Canon 20D w/ 70-200 f/4 @138mm, handheld
Auto Exposure, ISO 100, f/7.1 @ 1/500, Shutter Priority
This was shot last fall at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico and is one of those "if I only knew then what I know now" situations. Now I shoot everything that's moving at ISO 400 and above, and this would have improved my ability to maximize DOF and stop the action. It's no excuse that I shot this with a sandwich in one hand and the camera in the other; it happened very quickly and caught me by suprise. Next time I'll be better prepared!
I don't know what else I can do to improve this image; all suggestions, comments, and criticisms are welcome.
Thanks!
Last edited by Ron Boisvert; 07-16-2009 at 04:27 PM.
Reason: Image posts as thumbnail???
I like the deep dof on this image, it certainly gives you a lot to look at! Although a short dof would make for less "clutter"/confusion. But I think I would prefer this way as it prob looked more like this in real life.
Hi Ron,
I like the image and capture, my personal recommendation would be to take off a little from the bottom just above your copy right, to eliminate the negative space at the bottom, my eyes keep going there, due to the fact that its the lightest area in the frame...good show...looking forward to your next one...:cool:
Gus, I removed a bird at lower left so as to not have half a bird with the crop from the bottom, burned the water, and removed bird parts from the left, top, and right.
Like all the chaotic action here, Ron. I find it very interesting with the huge mass of birds in the middle and then the more distant birds against the sky. Like the repost; good example of how small changes can make a big difference.
Gus, Thank you for the suggestion to crop from the bottom. I believe it is better now. A big thank you to everyone else who offered feedback as well. I appreciate it!
Hi Ron, I like the repost with tad taken off bottom. I would not have noticed the birds missing. I thought about somehow darkening the water on the RHS...but you did that as well! Terrific shot, and good reflexes, with or without being armed with a sandwich. I am amazed that the birds are flying straight at you. My birds generally fly in the other direction!
Tech wise you might want to increase the ISO even more ... how about max it out !!!! Mostly white will show no noise and can take advantage.
At the beach for terns I like to stop my lens all the way down, the 500 with converters will go to f 64 then use a reasonable shutter speed and the ISO to match which is normally very hight 5000 or more !!! Works well !!!
Jenny, The thing that suprised me most, (other than having had the presence of mind to even get any shots off), was that after the geese were done flying over me, I realized I didn't even get pooped on!!:D
Alfred, your comment is one of those "Now that's so obvious, why didn't I ever think of that!" ideas. I'm so focussed on trying to hit the sweet spot of proper exposure and minimal noise by keeping the ISO in the 400-800 range, that it hasn't occured to me that in a high-key situation the noise can be much more of a non-issue. I will definitely experiment with your suggestion and evaluate the results. Thank you very much for the tip!!!
Blast off!
