Jay at pool

[John Robinson]

Jay

Even these have been thin on the ground this year ( and most of last)
D7100

Nikor 70-300mm
ISO 1000
125th sec @f9
80 % of frame.
PP Paint shop Pro
Neat image
-ev 1 contrast down in camera.
Couple of highlights removed off BG and water.
Cheers
JR

[Bill Dix]

Another nice "Robinson" shot, with lots of interest in your pool.

[Graham Wilkes]

Love your pool shots John, easy to say some of the background is distracting but this is a bird in its natural habitat.
The light, exposure and colour looks bang on to me, maybe a bit more head turn would be great but that's being picky.

Graham

[John Robinson]

Thanks both. Backgrounds at this site can be a nightmare. Sometimes they work - sometimes not.
Just a case of getting out there , taking shots and seeing what comes.
Cheers
JohnR

[Marina Scarr]

Your bird looks great with plenty of details. I just wish this spot were a little cleaner, esp the branch in the upper right and the cut off branches.

[Ihtisham Kabir]

Hi John, The bird is spectacularly caught and rendered. But the bg bothers me. Maybe if you had gone to wide open with a faster shutter speed (but for me these discoveries are usually after the fact!) Thanks for sharing. Ihtisham

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks both. Backgrounds at this site can be a nightmare. Sometimes they work - sometimes not.
Just a case of getting out there , taking shots and seeing what comes.
Cheers
JohnR

I like the jay John but the ball is in your court, if the background doesn't work sometimes, well there is a choice - you can do something about it - simple!
It just depends upon your inclination, when my backgrounds have shortcomings that are obvious to me I usually try to fix them. Sometimes it's only when other viewers point them out that you see them, but others, well as I said the ball is in our court. If you keep on taking shots with less than satisfactory backgrounds then quite simply the odds are you will get less than satisfactory results. WDYT?
"The mark of a good action is that it appears inevitable in retrospect" (Robert Louis S Stevenson)

[John Robinson]

Thanks all
Marina- done as you suggested. I wouldn't really feel happy going any further.. There is a very valid reason for not taking the twig out before hand as some suggest with "setups.. The reason is that other small birds were using it, and pool is not in the true sense of the word a "setup" Simple as that really.
One perch setups at pools don't often work ion my experience.
Thanks for looking
Cheers
John

Ihtisham - Yes a good point. I used f9 as the bird is quite large and DOF at a premium at that distance. Also I don't think as fast as I used to !!
Thanks
John


Jon - Will reply later

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks all
Marina- done as you suggested. I wouldn't really feel happy going any further.. There is a very valid reason for not taking the twig out before hand as some suggest with "setups.. The reason is that other small birds were using it, and pool is not in the true sense of the word a "setup" Simple as that really.
One perch setups at pools don't often work ion my experience.
Thanks for looking
Cheers
John

Ihtisham - Yes a good point. I used f9 as the bird is quite large and DOF at a premium at that distance. Also I don't think as fast as I used to !!
Thanks
John


Jon - Will reply later

Ok cheers John, also just check the bill tip

[Ian McHenry]

Hi John
Really like the natural look of the original post.
Beautiful image.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[John Robinson]

Thanks Ian


Jon
Well spotted.
Rushed bit of BG removal I,m affraid.. I won't waste space by rectifying it.
JR

Some interesting points raised about backgrounds,etc.

With this particular pool you can see that stuff is growing, and by the end of the year would be really overgrown. I am a bit wary about cleaning vegetation out just to get a background that is fairly plain. There is no point in using a natural location , and then taking material out to make it look unnatural. It is almost my trade mark to try and get my work to look as natural as possible – even with vegetation in the background. It can be done as you can see by past comments. Everyone has their own style and personal preferences and that’s what makes photography such an appealing pastime. It is more or less my trade mark- some like it- some hate it. It would be much less interesting surely,if everyone’s pics looked the same.
As Bill says:
Another nice "Robinson" shot, with lots of interest in your pool.

As I explained to Marina it is just not the same as a bird on a single perch set up where you can move around, set things up, etc, etc. The branch on the top right I agree is best taken out but I cannot do that before taking the pics because other small birds were using it. So you just don’t know which and where the birds are going to land. I don’t personally like plain backgrounds but sometimes they are naturally like that anyway.
Yes- this is a critique forum,Jon, and if everyones comments were adverse I would think of taking up another style. I don’t wish to appear to be making excuses for trying to get the type of shots that I do. As I said there are many that don’t work which we all appreciate I am sure.
Cheers
John

[adrian dancy]

The first shot is fine. The bird looks just a little pale in that image. I think quibbling about the environment in a pool shot is a bit like arguing that the sky is blue.

[John Robinson]

Thanks all
Adrian
I thought the fist a little light actually and darkened it a tad. At least my monitor is about right in that respect
Cheers
John