Nikon DF....500mm F4/P....52mm Extension Tube.....ISO 200.... 1/320 second @F8
I have been photographing the common birds on my property the past few days, trying to get really ingrained using my DF. I have been out of bird photography for a long time (20 Years), and although I realize I am a dinosaur I am not "up" on the ins and outs of digital cameras. I have really only used them for snapshots...nothing wherein high technical or artistic quality was the goal.
With this image, I had my camera set to save it as a "TIFF". The only editing done was cropping horizontally, then I resized it and converted it to a JPEG to post here.
I have a thousand questions, but I will limit them until I have made a more thorough search of the forum.
1. I realize I am going to have to get and learn Photoshop. What I want to know, with this image in particular, what could/would a skilled user edit to improve the photo? I ask because I think the lighting and composition of the picture are decent, and I am trying to get a grasp of what Photoshop is capable of. Apologies if that is "too big" of a question. I guess what I am asking....I am deeply ingrained to using slide film, wherein "everything" had to be done in the camera. How does digital technology and programs like Photoshop change that approach (my god that is a big question...feel free to ignore it).
2. I am more concerned with the ultimate quality of the image than memory card capacity, download speed, or any of that. Is saving as a "TIFF" the best way to pursue this goal?
3. Please, any suggestions/critiques. I am not sensitive.
This is "decent" but with digital you can go to awesome. Books have been written to answer your questions. Read all you can find and learn how to tell that a lot of it is garbage, especially in the magazines. (Sad, but true.)
I don't know what a DF is, but if you can shoot in RAW, do so. You have a lot of leeway to recover shadow and highlight detail. Before you get PS learn a good RAW processor. I love Lightroom, but PS Elements will give you a simpler and cheaper version, and a beginning PS as well. Look up Michael Frye's inexpensive e-book, Landscapes in LR5 to see what RAW capture and conversion can do.
But quite honestly, with this image the only thing skilled RAW conversion might do is pull out a little more shadow detail, and maybe a little more saturation. You had soft light and a good exposure.
But in the more common cases where the light is too harsh, shooting in RAW with the modern processors (Adobe Camera Raw in PS CS6 or later or the equivalent engine in LR4 and later) will let you do so many things -- tweak colors and, hugely, bring out shadow and highlight detail. You have much more "overhead" in initial tonal values for adjustments with a RAW file -- different cameras can capture over 4000 to over 16,000 tonal values per each color channel (red, green and blue) compared to 256 each for an 8 bit JPEG image. I don't know if your TIFF is 8 or 16 bit but I'd bet on 8.
An image editor (PS Elements would be fine to start with, and inexpensive) would let you remove the bit of stem at the bottom of the frame. There are now several editing programs compting with "real" PS, which is quite expensive and which has now moved to a controversial monthly subscription model.
Bryan, like you I had been out of photography for 20+ years before again taking the plunge in late 2010. I would also recommend shooting in RAW, this way you have the maximum file size and depth that your camera can provide as a start point. Lightroom5 and the latest version of elements are a fantastic combination, as LR5 offers a rock solid RAW conversion engine (Same as CS6) and Elements offers a way to use layers and built in creative tools as well as the ability to host software plugins. (LR5 can also do this though I prefer using layers when working with them). As an example for your image above, the branch above the bird and yellow tips below could be eliminated in Photoshop or Elements, creating a cleaner background. I would also look into Noise reduction software at a later date. LR5 NR is good, and a lot of people swear by it but you will notice most are using either NIK, Denoise or another aftermarket brand as they offer in-depth fine tuning controls. Welcome back, looking forward to seeing more!
White Crowned Sparrow
