Wow you went for the little guys Best to go after larger birds These guys are difficult and require long lenses Most use a 600 with converters!!!!
You did get a good exposure and it is sharp Both very good things A couple of things to remember for your next one Small birds in frame look best in one or the corners In this case lower left Also remember head angle We need the tip of the bill to be just a bit toward the camera It makes the eye and tip on the same plane making both sharp
Try finding the bird in a more open area with so much bg clutter it makes it difficult
Regarding your settings in camera noticed one that you should change Not much need to close down to f 14.0 and have to resort to 1600 ISO btw it is very clean for that high ISO? Neat !!! With plenty of light you should not have to go much above ISO 400 Most of the time you want to shoot wide open or stop down one We only stop down when shooting very close so dof is minimal
Thanks for the kind welcome, Alfred! I go for all the guys, little or big, and I am definitely limited by my equipment. I forgot to take the ISO down; it was up because of a previous shooting. I was pretty pleased that I did not have the graininess that I sometimes get at that high ISO. I think the cropping is my real problem in this photo. I'm trying to think about exposure in the field, but I usually do it at home on the computer, thinking gee this would have been better if . . .
My goal is art, but I also feel compelled to document all that I see . . . I concentrate on the Illinois River Valley, and I want to show all, good and bad, but the art comes first and that is where you guys can help me.
I love black capped chickadees! There is a place here on LI where they are tame and actually land in your hand if you have some seed.
Totally agree with AL, ISO 1600 is not your best choice here. When you crop a high ISO image you will get noise bu you actually did pretty well here.
A 400mm lens will get you some nice images of some bigger birds or if you set up a feeder you will attract some that will be closer for you. That is not to say you cannot get this bird with a 400, you could around here but it depends on how jittery they are in your area. Try and learn which subjects you can approach easier and get as close as you can slowly! You will learn the safe distance pretty quickly if you work at it. After that it is you and your technique. You will do it, give it a little time and effort and keep posting them!!!
Well you have certainly had expert advice that should help you in future. One thing that you can still do to enhance the artistic
appeal of this image, is use the clone tool to remove the branches behind the little bird. If you become skillful at this it will save
very many images in the future. It will also make you more observant of these intrusive branches
Kind regards
eland
Excellent point ...... by the time you finish cloning the offending branches will make you look for them so you don't have to do so again !!!! Similar to dust on sensors Having to remove will push you into cleaning the sensor !!!!
Welcome Jane! I've taken some pretty close images of chickadee at feeder arrangements like George recommends. You might look around for a local nature center where you can try getting closer and where birds will come down from the tree tops for a better angle. Good start, and I'm sure you will learn a lot here!
Thanks for all the good advice. I am not very good with the clone tool, but practice can help. Perhaps looking for the obtrusive branches while framing the bird would be of more help! I do have a nature center near by and I have taken advantage of it to get some closer shots of these little and quick moving guys.
Black-capped Chickadee
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