Only a Dream: Rock Shag Heaven

[Arthur Morris]

This dramatic Rock Shag head portrait image was created on Bleaker Island, on our (denise ippolito and me) first-ever land-based Falklands tour, with the Induro 304L tripod/Mongoose M3.6 -mounted Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III, and the rugged professional body, the Canon EOS-1D X. ISO 640. Evaluative metering -2 1/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Cloudy WB.
One AF point above and two to the left of the center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Don't be shy; all comments on the image are welcome as are any questions


You can learn more about the exposure and the creation of this image here. a

[John Robinson]

Hi Arthur
Iam a lover of black BG,s so that starts it off as a winner for me.!Maybe that teeny bit more DOF would have nailed the beak end and white chest markings. You have to make the most of the conditions though.
Striking image anyway.
JohnR
PS
I was offered a job as a tour guide there many years back -I often wonder what if ------?

[Arthur Morris]

In this exact situation your d-o-f comment is a valid one. But I rarely worry about the sharpness of the bill tips.... a

[David Cowling]

Hi Arthur. I like the black on black and the detail you have exrtracted from the black feathers. The red (wattle?) and the eye are lovely and sharp. To my admitedly untrained eye, the white patch looks a little hot. I am surprised by the slightly soft bill and your statement that you rarely worry about sharpness of bill tips.... Why is this?

[Marina Scarr]

This is a truly stunning portrait, Artie! Love the black on black and the exp is spot on!

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Arthur, I was telling a friend just Sunday as we were shooting Wigeons in high key, how much I love low key shots. I admire how the black plumage stands apart from the BG in some areas and blends in others.

The slight OOF bill tip stands out to me, due to the contrast to the BG. Was this an HA issue, or was there an OOF object in the foreground that caused it? Noticing very subtle vertical light areas in the background, above and below the affected areas of the bill lead me to ask that.

My other question, Arthur, is what lead to your decision to cut at the neck for the portrait? Was vertical format and including the breast ruled out?

Thanks for sharing this inspiring shot :)

Ross

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Arthur. I like the black on black and the detail you have extracted from the black feathers. The red (wattle?) and the eye are lovely and sharp. To my admittedly untrained eye, the white patch looks a little hot. I am surprised by the slightly soft bill and your statement that you rarely worry about sharpness of bill tips.... Why is this?

The red is the lores, the skin surrounding and in front of a bird's eyes, most dramatically colored when they are actively breeding. The WHITE patch is nowhere near hot so you need more eye training :) Even in the JPEG which is more contrasty than the master file the highest WHITE RGB values are in the mid-240s, a bit higher than I prefer.

Why not care about the slightly soft bill tip? When I look at an image I look the eye and face first. Here those are razor sharp. With d-o-f extremely limited when working near the MFD I pretty much do not worry about the bill tips. And getting the extra DOF would require at least doubling the ISO and that is not something I would like to do when I know that the BLACKS are already 1 2/3 stops underexposed (to save the white cheek patch).

If that confuses you check out the section on Exposure Theory in the original The Art of Bird Photography here.

[Arthur Morris]

This is a truly stunning portrait, Artie! Love the black on black and the exp is spot on!

Many thanks Marina. I love it too. I was so excited to get close to these that I made and kept way too many images :) a

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Arthur, I was telling a friend just Sunday as we were shooting Wigeons in high key, how much I love low key shots. I admire how the black plumage stands apart from the BG in some areas and blends in others.

The slight OOF bill tip stands out to me, due to the contrast to the BG. Was this an HA issue, or was there an OOF object in the foreground that caused it? Noticing very subtle vertical light areas in the background, above and below the affected areas of the bill lead me to ask that.

My other question, Arthur, is what lead to your decision to cut at the neck for the portrait? Was vertical format and including the breast ruled out?

Thanks for sharing this inspiring shot :)

Ross

Hi Ross, Yes, black can be quite striking. Thanks for your kind words. Funny that you mention learning about HA here :) I invented the term and am the captain of the Head Angle Police. Having this bird with the head turned away would have left me not at all happy with the eye, the face and the lores. See my response to David Cowling as well.

As for the image design, I made some vertical head and neck portraits on the way in. In the presented image, I would not have been able to fit the head into a vertical frame at the distance I was at. if that rather poorly constructed sentence makes sense :) a

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Arthur,

Thank you for your answers. A priority to lower ISO considering the low key tones makes complete sense, even at the cost of DOF for the bill. Being at MFD to such a wonderful find must have been exhilarating :)

I must admit, as I was typing my question about HA, I was wondering to myself "What am I doing asking Arthur about HA in one of his shots?". This considering that I studied and am thankful for your many posts on the finer points of HA.

Cheers,
Ross

[David Cowling]

Thanks for the explanation Arthur. I will learn from it.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Artie, excellent exposure here, as the head is separated well enough from the black BG. I do like the splash of red around the eye, and sharp where it counts.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the black on black, sharp eye, red lore and composition. There is a sharp black line just behind the neck in the lower left that I would blend in more. Beautiful image Arthur!

[adrian dancy]

Loved the thumbnail. On opening up the image I got more impact than expected. Nice work Arthur.

[Arthur Morris]

I like the black on black, sharp eye, red lore and composition. There is a sharp black line just behind the neck in the lower left that I would blend in more. Beautiful image Arthur!

Thanks Jim. I am not seeing the sharp black line even when I tilt the screen.... But I did do some darkening work on the BKGR so I will take a close look at the TIFF. a

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Arthur,

Thank you for your answers. A priority to lower ISO considering the low key tones makes complete sense, even at the cost of DOF for the bill. Being at MFD to such a wonderful find must have been exhilarating :)

I must admit, as I was typing my question about HA, I was wondering to myself "What am I doing asking Arthur about HA in one of his shots?". This considering that I studied and am thankful for your many posts on the finer points of HA.

Cheers,
Ross

:) Have you studied the Head Angle thread in Educational Resources from a few years back? it is a great one. a

ps: never hesitate to question me or anyone else on any topic; it is the best way for all of us to continue to learn.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Artie, I know you've been busy travelling the world, but we've missed you here!. I really love that black and dark wine background, very cool especially with the dark subject. The detail on the head and face are really wonderful. Perfect comp for me. The line Jim refers too is what appears to be (but may not be) a vertical clone mark near the lower left corner, directly behind the neck.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie, I know you've been busy travelling the world, but we've missed you here!. I really love that black and dark wine background, very cool especially with the dark subject. The detail on the head and face are really wonderful. Perfect comp for me. The line Jim refers too is what appears to be (but may not be) a vertical clone mark near the lower left corner, directly behind the neck.

Thanks Dan, I will take a close look at the optimized image when I come up for air. Just got home on Monday from South Georgia and the Falklands and am on the way to Bosque today (with a bad cold) :) I plan on being here a lot in DEC. Thanks to you and all the MODs for the great job you are all doing. a

[Ross Taylor]

:) Have you studied the Head Angle thread in Educational Resources from a few years back? it is a great one. a

ps: never hesitate to question me or anyone else on any topic; it is the best way for all of us to continue to learn.

Yes indeed Arthur, that HA thread "Head Angle Fine Points" with 2-3 shots per post, some animations, many peoples impressions, your wrap up, and many posts was SUPER! Seems to me that it was a gold mine of practical considerations :) http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...le-Fine-Points

Thanks so much for your generous help and sharing. It is great to see that vibe has flourished in this community of BPN members also :)

All the best - Ross