sometimes there are many things, other days nothing...its a learning curve, things are driven by food and /weather as one might expect.
Yesterday a Red vKite passed me within 6 foot head height, no kidding. My camera was on the table lol!

[Steve Kaluski]

A nice simple branch close to a feeder full of goodies will give you what you want. Remember to keep the branches in keeping with the size of birds you are shooting, so small thin ones, perhaps with berries, blossom etc can really lift the scene and have a healthy distance between branch and BKG, this will help diffuse things. Take a few frames to get the exp right (check histogram), plus look at the screen on your camera for glaring items in the BKG.

Good luck.