Spent 3/4 hour watching the bluebirds feeding the young in the nest box at Moose Hill Mass Audubon Sanctuary in Sharon MA Nikon D300s 200-400 Nikon f4 with i.4 TC adjusted in PS
200-400mm @ 550mm
825mm (in 35mm film)
Subject dist: 15.0m
1/250 sec, f/8
Mode: Manual
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
White balance: Auto
Last edited by Myer Bornstein; 06-16-2010 at 07:04 PM.
The harsh light here is a real problem. It caused high contrast on the bird and a large bright area on the sunlite side of the post. Crop-wise, I would go vertical and lessen the perch at the same time as it overpowers the small bird.
Fill-flash could have been a big help here.
You had a nice BG that could have been made darker with combined use of flash.
If flash is out or some shading on the box can't be established, best to get them on an overcast day.
ummm. I'm not good at the technical stuff, but I do know Bluebirds, and your repost made him look worse. Over sharpened. He looks very weathered, even in the first post. This may be an old bird, that's lost a bit of his glamour, but some good light, would help bring a bit of life back into his weary body. Keep trying..Bluebirds are such wonderful subjects.
At this crop you have lost a lot of image quality. The crop is what I had in mind however.
I recently read something in a book by Rob Sheppard which I agree with. He said and to paraphrase, that sometimes the light is just not flattering and it is best to walk away. This is one of those instances.
Fill-flash at the time you made this image would have helped like we did during the Gatorland workshop. I have updated some of the materials from that workshop and will send you links to them for download.