Bushtit

[WillieHall]

walked in my neighborhood for the Great Backyard Bird Count, hazy sky with afternoon light. Handheld, AP, ISO 1600, f/7.1, 1/4000, 350mm with Canon 7D 100-400 L lens. There was no "action" for a while and than suddenly was engulfed by a "flash mob" of Bushtits. I kept them around me with calling and got several images I liked, but of course none had every element I wanted. I liked this BK, but not the lack light in the eye (others had it). Also saw the leading edge of wing feathers with too much highlights, but didn't know what to do about it. Also thought I might have a sharper tail if f/8, correct? I feel progress coming from browsing this site often. Thanks......Comments???

[Tim Harding]

I wonder if you could have gotten away with a slower shutter speed and lower ISO to reduce the noise that will be in the full size image. I don't mind the tail a little out of focus as long as the head/eye is sharp. I like the colour of the background. The crop is a little tight on the right for my taste.

You can easily add a catchlight to the eye in PS. Just experiment to find the right location for it. Nice shot!

[WillieHall]

thanks and good points Tim, especially about the high shutter speed. I was watching for a flight shot of a local Sharp-shinned Hawk and should have slowed it up a bit.

[Diane Miller]

What Tim said... Exposure looks great and noise lower than I'd expect for the stats. Exposing to the right can help a lot if the highlights can be kept in range.

I find it very difficult to adjust ISO/SS on the fly -- I'm usually too busy with getting a focus sensor where it should be to think about anything else, until it's too late and the bird has departed the scene.

Practice is the only way to go. Lots of it. I think after a while you'll routinely get sharper and more detailed shots. The bird's position is important to both sharp and pleasing shots, too, with the body in the focal plane as much as possible and light on the face.

Keep posting!!

[WillieHall]

good points Diane, same bird different angle and better light, ISO 1600, f/7.1, 1/2500 I did like the BG better in the other but this has better elements, I think. By browsing all the photos on this great site, I think I am learning to see what I want to capture. Like you said, practice....I am going to Tucson area soon for 10 days, that will do it! I did just order the DPP tutorial and am going to start shooting more RAW.

[Diane Miller]

Yes, this is a "better" angle. A head turn slightly toward the camera is desirable, to give some sense of connection with the bird, but not a rigid rule for me.

BGs can often be tweaked with some cloning.

I'd recommend setting the camera to RAW + JPEG, then you have the best of both worlds as you learn RAW processing. The old RAW files will "keep" (unlike leftovers) and you can go back and process them when you find one you like that needs the extra touches.

[Steve Kaluski]

I am going to Tucson area soon for 10 days, that will do it! I did just order the DPP tutorial and am going to start shooting more RAW.

Willie, if you are going to shoot more RAW, then ditch the added JPEG setting, it will slow the camera down in buffering and take space up on your card, RAW is the way to go, have fun.

Steve