Indigo Bunting

[Ronald Zigler]

Canon 60D, 300mm f4 L + 1.4x, 1/500, f5.6. ISO 100, HH. I have mixed feelings about this image. All comments and feedback are appreciated. I suspect the light is just a bit harsh, and the blue color of the bird on a blue sky background is not ideal either.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Ron,

This is a beautiful bird and the blue on blue is fine by me. The opportunity here is both composition and exposure techs. The subject angle is a bit steep with a head turn away from the lens. IMO opinion when the picture is this tight best to have an eye level angle or more room in the frame. Watch the low ISO most pros use 200 or 400, the 100 limits exposure flexibility. Regarding the light what time time was this captured, the shadow looks like the sun was beyond morning just guessing here. The Indigo Bunting is a great catch do you have any more images of this beauty. Thanks for posting and keep em coming.

[Ronald Zigler]

Jeff, this was one of those somewhat rare opportunities when by happenstance, you find yourself closer to your subject than ever before. We came across the bird rather quickly, and I got off a number of shots before it flew away. Unfortunately, the image I posted appeared to me to be the sharpest image I got. I am aware of the fact that the head turns slightly away. The picture was taken at 9:45 AM, so I am also aware that the light is not ideal. I had the camera set at "Auto" ISO, which probably is not a good idea either. There is, however, more room in the original file and I did not need to crop it as close as I did. I have subsequently experimented with the temperature of the color, and gotten a somewhat more pleasing image. Like nearly everything else I have captured, the images I return home with are filled with tradeoffs, none being "perfect". Thanks for your observations.

[Ian Cassell]

Hi Ron,

This is one bird I've only seen flying away from me. Because of the good contrast between the dark blue of the bird and the light blue of the sky, the blue-on-blue doesn't bother me at all. I think your focus is on the leading wing and it is a tad soft at the eye, but it's not too bad. It would have been nice to have him looking more in your direction, but again I think you did well. TFS

[John Chardine]

Hi Ron- IMO birds like this show best in flatter light. I like the blue on blue. As mentioned, the head angle away is not optimal to generate interest. Regarding the techs, I would have put up the ISO (200 or 400) which would have allowed you to shut the lens down a bit and use a higher shutter speed. A smaller aperture means that you would not have to shoot wide open, and therefore get somewhat better IQ. You say you were close to the subject so the crop is not heavy. In that case you should expect a lot better IQ from the 60D and the great 300/4 even with the 1.4 extender. The "crispy" look to the image looks like it comes from sharpening a little too much. The question is why did you need to do this? Was the image sharp out of the camera? If not why not? Have you calibrated the AF on this lens/body combo?