Tree Swallow

[Jon Saperia]

I have been reading/participating in the HA forum and now find few of my shots are within spec. For this (my second submission to ETL) I thought I would try one of the HA's that appear to be one of the OK angles (looking right down the barrel at the camera) to see where this needs fine tuning in addition to other comments about the photo.

Photo taken with Nikon D700, Nikon VR600mm F4/g with a 1.4 TC (equivalent of 850mm). Taken at f5.6 at 1/500 sec, in manual exposure mode with auto ISO mode on - ISO 900 and -0.7 EV set to deal with whites. No Flash, Metering mode was Matrix. Slow shutter was a deliberate choice so as not to raise ISO further. Taken from a blind, nothing removed, just cropped a couple background spots smoothed. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2 exported from PhotoMechanic.

[Dan Brown]

Beautiful shot Jon! The HA works for me! I love the sharpeness, soft light and the colors. The perch is big but I like the way it sweeps up.

I am wondering why you are using auto ISO? My personal preference is to have total control of the shutter speed and ISO. I have read here in previous threads that the in-between ISO's like your 900 here are actually as noisey as the next stop up, which would be 1600! So, you would have been better off IMO to have manually set the ISO at 800, as far as noise is concerned and the benefit in terms of shutter speed at 900 versus 800 ISO would be very little. You could have shot this image at 800 ISO, 500ss and the difference would have easily been handled in NX2 or ACR. Having said this, your camera body is probably great noise-wise at 1600, as I can see in this very nice image!

[Jon Saperia]

Thank you for the comment. Auto ISO is a long discussion, probably out of scope for this forum, but I have converted to it because it works better for me. I still get to select shutter speed and f-stop as the camera is in full manual. I have my ISO limits set with at top of 1600. By setting f-stop, shutter speed and EV value if needed, the camera can respond to changes in light by adjusting ISO while producing about the same histogram faster than a human with no loss in 'creative' options as I see it (can also be helpful for flight I find). Of course there are times when I want ISO above 1600 and often will not use AUTO iso in these and some other cases (esp. in certain flash conditions).

All that said, I am here to learn. I will continue to experiment :-)

[Mikko Viljamaa]

Nice job Jon. If I would have to find something to improve, I would crop little less (if possible), especially from top and right. But that's just me... :D

Mikko

[John Chardine]

Jon- This is a beautiful image! The detail in the swallow plumage is outstanding (although the blues look a little blown). Love the complementary background too. I agree with Mikko that some more room would work well.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Jon - lots to like here - agree with the comments re a little more room - does feel a little tight.
Auto ISO choice is a interesting one and if it works for you then go with it.
Sharp as a tack - like the pose. A little more DOF perhaps so that the front wing was also in focus.
Nice one !

[Arthur Morris]

Jon asked me to comment on the head angle here. It is perfect. Bottle it. Sell it. For a lot. This one could be in the dictionary next to the phrase, "Staring right down the lens barrel."

I would be remiss in not stating that this is a very loverly image all around. Love the SH, the perfect EXP, and the colors. I'd lose the little white nub on the top left of the perch. Masel tov :)

[Desmond Chan]

Agree with all the great critiques above :D

I find the blue too light though. Where I am the tree swallows have darker blue. But, could be different species.

[Julie Kenward]

Wow, Jon, you got Artie to say loverly...take a bow my friend! That's some pretty high praise.

Agree that the little white bump on the left edge of the frame can go and I also think the one piece of white feather sticking straight out about halfway between the breast and the foot can go as well. Everything else is most excellent!

[Desmond Chan]

Auto ISO is a long discussion, probably out of scope for this forum, but I have converted to it because it works better for me. I still get to select shutter speed and f-stop as the camera is in full manual. I have my ISO limits set with at top of 1600.

I think that's a good idea given D700's (D3 and D3s also) great performance in the high ISO department.

I used to use auto ISO with S5.

[Mark Young]

Really nice over the shoulder look. The contrasting blue and green in the image look great.

[Jon Saperia]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Now I have to see if I can find one good head angle in a more 'traditional' pose. That may be harder. I will practice on some of A/B examples Artie has been posting to see if I can get those right.

[Dan Brown]

Thank you for the comment. Auto ISO is a long discussion, probably out of scope for this forum, but I have converted to it because it works better for me. I still get to select shutter speed and f-stop as the camera is in full manual. I have my ISO limits set with at top of 1600. By setting f-stop, shutter speed and EV value if needed, the camera can respond to changes in light by adjusting ISO while producing about the same histogram faster than a human with no loss in 'creative' options as I see it (can also be helpful for flight I find). Of course there are times when I want ISO above 1600 and often will not use AUTO iso in these and some other cases (esp. in certain flash conditions).

All that said, I am here to learn. I will continue to experiment :-)

If it's going to work for you like this post, keep it up! I am a little more concerned about ISO noise with my D300 and therefore would prefer to do manual ISO but you have me thinking of trying your auto plus the 1600 tops!

[Arthur Morris]

Agree with all the great critiques above :D I find the blue too light though. Where I am the tree swallows have darker blue. But, could be different species.

The blues look "light" here because of the soft light and the perfect EXP....

[Jon Saperia]

If it's going to work for you like this post, keep it up! I am a little more concerned about ISO noise with my D300 and therefore would prefer to do manual ISO but you have me thinking of trying your auto plus the 1600 tops!

Dan, Sorry, I apologize, I did not describe this well. Auto ISO on our cameras does not limit ability (including on the D300 - I had one) to set a maximum ISO, above which you system will not go in auto ISO mode. So, if you do not feel comfortable at ISO's say above 800, you could limit that to be your highest allowed value in AUTO mode (which you can change at any time). In the end, the amount of light hitting the sensor is the same as in non-auto ISO mode :-) To get a good picture at higher ISO's, the exposure has to be right. I could have shot the image above at ISO 400 with half the shutter speed, but my rate of keepers at 850mm at 250th/s is not as good as I would like ;)

[Arthur Morris]

Tv Mode with EXP compensation and Auto ISO (or with ISO Safety Shift) can be a good choice in a variety of situations. Most of them involve situations where you want to maintain a minimum shutter speed for one reason or another or need to maintain absolute control of shutter speed when creating intentional blurs. The danger is doing so in situations where the BKGR is changing from moment to moment; in those situations you are doomed to failure. In the past few months there have been several times when I went to Tv mode with some form of auto ISO and taught others to do the same. Jon, are you comfortable working in Manual mode when need be?

Lastly, I have never bought the comments about the in-between ISOs. Anyone have an proof other than quoting the internet experts who never take any images?

[Jon Saperia]

Your question is do I feel comfortable in full manual without auto ISO. Yes, I do turn auto ISO off in some situations. Indeed it is in your way for most flash situations I have encountered. I have many bad pictures to prove your point about the changing background issue you mention so I do try to be careful. That said, I find it is very helpful. On the day I shot this, the sun was going in and out a lot but the background was constant relative to the perch the tree swallow was on.

[Arthur Morris]

With the BKGR constant all that you need to do is changed your compensation when the sun goes in or out. If you have a bird perched on rock with breaking waves as BKGR or a bird in flight against the sky one moment and the dark woods the next, you need to be in Manual mode. With a set ISO.

[Jon Saperia]

Thanks -- this helps me. A goal for this winter is to get good shots of Harlequin ducks which are often in breaking waves. I will be sure to try this without auto iso.

[Arthur Morris]

While in Manual mode :) Where for Harlequins?

[Jon Saperia]

There are a couple of places on the "North Shore" of Boston in Rockport, Massachusetts. There is a section of rocky coast from a point know as Cathedral Ledge to Halibut Point in Rockport where they can generally be found in the winter. The best place is off Cathedral Ave. Latitude: 42.68041234781375 and Longitude: -70.62270283699036. They are generally very skittish and you have to be very patient, come up slowly and and wait. I have yet to figure out if low or high tide is best. I have found this place to be quite reliable. At the end of last winter I got some mating/display shots that were good but were too far away. Your 800 with a 2x would do well. It is not that the distance is so great, but that relative to other ducks these guys are smaller.

This area is generally well known for such things in the area. During the winter there are common and red breasted Mergansers, Common Loons, Eider, an occasional King Eider, Grebe (Pied bill), Bufflehead, Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, etc.