Red-whiskered Bulbul

[Prasanna Joshi]

Hello all,

This is my very first post on BPN.
I am new at birding, photography as well as post-processing (Canon DPP / GIMP). I was trying out the 100-400L for the first time. I had rented one.
I would love to hear your constructive feedback about everything from settings to post-processing.


Thanks in advance for your C&C.

-prasanna joshi

Equipment: Canon 550D (T2i) + 100-400L IS USM @ 320mm handheld
Settings: f/7.1, 1/125s, ISO 1600 (forgot to change. rookie mistake!), Aperture Priority, -1/3 EC
Location: Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Mysore, India. Sept 2, 2011. 13:00 (mostly overcast conditions)
Post: Crop & websize, Levels, USM, Noise Reduction

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Welcome Prasanna, we have an Education and Tutorial Forum on site as well. Please read this thread when you have the time:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...e-photographer.

It references some great reading material and introduces the basic framework of bird/nature photography. A few things come to mind looking at your first post. The image is busy (The eye is tugged back and forth), too many distractions in the frame. Keep it simple and only include elements that compliment the image. The crop is too tight as well, needs room to breath. Very important to see the eye. Wonderful things happen when we see a clean, sharp and well lit eye. Glad you mentioned the ISO mistake and try and get shutter speed higher. I told myself not to over do the critique and I probably have. Keep posting and making incremental improvements. Start by controlling the frame and show a clean, sharp well lit subject,..keep em coming.

[John Chardine]

Hi Prasanna- Big welcome to BPN! Great to see the bulbul. Jeff has brought up some great points. I like the position of the subject in the frame but agree that it is cropped too tight. There is no harm in giving the subject room to breathe. I really like the palm elements in the image but they stand out more than the subject does, and therefore compete too much for your attention. You might be able to lighten up the face of the bird and sharpen as well. Also I would try to position yourself so that you can get a clear shot of the subject (notice the green out of focus (OOF) splodge over the body of the bird).

I really look forward to seeing more images from you!

[Kerry Perkins]

Prasanna, big welcome to the forum! Glad to see you here. Good points made above and no reason to repeat, but I must say that I have been pursuing this bird here in Southern California. The Los Angeles County Arboretum has a colony of Red-whiskered Bulbuls, and I have been trying to get a good shot. I might have to share one even if it's not the best... I hope you keep working on getting a better capture, they are a very interesting and reclusive bird. Our population is of course the result of captive birds being released and breeding, as they are not endemic to my part of the world. They have, however, learned to thrive in the temperate climate of Los Angeles. Thanks for sharing!

[Prasanna Joshi]

I can't thank you guys enough for all the great advice for an absolute beginner like me. And no Jeff, you haven't overdone the critique! Please don't hesitate if you have more!
Agree with all your inputs. Also, I was having a tough time holding the 100-400 steady. 'Was using only the center-focus point on the eye but i guess at the time of exposure it shifted to the belly because of which the eye and whiskers have come out really soft, making it even more difficult to bring out the details in the eye. I need more practice with hand holding a heavy lens like that one.

I will definitely go through the Education and Tutorial Forum and keep revisiting every now and again.
About the OOF green leaf, I thought of cloning it out but need to practise that art a little bit more in GIMP!
This bird was just not willing to come out in the open, although i have seen them do that on other occassions. But they are quite restless and hardly stay in a spot for more than a couple of seconds. Probably because of their reclusive nature as Kerry mentioned. 'Hope you get a desirable shot soon.

Thanks again. 'hope to remember and apply most, if not all, of these tips for the next time.