Haven't been around much lately but thought this might make for a good critique. This was the only GBH I saw this morning. He's pretty skittish and hid behind some reeds whenever I approached. As I was practicing on some mallards, I saw him fly in with what looks like a koi. I don't know where he got it but if it's someone's koi pond, they're going to be very unhappy. Unfortunately, he hid behind the reeds again before eating breakfast.
Canon 20D w/300/2.8 + 2X TC
1/250, f/5.6, ISO 400
Manual Mode with 550EX, no BB
Noise reduction w/ Neat Image and a tad sharpening with Focus Magic
This is about a 40-50% crop and the flash is too hot. I fixed his eye (BTW, if you don't have Artie's Digital Basics, get it. Easiest way to fix blown eyes on critters.)
I know, I know, BG sucks but the BG I had picked out for the mallards was smooth and beautiful, this guy just landed in the wrong place! :D
My question: How do I get better details, especially in the wings. His head is wet so I understand losing details there but why are his wing feathers so soft? He was about 50-60 feet away so I figured I had about 6"-8" DoF. Focusing on the eyes should have kept the wing feathers within the DoF.
hey boss!! i think the reason why there is a lack of detail is because it is underexposed. i looked at the histogram and it looks to be almost a full stop under. feel sorry for the koi owner though!!
That bird is going to be in trouble if he decides to fish in that pond again !!! Hope he doesn't like Koi !!!!
Would give more room all around for the bird and if possible get a bit lower. It will give separation from the plants. Do check carefully the histogram, makes all the difference !!!
btw with such an unusual catch would always try to go for a tight head shot also !!!!!
Thanks guys. Yes, it's underexposed but that was to avoid blowing out the red koi. As it is, the reds are right at the right edge. I didn't think less than 1 stop would cause that much loss of detail. You're correct about the lower angle. I should have taken it off the tripod and laid on the ground. As for a tighter shot, I would have loved it but all I had was 600mm. I tried using my lens stretcher but it's a cheap Chinese knock-off and it broke in half! :D
Breakfast at the Koi Pond
