I took a break from shorebirds this weekend and stalked the birds in the yard. This little fellow was in a tree eyeing black oil seeds.
Nikon D7000 Nikon 300mm 2.8 with 1.7 tc
ISO 800 f 7.1 1/400 manual exposure HH
Adjustments LR3, sharpening, branch removal CS5
C&C welcome. Thanks for looking.
I have posted several Chickadees and know the difficulty in capturing this species. Very small, fast, never still and a metering nightmare with the bright white band around the dark head. This first thing to remember with these guys is to set your exposure for the bright whites - they will get you every time. I did not check the histogram buy there are hot spots on my monitor need a faster shutter. A narrow aperture would help as well but I like the f/7.1 from a DoF perspective.
Regarding the composition, a little tight for me and too much brach in the RHC. The image quality looks a bit harsh as well, was this a large crop. Now my critique might sound negative but this is a hard bird to photograph. Just scan the site and count how many solid Chickadee shots you find. Stay with it, set exposure first, review histogram and adjust as needed. If the crop is large work on field technique to get closer. As a general rule the subject should represent at least 20% of the image frame.
I like what you are doing here, keep posting and you will continue to improve - thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the detailed feedback Jeff. It is very much appreciated. Unfortunately I was starting to set up my gear when I spotted him or else I would have used a monopod. Will definitely be aware of the whites in the future. I could have done a better job with the crop. As far as the thick branch, I'm having a hard time removing large branches when there is a bright background--the result looks worse than the branch.
Cathy, these little guys are always a challenge. With LR3, consider dodging the black around the eye and chin using low opacity ( 10-15% ). It may bring out more detail in these dark areas. Using the burn tool, a similar approach to the bright area on the rump may tone it down abit.
They are a tough subject but luckily there's lots of 'em so it's easy to get practise! I like the pose and head angle. I see some weird anomalies in the top of the head and in the breast feathers- sharpening? For black and white birds, your exposure and fill light sliders in ACR are your best friends. I would try some fill light to see if you can bring some detail out of the blacks.
Little Chickadee
