I'm almost hesitant to put this pic up. I know it it not in tip-top focus, but because I want to learn more about how to capture better photos, so here we go .....
Sony A77
Minolta 300mm
f7.1 at 1/1250
ISO 200
cropped top and bottom (it was just more water)
So ... this is an BIF Pelican who was just taking off. I was hand-holding and shot several times (yes, a spray and pray - hey, this was my first time shooting with a camera like this!) and caught what I thought was a really interesting frame with how the wings are stretched forward and yet you can still see the pelican's head. I also liked the water splashes frozen like they are.
From a composition standpoint, I guess what I was thinking here was that I wanted to give an impression of speed and reach, and thus my horizontal crop. But I don't know if everyone thinks this is for the better, so I also tried a closer crop of the pelican and the first splash only. Here is what it looks like ....
(I did some touching up of this photo in LR, mainly exposure and contrast being bumped up)
For C&C purposes, there are several things I hope you can help with. One, yes, I know -- focus. But any suggestions on what I could be doing that could help reduce what I think is movement causing the lack of focus -- (either me or the bird) -- higher camera speed? Better panning technique?
Also would appreciate any thoughts on how the crop is set on the first pic. Works? Doesn't? Like the second pic better? Why?
Well, fact is I appreciate any and all comments on how I can use this example to take better pics in the future.
Hi Andrew, this is much better than the first images that I made of a bird in flight. I want to encourage you to just practice practice practice. My success rate improves with higher shutter speeds than 1/1250. Your shutter speed seems low for the apparent light. What was the ISO? If your camera performs well in terms of noise at higher ISO than increase ISO and adjust the aperture to achieve the fastest shutter speeds possible and then just practice getting sharp images. I am not familiar with A77, is it capable of continuous and accurate focus? Just go out and shoot. Look forward to seeing more. steve
Steve: thanks for positive comments about practicing! Yes, I need to do a lot more practice!!!
I edited in the ISO value in for the pic (200). Since I was shooting RAW, I know I can boost ISO values a good bit before noise becomes an issue. At that time I was barely able to co-ordinate getting aperture and speed close so that light readings were in the zone! I'm getting a little faster now, and will have to start thinking about changing ISO at times.
The A77 camera is capable of continuous accurate focus. The camera operator, at present, is not ................
The crop part is easy -- top and bottom crops look good but there is extra room on the right in the first post and not quite enough in the second. It's a difficult choice where the bird is flying away from an interesting wake or splash.
As far as sharpness and detail, that depends so much on the capabilities of the camera and lens (and of course the operator!), and is crucial. You need a lot of shutter speed and very good panning technique and focus following to follow motion -- look at the raw file at 100% to decide if you have a good image. I don't know how much focus control you have with that camera, so you'll discover that answer for yourself, or maybe others here can help. Can you go to ISO 400 or 800 and keep good quality? That would give you more shutter speed. And where is the sharpest aperture for you lens?
The next best advice is get as close as you can, as the more pixels on the subject the better.
Keep at it -- it's a learning process for us all. I spent 3 hours this morning at a local shooting range -- an egret rookery -- where I continue to refine technique and settings. Had something like 1400 images to slog through, most shot on high speed burst. Only 1/3 survived the first round of deletions (viewed at 100%) and most of the others won't survive the next round. (Light was harsh, which didn't help, but it's all practice.)
Pelican - BIF
