Semipalmated Sandpiper
There were many peeps in the cove in front of our house today after the storm yesterday. Nothing very exciting but good practice for a beginner. I was working on focus and exposure.
Canon 7D 1/1250 @ f/5.6 Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 on tripod. Image cropped a little and sharpened slightly.
Hi Ken, I'm very curious to know if you have calibrated your lens. I know you were thinking about focus and I'm guessing that the focus point was on the body of the bird. What I see is sharp focus in the reflection, which is a couple of inches in front of the bird. Your exposure worked out pretty well, with detail present in the full range on the bird itself. Head angle could be much better, as the bird is looking away from your camera. Otherwise good pose, only wish that one snail (?) was not obscuring the foot of the bird. You are doing all the right things, just keep shooting and posting here and we will help!
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Please visit me on the web at http://kerryperkinsphotography.com
Hi Kerry
I did try to calibrate the lens and added +1 to the microcalibration. Should I increase to + 2 or +3?. For some reason we call those snail things "periwinkles" in Maine.
Thanks for the help.
Ken,
You are on the right track and Kerry hit the key points. In bird photography having the subject critically sharp is important, using a tripod is a smart move. I tend to like more room, find this a tad tight and lower lens angle gives a better perspective. It is always interesting to see the world as our animal friends do when possible. I tend to use center point of focus, Al Servo and tripod techniques taught by James Shadle. Check out the Educational and Tutorial Forum for tripod techniques by James. I highly recommend the thread, it is a short read and to the point.
Nice to see such a closeup. I'm used to seeing them in big flocks. Not much to add to the above other than a technical point about the bird. Semipalmated Sandpipers come in long and short-billed versions, the long-billed ones being from the east of their breeding range, and the short-billed ones from the west. This is definitely a short-billed bird from the west. They usually migrate down the west side of North America. Where was the image made Ken?
This was one of about 50 sandpipers and semipalmated plovers in a mixed flock at Kennebunk Cove, Kennebunk ME. The photo was taken August 29 at 1630.
Hi Ken- We do get western birds migrating down through the east, especially late in the migration season.
To add to the other comments the biggest plus in this photo to me are the blue pools of water. The biggest minus is that there seems to be a fair amount of noise in the dark primary feathers of the birds. Since these are simple dark areas with little detail, maybe a little selective noise reduction here would help?
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