Canon 7D & Canon 500MM
BLUBB
AS/Eval switched between AV & M
Techs below:
I started off this morning 7:00 am trying to shot Chickadees in (AV) mode with EV-1/3 to protect highlights. I was about 23 feet away from a fence line with the sun behind me (at a slight angle) and the BG is foliage. The birds were landing on the fence and the I was clipping their white cheeks. I moved EV to -2/3 and ultimately to-1 before the clipping stopped. In many cases it was very slight and could have been cured in PS at the -2/3 mark, but the EV= -1 was the best setting.
AV observations:
EV -1/3 = f4 @ 1/2500
EV -2/3 = f4 @ 1/3200
EV -1 = f4 @ 1/4000
As an alternative approach, I changed to (M) mode grabbed my light meter and took a reading towards the sky, but not directly at the sun. It read f4 @ 1/4000. I used this to take a batch of pictures as well. Noting that the background was mostly stable in color, the images were almost perfect. I made some small adjustments in manual mode. For example, I still experienced slight clips from time to time with small BG foliage changes, I adjusted the shutter as needed.
Note the AV EV -1 was the same setting as the Manual mode setting f4 @ 1/4000 using a light meter (with a consistent background).
This information comes from a batch of 150 pictures. Hence I believe it to be directional correct - there were variances.
AV and M - play with them both - you will become a better photographer.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 11-06-2009 at 08:23 AM.
love the image! great eye contact, very energetic pose. I would like to see it larger in the frame.
Thank you for such a great detailed description of the process. really appreciate it!
As you might guess this is a crop, the image is about 75% of the original. They are so small even with the 500. Hence, I kept some neg space in the picture to keep the image quality high and avoid the real-large crop, I appreciate your comments. Thank you for the good feedback.
yes, they are tiny birds. unlike those huge egrets, herons, etc one finds all over the place in Florida! lol
(another reason I love Florida, and why I like photoing deer. bigger is good with my ability and lenses. :D)
The techs. look good Jeff,
I like the image and capture. You have sharp details, a good head angle and sharp eye contact. Would suggest taking just a tad from the top...looking good...:cool:
Love the curious pose, the feather details, the sharpness and an excellent exposure with black and white bird. The repost with tighter crop put this image even better. Very good information on the process of exposure, by the way which exposure setting did you use (spot, center weight, average, etc) and why do you start with a -EV to begin with, is it because the background which cover majority of the frame is darker than the subject (assuming you used average)?
The scene setting was basically mid point gray in total, so I chose Eval and used neg EV to protect the white highlights. I knew that these guys have a lot of white for their size and it is easy to blow it out. Now this is something I did not share in the initial narrative, along came a female Cardinal and I was set to -1. Guess what,..total under exposure,..but I made some fast adjustments, she does not have white highlight. Hence, EV=0, or around 1/2000 would have been great for her.
I only use spot (and I use spot often), if the BG is very bright and the FG not, or the subject is real light/dark and large in the frame (e.g.,large in the frame white swan,..spot and add +1.5 EV). As you know once you get one color right the balance fall into place. I will spot something soon as well, gret questions. Keep em coming.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 11-06-2009 at 08:25 AM.
... btw metering wise I think the spot on the meter is larger than the white area on the bird so you are not really spot metering on the little guy, plus if you need to meter fast because you might only get one chance, experience has taught me Av minus one will nail that image ... sometimes simpler is better :)
I love the tighter image and might even take some from the top, pose is cute over the top !!! Big Congrats !!!
Al, yes, AV-1 was correct, it was educational to note that with a light meter measuring the light falling on fence, the reading was f4 @ 1/4000 which was the same as AV -1. Hence, a manual setting was easy to produce.
Regarding the closeness issue, I was in my car using a bean bag (BLUBB). Early in the morning, I pulled beside a fence area at a local state park where I often see bird activity and tried to remain still.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 11-06-2009 at 11:34 PM.
Chick -O - Meter
