Handsome and Dainty

[Arthur Morris]

This Clay-colored Sparrow was photographed at a backyard set-up on Monhegan Island, ME during the 1st wek of OCT. I so love working in the shade or on cloudy days that I prefer that light to all but early morning or late afternoon light and even them might prefer shade for some subjects. Like this one.

I added canvas left here as--working with the 2X II TC, I had centered the subject. To see our backyard set-up and the ORIG capture of the image above, click here: http://www.birdsasart.com/bn274.htm

Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens with the 2X II TC and the EOS 1-D MIII. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/11. Fill flash at -2 stops/no Better Beamer.

With excellent sharpness techniuqes (described in detail in ABP II) I am comfortable making sharp image at 26X magnification down to 1/60 sec... Doing so is not child's play.

All comments welcome. Don't be shy.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Such a great capture with perfect exposure and a most appealing composition. Excellent detail and sharpness with the perfect pose. I really like how you handled the perch Artie.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

I really like the eye contact Artie,
nice pose and bg`s color!!!

[bill kominsky]

Wonderful image capture Maestro, stunning looking bird with nothing actually to pick on, great shot.

Bill

[Daniel Cadieux]

Oh man, I tried to get this species to come closer this summer...with no luck. Perhaps next year. I kinda wish the head was turned just a bit more away so the point of the bill wasn't merging as much with the throat...but that's it. Everything else just gels nicely together :-)

[John Chardine]

Really handsome Artie. Love the soft feel of the image and the colour of the bird against the BG. I noticed that shadow (catchlight, upper bill and parts of perch) areas were bluish so I "de-sated" the blue channel. The effect is subtle but for some reason this seems to jump out at me when I see it.

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely light and BG, Artie. The thing that's bothering me with this is sharpness. Main thing seems to be an area of maximal sharpness on the perch to the left of the bird. It is abruptly less sharp further to the left and then softens again at the birds legs and further to the right. The bird itself looks a bit soft around the eye and beak and maximally sharp on the breast. I imagine that the perch sharpness related to the source used for extending the canvas or maybe I just need to see my optometrist to have my eyes checked:)

[Ramon M. Casares]

I agree with Tony's apreciation, but the BG and light are fantastic, I am not a big fan of front view of birds like these little guys as you loose a lot "info" about shape and plumage, but as said, I like it very much as the pose is cute and the exposure is perfect. Congratulations!

[Arthur Morris]

Lovely light and BG, Artie. The thing that's bothering me with this is sharpness. Main thing seems to be an area of maximal sharpness on the perch to the left of the bird. It is abruptly less sharp further to the left and then softens again at the birds legs and further to the right. The bird itself looks a bit soft around the eye and beak and maximally sharp on the breast. I imagine that the perch sharpness related to the source used for extending the canvas or maybe I just need to see my optometrist to have my eyes checked:)

Hi Tony, You are one sharp-eyed dude. The soft look of the perch to our right is natural and occurs because the perch falls away there. The big sharp/soft difference to our left, however, is a result of adding canvas, grabbing a section of the log originally on our right, and then QMing that as a graft on our left. It has bothered me from the get go. I even ran a contrast mask on the new log section to the left but it obviously did not help enough. So no optometrist needed.

The eye looks sharp enough to me and the bill is naturally a bit softer as d-o-f at minimum focusing distance is close to zero. So as to a difference in sharpness between the breast feathers and the face, I am not seeing that. As always, I have admitted have a poor eye for small detail. Lots of folks think that I am copping out but I can assure you that that is not the case. If I looked at a $5 print, a $50 print, and a $500 print from four feet I would likely say that they all look great while others would be pulling their hair out screaming of pixelation and chormatic aberration.

[Arthur Morris]

Really handsome Artie. Love the soft feel of the image and the colour of the bird against the BG. I noticed that shadow (catchlight, upper bill and parts of perch) areas were bluish so I "de-sated" the blue channel. The effect is subtle but for some reason this seems to jump out at me when I see it.

Thanks for the color work John. The difference is subtle but appreciated.

[Arthur Morris]

Oh man, I tried to get this species to come closer this summer...with no luck. Perhaps next year. I kinda wish the head was turned just a bit more away so the point of the bill wasn't merging as much with the throat...but that's it. Everything else just gels nicely together :-)

There were at least four of these guys in Tom Martin's yard. I am actually OK with the head angle here. Maybe a teench more to the bird's right would have been OK, but I would not have wanted the head to be anywhere near square to the film plane. Thanks for you comments.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Hi Artie,
Loved the nice green background and the white breast of the bird contrasting beautifully with it. The background looks like a painting. The shape of the bird has come out pretty well.

I was wondering about the focus and recompose technique. Manual of Canon super teles say don't do it. You had on earlier occasions advised its use. Would it have helped in this scenario? I don't know how long this bird was stationary at one place.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Arthur Morris]

I was wondering about the focus and recompose technique. Manual of Canon super teles say don't do it. You had on earlier occasions advised its use. Would it have helped in this scenario? I don't know how long this bird was stationary at one place. Cheers, Sabyasachi

Hi Sabya, You wrote, the "Manual of Canon Super Teles say don't do it. You had on earlier occasions advised it's use."

Either you are not understanding the manual or the manual(s) is/are incorrect. As it states in ABP II, you can focus and recompose in one of three ways: rear focus button (I advise working in AI Servo AF when doing so), One-Shot AF, or simply by focusing manually (most folks will find the focus confimation beep helpful here). Any of these techniques can be used with any Canon telephoto lens. There is also an AF Stop button that could be used similarly when working in AI Servo AF.

The reason that I did not use any of these techniques is that the little buggers landed on the log only for an instant...

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Hi Artie, I have to check the manual of my lens. I may be wrong.
I also checked this pdf supposed to be written by Chuck Westfall http://www.usa.canon.com/content/Han...OS_Digital.pdf It warns against Focus lock recompose when subject is within 15 feet.

I am quoting from it:
"The 45-point Area AF sensor covers a significant portion of the picture area, especially with the original EOS-1D and EOS-1D Mark II. However, many photographers never use the off-center focusing points, preferring the old-fashioned method of locking focus with the center point and then recomposing for the actual image. Before multi-point AF cameras were available, “Focus Lock and Recompose” (FLR) or manual focus were the
only choices available. That’s no longer the case.

FLR is sufficiently accurate for photographing distant subjects, but it can cause focusing errors, especially backfocus, when photographing subjects within about 15 feet of the camera. This is often the case during portraiture. For optimum focusing performance with close subjects, we recommend avoiding the FLR technique. Instead, use an offcenter focusing point or focus manually".

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Arthur Morris]

HI Sabya,

#1: Originally you wrote, "Manual of Canon super teles say don't do it," it being Focus Lock and Recompose. I still blieve that you are wrong and would need to see it in a Canon super-telephoto lens manual. (Do they have manuals or just the multi-language sheets that come with the lenses???)

#2: In any case Chuck's statement has nothing at all to do with telephoto lenses. Note:few if any Canon super-telephoto lenses (and none of those that I use) have minimum focusing distances of less than 15 feet.

#3: Chuck may be concerned with folks handholding their camera and lenses. At close distances it is difficult to keep your body still and if you are using One-Shot AF and small change in your or the subject's position will result in focusing errors. If you are using AI Servo AF after having chosen the ideal focusing sensor, this will result in accurate focus.

#4: I am of the strong opinion that many photographers spend too much time agonizing on-line about minute technical details and issues (and poring over white papers...) and not enough time creating images and trying new techniques.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

HI Sabya,
Hi Artie,
My responses below. I am writing point wise for the sake of clarity.
#1: Originally you wrote, "Manual of Canon super teles say don't do it," it being Focus Lock and Recompose. I still blieve that you are wrong and would need to see it in a Canon super-telephoto lens manual. (Do they have manuals or just the multi-language sheets that come with the lenses???)

I got the manual after a bit of hunting. Here, I am clearly wrong. I could not find any mention of focus lock recompose technique in the 400mm f2.8 manual. Clear case of brain malfunction I guess. :o It is a manual with the same text in various languages.

#2: In any case Chuck's statement has nothing at all to do with telephoto lenses. Note:few if any Canon super-telephoto lenses (and none of those that I use) have minimum focusing distances of less than 15 feet.
I use the 400mm F2.8 Is. It has a minimum focusing distance of 10feet. So atleast for me it is applicable.

#3: Chuck may be concerned with folks handholding their camera and lenses. At close distances it is difficult to keep your body still and if you are using One-Shot AF and small change in your or the subject's position will result in focusing errors. If you are using AI Servo AF after having chosen the ideal focusing sensor, this will result in accurate focus.

I agree with your observation. I had found AI Serve AF giving good results for my shooting so I have been using it. Your explanation helps.

#4: I am of the strong opinion that many photographers spend too much time agonizing on-line about minute technical details and issues (and poring over white papers...) and not enough time creating images and trying new techniques.

I agree with you. Was it directed at me? Even if it were, then I would take it in the right spirit as it comes from a teacher of your stature.

i had stopped using Focus recompose technique when I am using tele lenses. I will break the self imposed rule. Thanks for responding in detail. I enjoy discussing and tapping your knowledge bank.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Sabya,

re:

AM: #4: I am of the strong opinion that many photographers spend too much time agonizing on-line about minute technical details and issues (and poring over white papers...) and not enough time creating images and trying new techniques.I agree with you.

SP: Was it directed at me? Even if it were, then I would take it in the right spirit as it comes from a teacher of your stature.

We have a saying on this side of the pond: "If the shoe fits, wear it."

i had stopped using Focus recompose technique when I am using tele lenses.

As I said before, that is nuts.

I will break the self imposed rule. Thanks for responding in detail. I enjoy discussing and tapping your knowledge bank.

YAW and good plan.