Harvest Mouse.

[keith mitchell]

Nikon D4
Sigma.
1/800@ f8
iso 1000.


Got these running about in my green house much to my wife's displeasure"don't you just love em" ,would say they are wild but do keep them supplied with food and tempt them up these corn stalks.
Thanks for taking a look.

[Stuart Philpott]

Ahh Keith ,it don't matter how many I see,i'll never tire of your harvest mice. I've never seen one buddy wanted too since I was really small, REALLY small! Someone bought me an aminal book I can't recollect more,there was a pic of harvest mice and nest,that was me sold.

Sorry buddy I love your image Keith,little fella is wringing his hands,did he read you're post? Keith is there some way to slightly tone down the wheat,I haven't yet the ability to decipher what feels slightly a miss to me,and mate I'm being picky. But the wheat sheaves ,where they are highlighted,or at brightest,feel too bright to my eye.they are pulling me away from your gorgeous little mate . Ahh Keith your a mouse whisperer!! The background is cool are there a couple of oof wheat stems there ? I love the way there is an almost subliminal echo in shape of the wheat foremost in the background and the olive green sits against little man so well.
tis a lovely picture Keith,keep them coming

Take care

Stu

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Keith - Another cute mouse image. There are several things I would do if it were mine. I would start with taming the highlights of the lower corn stalks (I would go further than I did here but it would be better to do so from the raw). I would also drop the reds a bit and then give it a bit more midtone punch. Finally, I would crop from the ulc and lrc to give clean edges in the corner. Here's a rp along those lines. WDYT?TFS,RachelP.S. I'm not sure if these are just baited or captive from your description.

[keith mitchell]

Thanks Stu and Rachel,think I was having trouble with the DOF when photographing these and perhaps not getting the back feet and tail in focus and the wheat ears and giving all my attention to this. Thanks for your repost Rachel must admit was happy with the colour but looking at your repost maybe the feet on mine do look a bit pinky. These Mice are running free in my greenhouse and have been for a long time ,to get this shot I put the corn stalks on the floor and tempt them up by putting a few meal worms in the stalks they love them ,forgot to put C? if you feel I need to change this then please let me know.

Keith.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice pose and setting here, with complementary colours.
Rachel did a good job in the repost.
I wanted to comment on DOF but saw you were already on f8. Perhaps just a tad more at f11, sacrificing some SS if you want the same ISO?

[Jonathan Ashton]

I am a sucker for these cute little mice, a very appealing shot, I have to admit I thought the original was fine but on looking at Rachel's repost I think there is an improvement. I am looking forward to seeing more.

[Steve Kaluski]

I was having trouble with the DOF when photographing these and perhaps not getting the back feet and tail in focus and the wheat ears and giving all my attention to this.

Ever thought of moving back as you could be just TOO close, then increasing to perhaps f/16?

Techs, well I have covered this off in numerous threads so I won't rehash.

[keith mitchell]

Thanks Jon will post more but don't want to bore you.Thanks Steve tried to do this within the confines of a small green house but will see what I can do.

Keith.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Steve tried to do this within the confines of a small green house but will see what I can do.

You can do it I'm sure, will either shoot you a line or talk tomorrow afternoon, as I need to get back Thursday to address some arrangements made for Friday.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Keith!

A cutie pie of a little Mouse, and Steve is absolutely right: your character could do with some extra DOF and more SS needed - the D4 can take it my friend, please do not be shy!

Love his little paws, or "hands", it all seems as if he is trying to solve a dilemma - superb moment captured!

Given the right techs you could grab a real winner here, Keith. I think your main issues (generally) are the lack of enough DOF, and SS. This chap is moving all the time, even when he seems to be absolutely still his nose is probably twitching, aim for at least 1/1200s.

Thank you for sharing, I look forward to more...I still have to post a cute little rodent for you, I have not forgotten:)

Warmest regards,

[keith mitchell]

Thanks Gabriela and Steve,going away for a few days but will get back to these when I return(.I still have to post a cute little rodent for you, I have not forgotten:)don't forget.

Keith.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Keith

You do not state the focal length of the lens, but it must have been a long glass for this DOF with F8.
What metering- it looks the centre-weighted with the hot corn stalks.
Steve is absolutely right about moving further away, or try a shorter lens with bigger crop.
Cute little critter!

[Steve Kaluski]

or try a shorter lens with bigger crop.

And so you loose IQ and throw all that data away, why?

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Steve

I have found by using different lenses that the closer you are to your subject, the more detail in an image- a 90 macro close up will give more detail than a 500 at 3m.
When DOF is an issue, would rather try a shorter lens and zoom with your feet..
The question here is- you need bigger DOF, can't go lower in SS, already dangerously low, which means higher ISO--more noise and a drop in IQ.
Why not try 300 or 200- not FF but 80%(20%) crop on FF- not that much IQ lost...

[Steve Kaluski]

Andre, I agree without knowing the lens it's hard, but I think it might be the 300f/2.8??? However Keith is away so will have to wait.

If it is the 300 then simply pulling back may resolve things, but as a set up you can get a lot already prepped before the main player arrives. As I said a lot can be achieved, then its's just rattling some frames off, checking and then refining. I would stick if possible to the 300, it's fast and the crop is fixed. Will be talking to him on his return, so have some options for him to try.

A small crop invariably is required, but avoid as you know large ones.

[keith mitchell]

Thanks Steve and Andrea,thanks for this I was playing with a Sigma 150mm macro lens which is all new ground for me,also have a Nikon 70-200 and of course my 300mm 2.8 which I love,which would you go for? it's something I have been giving a bit of thought too.

Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Keith the sigma 150 will take some beating for resolving power, if you can get close enough without spooking him that would be my choice. Don't forget if the size in the frame of the subject is the same then it doesn't matter which lens you use the DOF will be exactly the same. Magnification and DOF are directly related, as the macro is designed for close work I think the case is made.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Keith -- I like this image because of the cute little creature . I too thought it is quite red but Rachel sorted it out . Nice discussion on the DOF and techs . You have been posting great images of these little creatures , keep them coming . TFS !

[keith mitchell]

Thanks Jon will look into this,Haseeb thank you I will post some more but do not want to bore people.

Keith.

[Steve Kaluski]

Haseeb thank you I will post some more but do not want to bore people.

Bring it on Keith, we are all enjoying this species.

[keith mitchell]

Cheers Steve will try what we talked about this week weather permitting.

Keith.

[Steve Kaluski]

will try what we talked about this week weather permitting.

I think you have a good platform on which to work from and plenty of time to hone too. Am around this week, bar tomorrow if you need any more help.

If you have a good season you can send some my way.

Good luck.