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Thread: Nuthatch and Snowflakes

  1. #1
    Dave Roberts
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    Default Nuthatch and Snowflakes

    I am a new participant (I guess that's the right terminology). And I am also just getting into the nature photography hobby. I am interested in improving my skills both in the field and in PP. So this is my first post to this forum.

    This photo was taken on our property on the edge of some woods, near a corn field and other food and water sources. I do place food nearby to attract wildlife and have a small blind located in the general area. Exposure specifics: Canon 50D, 300 f/4L lens, f/4.5 aperture, ISO 400. I use PhotoShop Elements 6 and performed some level and saturation adjustments. I also applied USM.

    The weather was very cloudy and overcast, cold and snowy (obviously).


  2. #2
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    David,

    Welcome to BPN.

    Composition is good. Horizontal comp for working great for the pose. I would place the bird little lower to just off center the subject.
    Techs are perfect. Exposure is great and DOF is wonderful covering the whole subject. Very good details too.
    I would go for another round of USM on the head.

    All in all an excellent first post.

  3. #3
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    Wecome Dave to the forum.
    Excellent first post. Great pose, so typical for the Nuthatch. Very good use of light and exposure specially considering the conditions. The composition is very good as well. I think it could be even better if the bird was a little lower in the image and just a bit more of the tree was cropped on the left. Also, I think the eye and beak could benefit from selective sharpening.

    Joe

  4. #4
    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Welcome to BPN Dave, and a strong first post. Nice typical pose for this species, only thing is that it is pointing slightly away from you. I don't know how advanced you are in PS or what your personal ethics allow, but there three things I would "eliminate"...the orange scraggly thing below the foot, the snowflake(s) stuck on the head, and the lighter snowflake above the head. I do love the rest of the snow falling, and the sprinkling of it on the tree. Great winter feel to your image!!

  5. #5
    Peter Farrell
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    Welcome Dave from another recent member. I really like this Nut Hatch image. These are a common visitor to my backyard. Good detail on this and the falling snow is great. I agree with Daniel on the removal of a few things, but in all honesty I would not have noticed if he did not point them out.
    Peter

  6. #6
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Welcome to BPN, Dave! Very nice first post. I like the angle, snowy perch and BG. I might have stopped down more for wider DOF and wish the head were angled toward you. Keep them coming!

  7. #7
    Dave Roberts
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    Thank you all for the welcome and your helpful critique. It's all very useful and practical for a newcomer like me.b

    I'm on a pretty steep learning curve in PhotoShop Elements and have been doing quite a bit of reading (and hopefully learning). I'm eager to apply the suggested improvements though.

    And I noticed that I forgot to include the shutter speed in my original post, which was 1/500 s.

    Again, thanks for all your helpful feedback. I'm looking forward to learning and improving my skills.

    Dave

  8. #8
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Welcome Dave. Two of our crack moderators--Dan and Axel--have noted the biggest problem with this image: the bird's head is angled away from you. When the bird itself is angled away, it is imperative that the head be perfectly square to the back of the camera. Check out the Head Angle Police thread in the Tutorials Forum and learn to watch the head angle as you make images.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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  9. #9
    Dave Roberts
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    Arthur,

    Thank you for the helpful information and comments. And the welcome too! Just so I'm clear; when you say the head must be perfectly square to the back of the camera, do mean parallel to the sensor or in the same plane as the rest of the rest of the birds body?

    And is that to improve DOF and sharpness or composition, or all of them?

    Again, I do appreciate the feedback.

    Dave

  10. #10
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    When the bird is angled away, the best head angle is parallet to the sensor. If the bird is parallel to the sensor, the best head angle almost always has the head turned 2 or 3 degrees towards you. These seemingly small details can make huge differences in the impact or your images. At least from where I stand :)
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










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