I shot this photo of the raven on a suburban shopping plaza as it landed on a large pile of compacted snow. It was a difficult shot to pull off because of the stark contrasts and the difficulty controlling the noise in the dark areas. I would appreciate any advice on how to do it better.
Hilke, i think you did rather well here considering the light was coming from the wrong side. probably best too considering it was as harsh as it was. do post your exif data. will help in the critique.
compositonally, the bird is a little too tight in the frame for me. i'd add some canvas all around. i'll let the HAP cite you for the head angle!
I am sorry, I forgot to add the EXIF data; so here they are:
Nikon D300, Lens: Sigma 150 - 500 mm f/5.0-6.3, Shutter priority, ISO 400, Focal Length 500, 2/3 EV, Exposure 1/500 at f/10
Hi Hilke,
I agree with our resident Doctor Davis on the techs. and good advise; I might add that your subject is looking away from the camera, the head angle is way off. Its best to wait until he turns his head in your direction, or if possible walk around him to acquire a better capture angle...looking forward to your next one...:cool:
Wow, what a challenging exposure. Black Raven in snow. What's next a polar bear in a coal mine (smile).
Couple of things here, you could reduce aperture to gain shutter and as harold mentioned the light was not correct. Try to avoid partial lighting on your subjects. Try and have your shadow pointing at subject and the head facing toward you (this was close, best when its parallel with lens) and a clear bright eye. Keep em coming, they get easier after this one for sure.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 08-16-2009 at 10:17 PM.
Hi Hilke - great advice given above - take notice of the main points there and you will be on your way.
Seeing its your first infringement the HAP will let you off with a warning ;)
Keep em coming
Thanks for all your comments. This actually was the only shot I had. I pursued the bird across the parking lot as it flew from a roof to the snow mount, stayed there just a minute or so and was gone. Well, better than nothing :-)
Sometimes we take what we get. We offer suggestions to help but when you only have one shot, we do the best we can. In this case, you did well and I like the picture, great contrast (white and black).
Many times I have only had one shot and it was to blurry to post. The more you take the better you get, where you will start to think about settings before you hold the camera, looking forward to more.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 08-17-2009 at 07:43 PM.
For metering on snow is best to have the meter see only snow and open one and one half stops !! (manual) All cameras will vary but this should get you real close !!!
Common Raven
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