Superb Fairy Wren - Malurus cyaneus This is a little female fairy wren. Females and sub-dominant males are very similar in colouring. She is perched on a dead branch of a white cedar. A chance sighting. The steeper than ideal angle might be the killer of this image. It looks like focus may not have been on her eye. And HA not ideal.
In ACR - Shadows and black to the right highlights to the left.
In PSCS6 - Cloned out a few seed pods and lightened eye. Smart sharpened and resized for posting
Canon 5D2
Lens - Canon 100-400mm f4/5-5.6L IS USM @330mm
Handheld
Evaluative metering
ISO 200
1/1000sec @ f6.3
Well captured Glennie for such a small and active bird.
We have the Red-backed Wren up this way but yet to get a decent photo.
I see you are using both the Canon and the Sigma lenses.
Which one do you prefer?
A cutie! She looks very alert and I don't mind the head angle because she's obviously intently focused on something.
I'd have a look at increasing exposure just a bit, and burning down the seed pods in the LR. Possibly backing off sharpening just a bit, too -- hard to tell from here where the sweet spot is, and especially with a subject that is small in the frame.
A higher ISO might have been OK, with a higher SS and/or smaller aperture. I never really appreciated where the sweet spot of a lens was until I started messing with astrophotography. Most of mine are a lot better several stops down, but that brings up other problems in daylight photography, and I really need to try some careful testing to see if it matters noticeably there. We usually have a lot of other issues like focus, shutter speed (camera and subject motion) and air quality that may be much more significant.
Superb is right. I like your aperture and exposure, with a strong emphasis on the bird for both. The contrast between the light on the bird and that sweet perch with the background sets this one off for me. My first though on seeing the photograph was that the bird was over-sharpened. But I could be wrong.
As an aside, your wide range of species has made me jealous to the point that I'm going to take action. I won't abandon my cranes. After all that's why I moved to New Mexico. But I want some variety. I'm identifying locales for other birds, and would welcome advice on gear and technique. I've been picking the low hanging fruit: big birds that go to water at least some of the time in the day. Do you think I should make a special entry for this? If so, where?
Paul - Aside from the new Sigma lens being very heavy, I'm yet to really compare it to the Canon. I like the extra length of the Sigma for sure. The cost of the Canon lens of the same size, while I'm sure it would be worth every dollar, was prohibitive for me. Maybe when National Geographic come looking for me I will upgrade to the Canon!
Dianeand Jim- Why can I only see these things, after you have pointed it out. "When will my eyes be like yours, Grasshopper?" Yep, definately, over sharpened. This was a huge crop, and I just thought it needed it. I have lightened the exposure, and burnt the seed pods...maybe too much. I have taken out all sharpening. Any sharpening just crisped it up too much.
Jim, I would make a special entry, even in the.."Avian" forum. Are you able to set up a watering point in your yard?
Last edited by Glennie Passier; 01-17-2016 at 03:03 AM.
Better, for me, but there's a very low percentage in cropping that much. That's so frustrating because so many times we just can't get closer. In that case I'd certainly make a shot of a good subject, because once in a while it works. But most likely I would probably have to file it in the "I Wish..." folder. It's always good processing practice, though, to see how much you can make of it.
Superb Fairy Wren
