The Indigo Buntings are back in Illinois. Really never knew they came back in such numbers till you start looking, there everywhere. This one was from my car with
500mmII
2.o extender
ISO 500,
F8,
@1/320 sec.
I might have been to slow on my speed but the light was cloudy and didn't want the iso too high. One question though, when it is harsh light, how do you handle the sheen that seems to be on many small birds, i.e., swallows, blackbirds, bluebirds etc? Thanks for your comments in advance. Mike
Quick first thought -- I'd crop from the top about halfway to the head.
Light is frustrating -- if too soft you loose some definition of shapes, if too harsh you often have shadows too dark and blown highlights. And that infernal sheen. Frustrating. Also a problem for dragonfly wings. I have often wondered if a polarizer would help with it, but haven't tried it as I'm usually not willing to give up a stop of light even in sunlight, and never got around to getting a drop-in polarizer for the long lens.
Has anyone tried that? I could try it with the 100-400 as it takes the same 77mm front filter as my "classic" shorter lenses.
Wow! What an extraordinarily beautiful little bird. And you have captured him well. I just love the little fringe of blue feathers under his belly. I also like the little OOF wing twitch.
They say there is no such thing as "bad light"...only difficult light!
Soft light is good, low light is a problem. If the ISO needs to go too high, flash can be good -- also gives a faster effective shutter speed. But getting it a few feet off-camera is best to avoid a very flat look.
Indigo Bunting
