Swallow on Cable

[BillTyler]

This bird seemed totally unafraid, and let me approach quite close.

Bill

50D
EF100-400 at 400mm f/7.1
1/500
ISO 400

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Bill,
I like the capture...I would recommend on taking a little off the bottom, and opening up the mid-tones just a tad, and selective sharpen the eye...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Ron Boisvert]

Hi Bill,
You sure had a cooperative subject! I think some individuals are spooky and some are not. Your image is very sharp, the BG is very nice, and the whites are in check.
You might consider taking a little of the bottom and adding a little to the top, and see how that looks. I also think you can bring out more detail in the shadows by using Shadow/Highlight - try a shadow amount of 20% just to see what I mean and adjust to suit your tastes.
You had a fine opportunity and took great advantage of it. Nice work!!
By the way, what time of day was it?

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Bill,

Nice picture, where was your point of focus (center sensor?). Belly looks sharper than eye, it could be me. 1/500, is greater than your focal length and it is adequate for the shot, but image is a tad soft. Like Gus said, "sharpen selective areas" will help strengthen the image. Additionally, I do not shoot my 100-400 wide open, usually around 380MM.

Peaceful moment, thanks for sharing.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Bill - cute little fella and what a poser! Agree with tech discussions above. Love the background, very nice. If you only do one thing it might be to sharpen the eye.

Jeff, what is the issue about shooting zooms at the far end (wide open refers to aperture)? I find my telephoto lenses are almost always cranked all the way with an extender added. I don't see that there's much difference between 380mm and 400mm?

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Kerry,

I have read articles in this regard. One such article appeared in the magazine "PHOTOgraphic Digital Photographic Guide. Editor's Notes, George Schaub. He mentioned to watch the ratio of the zoom and try to keep it to around 3 to 1.

I will send Al a PM and ask him to weigh in, he is the expert I was just expressing my opinion. I guess each lens is unique.

Sent Al a PM,....

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bill Image looks fine to me Would only crop a bit form bottom and a little on top then add canvas to the left .. need more room for the bird to look into !!

Some zoom lenses don't perform well at the long end but I have no problem with the Canon 100-400 Easiest way to find out is try for yourself ... don't take someone's word for it. Just set up a target and fire away, in the film days it was a pain but now no problem. btw one zoom that comes to mind is the Nikon 80-400 It is not sharp at the 400 end. Tested one and it was not sharp, not sure if it was only that lens.

[Kerry Perkins]

Jeff, understand your comments. Sometimes though it's more about getting the shot than getting the technically perfect shot, at least for me. Obsession over technical details is what ran me off of DPR. Sometimes I just like to shoot, not compute. :D:D:D

[BillTyler]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! Here's a version with less on top and bottom, and more on the left, with a bit of extra sharpening applied to the eye. Actually, the eye is pretty sharp on my system, but I see a difference in the jpeg conversion. The focus sensor was on the lores.

Bill

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Bill,

Looks better, nice repost. I like the crop on the OP better - well done.


Kerry,

I sent you a PM, let's take this off line.

[Harold Davis]

wow, bingo on the repost!! looks great all around now, bill. love the warm light on this bird.

you usually need to add a small amount of sharpening after resizing your jpeg for web. makes a huge difference!!