Black & White Warbler

[Bruce Miller]

I got this guy down in Shawnee State Forest.





Thanks for looking!
Bruce




Date Taken: 2010-05-07
Camera: Canon EOS 40D (100-400LIS)
Exposure Time: 0.005s (1/200)
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 400mm (640mm in 35mm)
Date Modified: 2010-05-10
Photo Dimensions: 1322 x 1653
File Size: 1.31 MB
Flash: flash fired, compulsory flash mode
Metering: spot
Exposure Program: aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Exposure Mode: auto
White Balance: auto
Color Space: sRGB

[Fabs Forns]

I fixed your post, Bruce, thanks for adding the EXIF data.
Lovely little bird, I have only seen one once and could not get even a record picture because he wouldn't sit still :(
Very nice as presented, clean BG and good EXP and the singing a big plus.
Crop would work very nice for a print but can go tighter for web presentation.
Well done.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Loved the comp, pose and the bokeh. Such clean shots of tree dwellers are always nice to see. And difficult to get. Well done Bruce.

[Doug Brown]

Love the singing pose. I like the placement of the bird in the frame but would be tempted to crop a little from the top and right. I seeing a slight bluish cast on my monitor, and there is a little motion blur. Overall like it a lot!

[Arthur Morris]

Sharp and a nice singing pose but there are problems.
1-there is a magenta cast to the blacks of the throat.
2-the bird is slightly angled away from you.
3-the eye could use some work.

While I love the BKGR there is too much of it: a SQ crop might word well here.

Lastly, you might wish to lose the two small branches that come off the main perch.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Excellent exposure and the lovely singing pose makes it for me. Beautiful capture and thanks for sharing Bruce.

[Bruce Miller]

I fixed your post, Bruce, thanks for adding the EXIF data.
Lovely little bird, I have only seen one once and could not get even a record picture because he wouldn't sit still :(
Very nice as presented, clean BG and good EXP and the singing a big plus.
Crop would work very nice for a print but can go tighter for web presentation.
Well done.

Thanks Fabs for the comment and for fixing my post. I was having trouble! You are correct, these guys do not sit still for long.

[Bruce Miller]

Love the singing pose. I like the placement of the bird in the frame but would be tempted to crop a little from the top and right. I seeing a slight bluish cast on my monitor, and there is a little motion blur. Overall like it a lot!

Thanks Doug. I'll have to play with the color. I really struggle getting that tweeked in Photoshop. I wish these guys would stop for more than a second, then maybe there would be less motion blur. I've been expirimenting with higher ISO's. Not sure what else I can do.

[Bruce Miller]

Sharp and a nice singing pose but there are problems.
1-there is a magenta cast to the blacks of the throat.
2-the bird is slightly angled away from you.
3-the eye could use some work.

While I love the BKGR there is too much of it: a SQ crop might word well here.

Lastly, you might wish to lose the two small branches that come off the main perch.

Thanks Artie, What I love about this site is getting helpful feedback!

1. Suggestions on how fix the color in photoshop? I really have trouble with this. I wonder if I messed with color balance to begin with and that is why it is off?

2. I kept telling him to face me, but he was feeling a little camera shy...

3. Do you think I could help the eye with the sharpening tool?

I'll try tightening the crop some and see if I can without losing the detail.

Bruce

[Bruce Miller]

Excellent exposure and the lovely singing pose makes it for me. Beautiful capture and thanks for sharing Bruce.

Thanks Judy! Me too!

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Bruce,

re:

Thanks Artie, What I love about this site is getting helpful feedback!

YAW and I agree. I hope that you will consider supporting us as a member soon :).

1. Suggestions on how fix the color in photoshop? I really have trouble with this. I wonder if I messed with color balance to begin with and that is why it is off?

Here, with the magenta cast most evident on the neck, I would simply paint a Quick Mask (APTATS I and Digital Basics) and then reduce the MAGENTA saturation. First raising it to 100% will confirm the presence of the color cast...)

2. I kept telling him to face me, but he was feeling a little camera shy...

Sometimes all that it takes it to be aware of head angle to do better. It is my #1 concern before I push the shutter button. In this image the problem is more that the bird's upper body is angled away from you (than with the head angle itself...).

3. Do you think I could help the eye with the sharpening tool?

No. You need to work large and clean up the flash eye/purple eye. That is described in Digital Basics in the Eye Doctor section.

I'll try tightening the crop some and see if I can without losing the detail.

Good plan. Sorry to be tardy in getting back to you but I have been swamped.

[Arthur Morris]

Magenta cast removed from neck. Eye Doctor work. Two small branches removed with Quick Masks. Face sharpened selectively. Cleaned up pixilation around bill. All as per Digital Basics and APTATS I :) SQ crop.

Image quality is poor suggesting an already large crop and/or poor Photoshop workflow techniques :) :)

[Bruce Miller]

Magenta cast removed from neck. Eye Doctor work. Two small branches removed with Quick Masks. Face sharpened selectively. Cleaned up pixilation around bill. All as per Digital Basics and APTATS I :) SQ crop.

Image quality is poor suggesting an already large crop and/or poor Photoshop workflow techniques :) :)

Artie,

WOW, Thanks for taking the time to redo the PP on this photo! I'm digging out my Digital Basics book I bought from you last fall. I do truely suck at post processing, so I'm sure a lot of the issue is with my workflow. I forsee some Photoshop workshops in the next year to come.

The image is a crop. I shoot a 100-400LIS on a 40D. All my images are crops of some sort. I don't know the meaning of full frame! :) This is why I am really trying to bring the birds closer with the use of a blind. This bird was maybe 12-15 feet. He was pretty close. Last night at our Photo club meeting the speaker was talking about setting perches at his minimum focus distance of 22 ft (with a nikon 600f4). I told the guy next to me, that I can't even see the bird if it's that far! I hope for 8-12 feet.

Bruce

[subhrashis]

Magnificent image, and dare I say the badd-ish ha is not bothering me too much! Repost is a great improvement, but i also liked the original crop.

Yeah, 22 feet is the next galaxy! :cool:
8-12 feet is more like it, when you are really up close and personal with a beautiful living being, that's some feeling! Most of all , you don't have to crop (that much):D!

It's worse for me with a 450 effective max reach... 6-8 is more my zone;)!

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Bruce,

re:

WOW, Thanks for taking the time to redo the PP on this photo!

YAW.

I'm digging out my Digital Basics book I bought from you last fall.

Good plan; the bad news is that you actually have to read and study to improve. We are working on an Osmotic Version where you just put it under your pillow and absorb the info via dream waves.

I do truly suck at post processing, so I'm sure a lot of the issue is with my workflow. I forsee some Photoshop workshops in the next year to come.

I might humbly suggest that if you have the last update/revision of Digital Basics (NOV 2009, I believe), then you will not need a workshop to learn the basics. All that you need to do is open DB and treat it like a cook book :) Just read the recipe and follow along. I am no computer wizard and 8 years ago the word Photoshop scared me terribly....

The image is a crop. I shoot a 100-400LIS on a 40D. All my images are crops of some sort. I don't know the meaning of full frame! :)

You need to come to FLA and/or check out what Dan Cadiuex is doing with his 1-4....

This is why I am really trying to bring the birds closer with the use of a blind. This bird was maybe 12-15 feet. He was pretty close. Last night at our Photo club meeting the speaker was talking about setting perches at his minimum focus distance of 22 ft (with a nikon 600f4).

That sounds like the old manual focus lens... The newer AF versions have much better MFDs.


I told the guy next to me, that I can't even see the bird if it's that far! I hope for 8-12 feet.

Good luck :)!