Drum roll please! So I took this shot late yesterday afternoon with the sun low in the horizon (around 7:30 - sunset is around 7:45 I think) and directly behind me. Here are the specs:
D300s
Nikon 300 F4 AFS w/1.7 TC
ISO 200
F/8.0
1/250
This shot was taken with an aluminum Manfroto - even with my Jobu Jr. 2 Gimbal locked down, there was still some camera shake (small, but perceptible). I just today bought a Gitzo 3530LS (NICE!), so hopefully future shots will be sharper still. Heck, I'll even use mirror lock up and a remote, as these Tree Swallows seem to like to sit in one position a fairly long time. Cropped about 75% of the original full size. The white breast made it tough to expose correctly - what do you think?
Thanks!
Brian
Hi Brian Big Warm Welcome !!! ... sure wish I had sound for the drum roll and the crowd going Ahhhhhhhhh :)
Lot of good things here Exposure is good, your shooting at the right time for good results, excellent bg and good pose !! Framing wise would crop right of the bird to do away with most of the perch then have more room on the left .. direction the bird is looking !! Crop will also take bird out of the center !!!
Light was from the right so parts of the left side are in shade, try getting into sun angle is possible ... or some fill flash !! Would also lighten around the eye area for a clearly visible eye !!
Tech wise your camera performs very well regarding ISO, would raise for more shutter speed .. the head area is slightly soft and could be camera shake? Lots of focal length .. was this from a tripod? Neat first post and looking forward to the next one !!!
Hi Brian,
Congrats on the your first posting. I find swallows very difficult to capture because they rarely site still for very long and they are difficult to capture in flight because they fly very fast and erratic.
You captured a nice pose and HA.
I have taken the liberty of making some adjustments to your shot. Hope you don't mind.
I realize the shot was taken at sunset but I feel the colour cast takes away from the image. I used the auto tone feature in CS4 to give more nature colours.
I adjust the S/H, B/C and used Smart Sharpening.
Also I feel the composition could improved by cropping out much of the mesh and wood on the right.
Keep the shots coming.
Joe
Yep - I was shooting @ 500mm (Nikkor 300 F4 + 1.7 TC) from a Manfroto aluminum tripod with a Gimbal (Jobu Jr. 2) - even still, I could see some camera shake and I think that may account for the somewhat soft head. Just mounted my Gimbal to my new Gitzo 3530LS, and I can see an immediate MAJOR improvement in visible image shake! I'm also seriously considering getting the "Better Beamer" rig - seems to have great feedback. Thanks again for the feedback!
Brian
Joe, what a MAJOR improvement, both in color cast (you really brought out the blues!!!), composition and sharpening! I do not currently have CS4 - using Lightroom, which has some basic editing ability - but I'm in the midst of deciding on a computer to dedicate to my photography obsession, and with that purchase I'll be adding CS4 (or is it 5 now?). Thanks again for you improved version! And I agree, those little buggers (swallows) are FAST, aren't they?
:-)
Brian
Hi Joe Excellent re post !! ... one suggestion When we use the auto tone feature does eliminate the cast but we shoot late in the day to have a pleasing light !! The image looks as if it was taken in the middle of the day !!
Do like the brightening of whites and the extra detail captured around the eye, would try adjusting the cast manually to leave some of the effect. In this are is all taste and we will all come up with a little different rendition !! ... do like you PS work !! Excellent and great to see the re post !!!
Hi Brian - Big Warm welcome to BPN - Dont hesitate to jump right in and leave comments on other peoples images or do a REPSOT like Joe has - no better faster way to learn.
Nice work Joe on the repost - do agree with AL - Colour cast is desirable in this case!! Lots of other good work there though!!! Like the tighter crop and sharpening.
In regards to the sharpness Brian - could be SS! General rule of thumb to ensure sharp images -- Shutter speed should be 1 over your focal length as a minimum - so here 1/500th as a minimum.
Hi Brian, I also offer you a big welcome! Good advice above! On a D300 you can push the iso up to 800 without much noticeable noise. This might help give you more speed when needed in the future. Good first effort...
A handsome pose you have there, the head turn toward the camera (not looking away) which is good. Your details in white look goo too. Also a nice green uniform background which I like. I like Joe repost with the vertical crop and additional sharpening. As for late afternoon color, I might go between the original and the repost.
My very first photo upload critique!
