Stonechat Male

[shane shacaluga]

Managed to get close enough to this one for a full frame shot with minimal cropping needed. Not sure of the settings on Panasonic Lumix FZ100 as am still on shutter speed priority and letting the camera select F# and ISO. Will try and fish out the settings and post later.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hello poster. We use our real first and last names on BPN and I would ask that you get in touch with James Shadle to get you user name fixed up. My apologies if that is your real first and last name!

Is it Shane? First of all, welcome to BPN! We would love to see your images larger!

You got a nice capture of the little chat in your frame! The harsh light is an issue for you here, as it causes your image to be contrasty with hot whites in the direct sun and blocked blacks in the shadows. Would be nice to have a higher shooting angle, as we are looking up at the bird quite a bit here. Nice head angle and perch.

[shane shacaluga]

Thank you very much for your comments Kerry

Whats the best way to get the images in the right size and also to show at the title of the thread on the list of all the other threads from partners

My name is Shane Shacaluga, sorry about that, should have read the small print.

What can i do about the harsh light? The sun was quite bright that day and the chat unfortunately has both black and white so not sure what to do. The settings which i checked last night were F5.2 and 1/500 with ISO 200

Regarding the shooting angle, the bird was high up on the tip of a bush and unfortunately could not get more of a level shot. Will keep it in mind for next time though

Again thanks

[John Chardine]

Hi Shane- This bird photography is tough but you are at the right place to learn! First welcome to BPN.

There are various ways to size your image for posting. Have a look at this thread:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...read.php/62351

BPN limits are maximum of 1024 pixels wide, maximum of 800 pixels high, and file size no larger than 200kb. Thumbnails of images show up in the thread listings for members only. This might be fixed in the future.

Regarding harsh light there are a few things you can do:

1. Avoid it! Seek out good lighting conditions and shoot then. Morning and evening light is good, cloudy conditions are good, rain and fog are even good. Bright sun high in the sky is generally not good.

2. Use a flash to fill in the shadows.

3. Try to get the sun behind you so that the subject is more evenly lit than it is here. However, if the sun is high in the sky this has little effect.

For shooting angles I just avoid shooting up or down to a bird and try to shoot at eye level or close to it. Good luck and look forward to seeing more!

[Kerry Perkins]

Shane - what John said! Good advice there... Practice, practice, practice, and hanging out here is the best way I know to become a better bird photographer!

[shane shacaluga]

Thanks a lot. Will keep those points in mind!

Getting close to birds with my two dogs running riot, is a bit of hard work, but I'll manage