Practice, Practice, Practice

[Bruce Miller]

I think things are looking up. I am happier with the sharpness. Still the depth of field was a little shallow so I ran auto sharpen and USM (PS Elements). I am using a tripod, with my Jobu design head. Upgraded to the new arm and love it! Last post, it was suggested to use fill flash. I'm not a huge fan of flash, but I'm willing to work to see if I can get better results. All this to get ready for spring migration! Coming very soon!

I tried a few settings with the flash. I tried using manual mode, setting to f7.1 (sweet spot on this lens) and 1/250, ISO 200. With these setting I got very plastered looking results. So I went to shooting av mode at f7.1, and letting the shutter speed set as it may. Then set the flash at high-speed synch and dialed in -1 1/3. I did use +1/3 EV.

The birds were not really cooperative this afternoon, as there was a hawk in the area. But I did get a couple shoots. Here is one:

Canon 40D, 100-400L IS on tripod, Jobu Design Gambal Head and 580 flash.
f7.1, 1/320, +1/3ev, ISO 400; Flash: TTL, High-speed synch, -1 1/3



Thanks for looking. All advice on how to get better results are welcome!

Bruce

[Bruce Miller]

I am shooting from a blind at about 12 feet. This results a little crop.

Bruce

[Jeff Dyck]

Bruce - you have captured a nice pose there. Are you using a Flash Extender (i.e. Better Beamer) with your set-up? This shot doesn't look like to me like one taken with fill flash at - 1 1/3.

[Bill Jobes]

Nice image, Bruce !

A few quick observations: to me the DOF looks pretty good for being as close as 12 feet.

It seems to have been a cloudy day, which makes me wonder about the glare and lost detail on the tail feathers.

And I thought there would have perhaps been a bit more catch light, given the fact you used flash.

Overall, I like the image and the way the colors present under what appears to be cloud cover.

[Kerry Perkins]

Bruce, I took the liberty of downloading this image from your web site and doing a couple of things with it. I'm not saying I made it into a much better image but I want to illustrate something to you. Looking at the images on your web site I thought of a couple of things.

Firstly, you shoot in harsh mid-day sun a lot and that will hurt your image quality significantly. You have a lot of images that are well-composed and thought out but suffer from high contrast, which robs your images of detail. The harsh light causes you to underexpose the blacks as well as overexpose the whites, which leads to loss of detail on both ends. Secondly, I think there is something suspect about how you are sharpening your images. They seem to be over-sharpened on large details but under-sharpened on the small details, which is where the real beauty of feathers lurks in a bird image. I can see sharpening halos around the outer edges of your birds but very little fine feather detail. This makes me think that your sharpening steps could use a little tweak, perhaps smaller radius and threshold numbers?

What I did with this re-post is lower the contrast, run some noise reduction on the whole image (which I wouldn't normally do), and do some fine sharpening on the result. Also did a little selective saturation.

[Bruce Miller]

Bruce - you have captured a nice pose there. Are you using a Flash Extender (i.e. Better Beamer) with your set-up? This shot doesn't look like to me like one taken with fill flash at - 1 1/3.

I did not use a flash extender. I have a better beamer. I will add it next time out.

I also want to move the flash out to the end of the lens instead of on top the camera. While sitting in the blind, I do wonder if some of the lash is getting blocked by the top of the window I'm shooting out. Can't be all because I could really see the effect of the flash when I had ev set at zero. That is why I turned it down.

Any advice on using flashes in blinds or out car windows would be appriciated!

Bruce

[Bruce Miller]

Nice image, Bruce !

A few quick observations: to me the DOF looks pretty good for being as close as 12 feet.

It seems to have been a cloudy day, which makes me wonder about the glare and lost detail on the tail feathers.

And I thought there would have perhaps been a bit more catch light, given the fact you used flash.

Overall, I like the image and the way the colors present under what appears to be cloud cover.

Thanks for your reply!!

Being in Ohio, we are always under cloud cover! At least until July, then it is hazy. September is nice, but there are no birds here then.

I'm not sure why there is glare or loss of detail in the tail?

I wonder if my flash was blocked some? I keep working on my blind setup.

Being 12 feet is really still a little far if I want full frame. 8 to 10 is better, but like you said there less DOF as the subject gets closer.

Thanks for your reply!!

Bruce

[Bruce Miller]

Bruce, I took the liberty of downloading this image from your web site and doing a couple of things with it. I'm not saying I made it into a much better image but I want to illustrate something to you. Looking at the images on your web site I thought of a couple of things.

Kerry, First - thanks for taking the time to do this! I really appriciate it. I do need help in my PP skills.

Firstly, you shoot in harsh mid-day sun a lot and that will hurt your image quality significantly. You have a lot of images that are well-composed and thought out but suffer from high contrast, which robs your images of detail. The harsh light causes you to underexpose the blacks as well as overexpose the whites, which leads to loss of detail on both ends.

I really struggle with this. I do shoot a lot in later hours. This has a lot to do with finding the birds in the morning or evening. Plus, I just don't get the balance of harsh light -to- not enough light. In the first 2 hours of light, there isn't enough light. To get a decent image I need 1/250 or better even on a tripod. To get this shutter speed in the morning I have to jump up ISO to 1000 or more sometimes I can't get it period. With ISO at 1000 I will get very few decent pictures. I find it best to shoot at ISO 640 or lower. Maybe the flash will help with this??!!! Also, is the sun not lower in the sky this time of year? Does that make shooting later in the day better?

I would love advice on how to get the camera setting necessary for 1st 2 or last 2 hours of the day.


Secondly, I think there is something suspect about how you are sharpening your images. They seem to be over-sharpened on large details but under-sharpened on the small details, which is where the real beauty of feathers lurks in a bird image. I can see sharpening halos around the outer edges of your birds but very little fine feather detail. This makes me think that your sharpening steps could use a little tweak, perhaps smaller radius and threshold numbers?

Before 2 months ago, I used Photoshop 7. Yes, an old program. I just got Elements, which seems to do a much better job of post processing. So, I wonder how much better CS5 would be? I use a couple settings for USM sharpening: Mostly 65, 4, 3; sometimes 85, 1, 4; sometimes 20, 30, 10.

I occasionally use the sharpen tool and run it over the head, eye of the bird. I don't feel like I get a lot of control out of this? Is there another way to selective sharpen?

What I did with this re-post is lower the contrast, run some noise reduction on the whole image (which I wouldn't normally do), and do some fine sharpening on the result. Also did a little selective saturation.

What noise reduction did you do, and how? Also, it seems I lack that fine feather detail in a lot of my images. This is one of the few that I have felt has got it. I keep trying new techniques (tripod, Gimbal head, flash, blinds) to get this and better post processing skills.

Thanks!!!
Bruce

[Hazel Grant]

Bruce, I've read all these replies, etc. and can hear myself asking many of the same types of questions as i've been learning. I'm "not there" yet in great photos but I'm so far from where I was..... Keep working at it. You have a good eye. Got a good pose. Like me, you are still working on dof, light, etc. all the elements that come together for that great shot. Here at BPN is the best place to be to get help, as evidenced in the details of replies in just this one post. Keep working. Keep posting. Keep learning. You're well on your way.