Another experimental shot...

[Glenn Pure]

Here's another one from my birdbath a few days ago. As usual, I was struggling with poor light and forced to a fairly slow shutter speed. So I took lots of frames in the hope that some would be crisp as these birds are quite hyperactive (Striatied Thornbill pictured here). I hadn't intended to achieve this effect but it struck me later that the effect is quite interesting. I managed to get the bird's head 'frozen' and sharp while the rest is a blur as it shook down after its bath and sprayed water drops radially from its body. I would appreciate your honest opinions though of whether it works for you as I'm certain it won't have universal appeal. Always good to experiment though and break a few rules every now and then.

As always, thank you for looking and for any comments you are kind enough to share.

Technical: Canon 80D with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm handheld. Manual exposure 1/160 sec, f8, ISO 2000. Processed in Canon DPP 4 (digital lens optimiser @ 50, sharpness = 2.5, crop, lighting adjustments, NR) then exported 16 bit TIFF to Photoshop Elements with Neat Image NR plugin. Modest NR to bird and stronger NR to background. Bird only (in focus parts only) sharpened in PSE (Sharpness tool, remove Gaussian Blur) after final size reduction.

[Glenn Pure]

For your interest/comparison, here is a frame two shots later in the burst (maybe 1/4 sec or less later) with the bird completely blurred but the radial pattern of droplets from the shakedown quite striking.

[gail bisson]

Hi Glenn,
I like the first post better than the second (I have a similar pic of a barred owl with the "exorcist" head and thought it was pretty cool!)
I would like the first post better if the prominent specular highlight above the bird was toned down a bit.
The head is nice and sharp where it counts. The water "spicules" are neat.
I am trying to like this but just not my cup of tea!
The best part of this image is trying something different and having the guts to post it!
gail

[Arthur Morris]

I like the first one much better though the second one is interesting too. Same question about the perch as with the last one -- last I checked I did not see that my question was answered.

You might want to experiment by adding a good bit of flash to these to go with the slow shutter speed. Or not.

with love, artie

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the effect. I've had shorebirds offering wing flaps in low light where the wings are fully blurred but the face tack sharp - it's pretty neat how they can keep their heads so steady like that. If a setup I'd try to find a better branch.

[John Mack]

I can't decide which one i like better. They both are pretty neat. Well done.

[Glenn Pure]

I like the first one much better though the second one is interesting too. Same question about the perch as with the last one -- last I checked I did not see that my question was answered.

You might want to experiment by adding a good bit of flash to these to go with the slow shutter speed. Or not.

with love, artie

Hi Artie. Thanks for your input. As for your question which was "Did you reect the perch over the bath?", I did think I answered that in the fifth last post on that thread? However, there seems to be a typo (or there's a new word I don't know) in your question. I interpreted that you were asking if I'd rigged up the perch over the bath. Grateful for any clarification there. As for the answer, to save you hunting, here's the relevant part of my response. "As for the setup, yes, I have installed this branch over my birdbath. I hammered a wooden stake in the ground next to the bird bath. It has a hole drilled horizontally near the top, and above the level of the birdbath. I insert a nice looking dead branch from the garden into that hole (with end whittled so it will fit nicely in the hole). Then twist it around until it is where I want it and looks natural. Will post a photo if I get a chance but light too harsh outside at the moment to get a decent shot of setup." I did not follow up and post a photo of the setup, so here it is...



I usually position myself behind the branches of the Acacia visible in the mid upper part of the photo (so this is taken from the opposite side of the birdbath). The shrubs around the birdbath are important as places small birds can dart of cover if they feel threatened.

[Glenn Pure]

Thanks Gail, Dan and John (and Artie - see separate reply). Yes, it is rather neat how they can hold their heads still. A bit like a variant of birds perched on a swaying branch that can 'image stabilise' their heads in perfect and opposite unison with the branch swaying.

As for the perch, Dan, does it look unnatural, too thick, wrong angle?? Appreciate any pointers there.

I am trying to like this but just not my cup of tea!
gail

Gail, no problem at all - as I said I'm sure it won't appeal to all but I'll never know unless I ask for feedback. I do appreciate you (and all other members) being frank in that regard.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Glenn, great that the head is sharp in your OP where all around is 'chaos'. The flying blurred droplets add to the image.

With regards to your second image, I have an image of a Giant Kingfisher with a 'spinning washing machine head' as yours.