Pale Thrush at Our Setup

[Craig Brelsford]

Please enjoy this pale thrush from the setup in Hangzhou. This individual could have spent the winter in the region or could have wintered farther south and be making its way up to its breeding grounds in the Russian Far East, Manchuria, and Korea. Turdus pallidus is a shy species, but the bits of apple on our perches finally lured this fellow out. Like you, I'm unhappy about the burning blade of grass behind the tail of the thrush. The grass is useful, though, because it reminds me of my need to improve my skill at making setups.

Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal Length: 600mm
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: +0.33
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1250
Subject Distance: 7.1 m
Photoshoppery: I removed a bright yellow blade of grass from the area just to the right of the post. I used noise reduction on the BG more as a blurring tool than to reduce noise.

[Doug Brown]

Good self-assessment Craig. Nice head angle and good sharpness. I would have preferred a perch that didn't have that sawed-off look to it. Also I wish that there wasn't an OOF light gray tree trunk extending from the perch all the way to the top of the frame.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice shot, great that it is sharp with such low SS. With Nikon D3S I would easily go to ISO 6400 for a shot like this.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Craig, excellent sharpness throughout, and I like how we have a good view of the feet in this. With your skills, Im sure you could have blended in the grass behind the tail.

[Craig Brelsford]

Hi Craig, excellent sharpness throughout, and I like how we have a good view of the feet in this. With your skills, Im sure you could have blended in the grass behind the tail.

Hi Stu, you're right, I got rid of the grass in another, similar frame. The result was pretty good, but a final yellow aura around the tail was hard to eradicate. Thanks for looking.

[Craig Brelsford]

nice shot, great that it is sharp with such low SS. With Nikon D3S I would easily go to ISO 6400 for a shot like this.

Thanks, Arash. Next time I'm going to run the ISO a little higher.

[Craig Brelsford]

Good self-assessment Craig. Nice head angle and good sharpness. I would have preferred a perch that didn't have that sawed-off look to it. Also I wish that there wasn't an OOF light gray tree trunk extending from the perch all the way to the top of the frame.

Thanks, Doug. In many ways the setup is inadequate. I need to improve the perches and smooth out the BG. I'm finding that the simpler the BG is, the more DOF one can use without a cluttered-looking BG. What's the best stuff to read on making setups?

[Ken Canning]

Hi,

The image has great detail and composition. The oof grass behind the tail doesnt really bother me, though I suppose it would be better without. The perch looks like it has cut marks and that does bother me, given this is a set up.