This was quite an interesting test of my understanding of exposure theory from last weekend. I was shooting from a hide in a wooded area which was almost entirely dark. I had dialled in -1 EC, which looking at the histogram seemed about right. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed this blue tit hop onto this branch. The blue tit was partially bathed in a narrow strip of light coming through a gap in the foliage almost directly above him. I realised that with this light in the frame my -1 EC was now too much but by how much I didn't know. The light was shining directly onto the bird's white face and I was scared of blowing that out. I also know that these birds rarely stay sill for long. I added 1/3 stop ( ie went to -2/3) and managed to get off this frame and 2 more in burst mode before it flew. Should I have done anything different? All comments appreciated.
Thanks for looking.
Sean
Hi Sean Your exposure reasoning is solid !!! What got you is the mixed light.. It is just about impossible to make a good image in mixed light without some mayor flash work !!!
I tend to pass on these since I know the frustration at the time of processing. This is savable with work as far as the bird, perch will be a different story !!!!
Thanks guys. I'm not seeing a shadow on his face. He does have a black chin? I agree that the perch is a problem and there is quite a bit of noise on the part of the belly that was in the shadow.
LOL @ Nonda. Quite a lot of schoolboy jokes about this bird's name.
Hi Sean,
I like the composition as far as the bird placement in frame goes, but agree with Mr. Al on the techs...:D Also the defused multi tone background is very nice, I like it...:D
Blue Tit
