It has been rightly pointed out to me that my previous posts of blue tits could have benefitted from some fill flash so I went back to the same spot to give it a go. Unfortunately, even with the flash dialled right down, it seemed to cause the birds some distress (maybe because I was very close?) so I abandoned that idea temporarily and concentrated on certain branches that were lit naturally. The spot is a woodland feeding station and the foliage is pretty dense so not much light filters through and my choices were limited.
Canon 50D + 400mm DO. ISO 800, F4 @ 1/125 sec. Aperture Priority No exposure compensation.
Sean, I love the soft light on the bird and the way it pops from the dark background. The only problem I see is that the light on the foliage at lower right draws your eye away from the bird. I realize this was hard to control in the field.
Agree with the foliage being too light and drawing attention. If you can isolate that part with any selection tool of your choice, put it into another layer and use multiply as blending mode, then adjust opacity.
Good points by Greg and Fabs. I like the photo a lot, and I respect your decision to abandon the flash. Here's a repost that tames the branch, lightens the bird a little, and sharpens the head just a bit. How do you like it?
I like the repost. Looks like some work with Pixel Genius on the head?? The foliage in the LRC is still a tad bright for me. That said, this is a terrific image.
These birds are so attractive, and I like the pose and head angle here. Mottled light like this is difficult. I like the well-lit face, and the repost has improved the image. Nice capture.
Thank you very much for all your kind comments and to Doug for taking the time to do the re-post. I agree it is an improvement.I shall go back to the RAW file and re-work the image.
Another Blue Tit
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