F22 Say AHHHH>>>

[Don Hamilton Jr.]

Another Owl from yesterday. Yes, i i know... F22 ??? :)
Slight crop from right only!
File Name _MG_7346.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.1.0
Shooting Date/Time 7/4/2010 7:13:24 AM
Author DON_HAMILTON_JR.flyinghamiltons@comcast.net
Copyright Notice 2010
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/30
Av( Aperture Value ) 22.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 800
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM
Focal Length 500.0mm
Image Size 5184x3456
Image Quality RAW
Flash On
Flash Type External E-TTL

[Steve Kaluski]

SS at 1/30 isn't ideal Don if you want a good image and this shows here. Personally I would have put the focus point on one of the eyes as that for me is where the focus point should be. Not sure why you shot at f/22 and I feel the flash is too strong for the subject, you need to have less IMHO also be careful, some birds do not like it.

Is this captive?

Steve

[Bill Dix]

Great pose and nice detail. Amazing to get that close -- ruined his night vision for awhile.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Don - the slow SS has brought you undone here - looks like a little camera movement.
As mentioned flash does look unnatural.

Was this very late in the afternoon?? I rarely use flash in E-TTL mode prefer to work in manual and adjust the power as required - your ambient exposure should be correct whether the flash fires or not - Assuming you are not working with Flash as main light.
Artie has some good stuff in past bulletins.

[Don Hamilton Jr.]

Lance, i agree and understand, purely a newbie dumb mistake. I Learned that lesson, and also today i played with manual flash. I think i'm understanding this better... i made a note of the distance on the 500mm to the subject, i noted 20 feet, i was using a beamer, so that meant i set the flash to 1/32, which was saying it would project 20 feet on the 580 EX. Is this theory the basic idea, or could you walk me thru the steps if i'm wrong here.. as i'm sure other folks could benefit as well.
Thks don

[Lance Peters]

Lance, i agree and understand, purely a newbie dumb mistake. I Learned that lesson, and also today i played with manual flash. I think i'm understanding this better... i made a note of the distance on the 500mm to the subject, i noted 20 feet, i was using a beamer, so that meant i set the flash to 1/32, which was saying it would project 20 feet on the 580 EX. Is this theory the basic idea, or could you walk me thru the steps if i'm wrong here.. as i'm sure other folks could benefit as well.
Thks don

Hi Don - Have a look at this link --- http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=14466

With Flash I work mostly from feel and experience - your ambient exposure should be correct even if the flash does not fire - so I have that set - then with the flash in manual ill will adjust the power to what I think it should be (taking into account distance, Shutter speed as if its over 1/250th going to reduce the flash output, the effect of the better beamer and what I am wanting to do - IE: fill shadows - Just a catchlight in the eye etc etc)
Then have a quick look on the camera LCD and make a adjustment if necessary from there - you want it to look natural ideally!

Best to understand how HSS flash works - so that you can sync at over 1/250th and whats its benefits and limitations are - then Practice Practice Practice.

[arash_hazeghi]

this one is blurry and flash has a bit unnatural look due to close distance, sometimes it is not best to get too close to the bird. I would back off get a sharp photo with reasonable shutter speed/aperture and then crop in post. will yield much sharper details :)