Sparrowhawk in rain

[Rosl Roessner]

It's raining and raining and it's a bad time here in Germany for bird photography. But while I sat in the hide an Eurasian Sparrowhawk appeared in front of me and gave me enough time to release the Teleconverter, change the Camera to vertical position and select the Af Point.
I am very glad, that the bird was not in a hurry ;).
When I had a look at the images this one became my favourite because of the water splash beneath the perch.

Comments and Critique very welcome!
Thanks for having a look at my image!
Rose

UUPS, fotgot the details:
Mark III / Canon 500 mm
1/320 sec / f 5.0 / ISO 1600

[Tony Whitehead]

The water splash is lovely, Rosl. I also like the soft light and complementary colours in the plumage and blurred BG. Pity to bird was looking above your position - some direct eye contact would have been nice. You may want to edit your post to add the tech details.

[Laura Hughes]

Very nice details and mood, a bit more room on the bottom would make this even better

[Craig Markham]

Rosl, thank you for sharing this. I'm a fan of lichen-covered perches, and this one contributes beautifully to the overall feel of the image -- especially with the water droplets dripping and splashing. The branching twig below the bird adds balance to the line of the image, as well as interesting texture.

Although the single rain streak above the bird's head is a product of the weather conditions, I would eliminate it. For me, it distracts more than it contributes to the image, and it's an easy delete. For ISO 1600, the image appears remarkably noiseless. My own results with the Mk3 at that ISO often show far more noise in the shadows. Perhaps I'm not keeping my histogram far enough to the right? Any other suggestions on the control of noise at higher ISO's?

[Rosl Roessner]

Hi there,
thank you for spending time with my picture.
Craig, thanks to your gentle words. :)
I ran some noise reduction to the background (can you say "run - to?" sorry for my bad english...) to reduce the noise. But I think the Mark III dies very well with the high ISO's as long as there are not too many dark areas in the picture.
But I am sorry, I have no good advice for you.... :o

[Daniel Cadieux]

I am liking this image for the same reasons as already stated above. With the head angle like this I'm finding myself wanting the space on either side switched (lens pointed a bit more to the left).

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Rosl, Glad to see that you are doing good things with your 500. Love the soft light and agree on the direction of the stare.

Craig, the key to keeping noise under control is to expose to the right, all the way to the right. A perfect EXP will show just a few flashing highlights; as you are seeing the histogram for the JPEG (which is more contrasty), you will not have any problem with the highlights.

[Doug Brown]

Very nice Rosl! Great perch and complimentary BG. Better eye contact would have taken this from good to great.

[Craig Markham]

Craig, the key to keeping noise under control is to expose to the right, all the way to the right. A perfect EXP will show just a few flashing highlights; as you are seeing the histogram for the JPEG (which is more contrasty), you will not have any problem with the highlights.

============================
Artie, I've begun to "expose more to the right" over the past few days. I can really see the difference in my results. I had been trying for more saturation with lower exposure, but as you have pointed out, that's high-noise territory. Thanks for the reminder.

I also uncovered a major no-brainer flaw in my setup today -- leaving the drop-in polarizing filter in my 500mm. That of course sacrifices 2 stops of light for every image I've made with that lens and probably slows AF acquisition as well. See my post, "Vampire Polarizers!", in the General Photography Discussion Forum for the gory details.
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[Rosl quote] I ran some noise reduction to the background (can you say "run - to?" [/quote]
Rosl, it would be "run...on" in this case. Your English is far better than my German ever will be. I understood what you were saying, and I really enjoy seeing your work; I couldn't ask for more.
-- Craig

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Rosl,
Nice image. I would have loved a few more rain drops in the image. I like the perch as well. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi