One of the first images with the new lens, taken 6/23 in my back yard.
Nikon D7000 w 200-400mm and 1.7x at 550mm, Shutter priority +1 EV
f/6.7, 1/500, ISO 1100, distance 5m
TTL fill flash at -1
Tried to knock down sky in BG upper right and behind. It's full frame, but I added 1/2 inch of canvas in front to move him back in the frame.
Congrats on the new lens. I am sure you will really enjoy it. I did find when using the 200-400 that it didn't always give quite the sharpness I was after with the 1.7TC, better with the 1.4. This was a rented lens, and perhaps had been knocked about.
Having said that, your image is certainly sharp enough. Nice angle in frame, good feather detail. I do think the background is still bright enough to overpower the bird a bit. I did a multiply blend layer on your image, masked the bird and painted back in some of the light. I also wanted to reduce the flashed look a bit. Lots of options here, and you can do a better job on the raw file, but just some food for thought.
Nice pose on this guy. Details are spot-on, exposure looks good...a wee bit on the dark side on the upper body, but with good "under the canopy" feel to it. Excellent job on the canvas extention. Randy's tweaks make it better, but in both versions the OOF leaves covering the perch beneath the tail are unfortunate IMO.
Ok, here's a 25%multiply layer with the bird mostly masked, plus a little desaturation/lowered brightness from Viveza on the two brightest areas. What do you think?
P.S. I really do appreciate you taking the time not only to critique, but to show how it can be improved.
Ron,
The last image is a great improvement over what was a fine shot as is. Beautiful color and details. Ditto on the oof leaf , but such is life sometimes.
Super pose Ron, and love the hint of red on the finch. You have captured good detail, and Randy's repost work well. In your repost, I feel the highlight spots in the BG are still a touch too bright.