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Thread: Song Sparrow in Reeds

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    Default Song Sparrow in Reeds

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    This was taken at a wildlife reserve in Southern California. Here are the stats:
    7D, 400 f5.6L @ f5.6, 1/1600, ISO 640, no fill flash, handheld, cropped, noise reduction in ACR, smart sharpen, some shadow highlights in CS 5
    Thanks for any comments!

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    I like the composition, the reeds and the pose.
    It is in the shadow a bit too much for me though.
    There is a nice ambience, but just too dark for me.
    Keep them coming!
    Dan Kearl

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    I like the habitat and comp. Looks just a tad soft for web, an extra round of sharpening would help with the fine detail. I would also have liked a better head angle...but with the light angle you had that likely would have meant a shaded face.

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    Thank you both very much for the comments. This is my first post and I am very pleased to get such valuable input on the shot. I especially liked the habitat here, but I understand the problems with the bird exposure. I'll work on lightening the shadow on the bird and the sharpening. Thanks again!

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    I agree with Daniel on the sharpness -- one more round, particularly in the breast feathers.
    If it were mine, I'd lighten the shadows of the bird just a bit. You would have benefited from some fill flash.
    Nice comp. I would consider a little masking to remove the OOF reed to the left, which intersects with the less OOF reed.
    Good image for your first time! -- I look forward to seeing more of your work.

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    Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Don! I assume you are talking about removing the really OOF vertical reed that is darker than the rest. I'll give it a try. I can also work on sharpening the breast feathers. I haven't used fill much yet with birds. I assume I would set down by 1.5 to 2 stops and use high speed sync. I'm really a novice on manual flash so I wouldn't try that just yet.

    Daniel, if you see this, I meant to ask you a for a little more info on the head position for future shots. I think you meant you would prefer the bird looking at say 45 degrees towards the camera rather than in full profile. Thanks again to all of you. Its been very helpful!

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