Wow, another nice shot! the lighting is beautiful, I also like the dreamy background. Nate, about how much did you cropped?
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Wow, another nice shot! the lighting is beautiful, I also like the dreamy background. Nate, about how much did you cropped?
thanks JJphoto, this is 40% crop
Hi Nate,
That shot is absolutely stunning! Do you mind sharing a little more about this shot?
Time of day, filters, lighting, post processing, or any pointers that you think would be beneficial?
Im intrigued!
Thanks in advance,
Rich
Is it just me (or my browser), or is Nate's shot no longer visible?
It's still visible!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Ruyle
As of 4:00PM it's there. Every shot I see of his is awesome. I heard he trips up tripod-sensing IS when he handholds any lens.
Still visible for me, too.
And so it begins, the Legend of Nhut. Able to handhold a 1200mm lens for hours on end without breaking a sweat, all the while shooting at 1/250 with no IS to capture the perfect blur of a beating wing in the fading glow of the Golden Hour. All manner of birds, indigenous and non-, flock to him en masse, hoping to be immortalized with the glamour shot of their dreams, as posted on TDP. Skimmers skim in perfect synchronization. American Avocets mate, then cuddle, all orchestrated by Nhut himself. Behold Sinh Nhut Nguyen, the Bird Whisperer!
Odd. I see it now. Before, I tried with two different browsers on two different computers and didn't see it.
Anyhow, be that as it may. Wonderful shot, Nate. I like the coordination of the color of the bird with that of the background, and the white on the wings and reflection in the water to keep it from being boring.
Worth waiting for [:)]
Hi guys, thanks for the comments.
To Richard: there was no exposure adjustmentdone to this image, I took it during the "golden hour" at San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, the light is magnificient there starting 2 hours before sunset. The only post processing I did to this image was cropping, resizing and sharppening it (the large size on Photo.net needed to have some noise reduction). I try my best everytime to get the exposure at the momment the image was made. Not that I get it right everytime (I actually I get it wrongall the time), but with digital camera you can check the historam, and blinkies and adjust the exposure accordingly.
To Andnowimbroke: I actually turn OFF Image Stabilization when I shoot any in-flight shot, because when it is on IS tries to stabilize my erratic movement and this results in longer time to lock focus and unsharp images. IS is always on when I shoot stationary subject, regardless of how fast my shutter speed is. I like the stabilized viewfinder.
I'm getting a tripod/gimbal combination soon. I like the Gitzo 3541LS, but for gimbal head I'm still deciding between the Wimberly II and the Induro GHB2. Does anybody have any experience with the Induro? The reason I'm considering it because it's about $100 cheaper than the Wimberly.
To HifiGuy: Man you cracked me up [:D]
Here's the larger version of the image http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=11224830&size=lg
"Bird Whisperer," Beautiful Gallery!
I have the other combo that you are considering; namely the Gitzo 3541LS and the Wimberly II Gimbal Head and it's a great combo.
The tripod is Very Solid, light and it folds up fairly small. The 3541LS is a little too tall for me (I'm 59 inches tall) ) while shooting horizontally when the legs are fully extended so I leave the lower legs partially retracted in those situations (a slight pain) , however that extra vertical reach is necessary when shooting upwards, since the viewfinder is lowered as the lens points skyward, therefore you need the extra height during setup. The Wimberly II is very well made, smooth and effortless and highly recommended as well.
I can't comment on the smoothness of the Induro as I've never tried it, however the number markings on the Induro head looks nice. If you have any other questions on my setup, please feel free to contact me privately.
Rich
Yellow Wagtail
Canon 50D
Canon 100-400mm
Shot in Lithuania, about one hour before sunset.
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.45.14/IMG_5F00_6429_2D00_1s.jpg[/img]
Any comments, critiques or questions are welcome.
Tadas N.
Very nice image, great light. The image is sharp, the head angle is good. The food in the beak really adds to the overal image. the background is good as well.
Not much to critique, is the catchlight in the eye natural or from a flash?
I also wonder what it would look like with just a little more room at top and bottom.
Great work,
Joel
PS....Is this a one-legged bird?
Joel
Tadas N.,
The only thing I can say is wrong with your shot is that I didn't take it! Nice job. I really like pretty much everything about it, as so eloquently stated by Joel already.
Tadas N.
pretty much everything looks nice, there is really nothing more I can say, well done!
Thank you for the comments!
Joel,
This picture was made without flash, the sun reflects in the eye. And this wagtail has two legs, just one leg blotted out the other one in the picture. :)
The image is awesome Tadas N. I really like it, all the elements are perfect - from the background to the perch to the head angle to the composition to the colors . This definitely makes a great prints. A work of art!
Found an older photo, practicing AI Servo with this bird. Can anyone help identify?
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...4_RMNP_046.jpg
Great forum wonderful birds shots
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I love this forum
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Crow form what little can be seen for distinguishing markings.
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"]Something from me. Not the best “technical quality” but I like the moment.<o:p></o:p>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"]Jan<o:p></o:p>
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.45.90/719693_5F00_e6b89.jpg[/img]
Deltasun....seeing you live in CO, I'd say it's a Mountain Jay
Jan....good action, but what type of bird are they?
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; color: #000000; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"]My dictionary says BOHEMIAN JAY or JAYBIRD. The picture is taken in Germany, but I know this bird from Czech Republic (which I'm from). It is quite regular bird, but very shy. Here is one more.:)And it would help. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eurasian+Jay&oldid=212065338]http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eurasian+Jay&oldid=212065338[/url]
<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; color: #000000; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.45.90/Jaybird.jpg[/img]
Quote:
Originally Posted by my palliser
Addicting
Jan, thanks for the link and IDing the bird....it's a good looker.
Regards
Bill
Jan, that's a good action shot!
one more want to share, thanks for viewing.
7D,400mm5.6, F5.6,1/1600,ISO 200, evaluative metering,-1/3 Expo. compensation[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.28.54/DPP_5F00_00003.JPG[/img]
Absolutely brilliant. I love it.
With the heat and humidity so extreme lately I thought I would pull out some images from last winter that had not been processed yet.....here's a couple to cool things off.....shot with 40D + 300mm 2.8 + 1.4TC....
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/_5F00_MG_5F00_6113.jpg[/img][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/_5F00_MG_5F00_6098.jpg[/img]
RadicalTenth, thank you for your compliment.
Joel, I'v been viewing you bird shots, it's a joy.your shots are always very sharp even with the 1.4 TC. may I ask do you use mirror lock or shutter cable or both? I didn't get too many sharp pictures when use my 300mm 2.8 with 1.4 TC, have you ever tried 2.0X TC with your 300mm?
thanks!
JJphoto,
I use a tripod but do not use a cable release or mirror lock up. It took me a few months and a few thousand shots to begin to get consistently sharp ones, I was dissapointed when I first got the lens until I realized that practicing your technique was also required. Here is what I learned by trial and error:
1. I try to get as close as I can (using a bird feeder and camoflage hide usually 15 ft or less) then I try to lock the tripod down as tight as possible and further steady it with my left hand.
2. Itry to get as much shutter speed as possible for the given light conditions even if you have to push the iso a little higher than you would like.
3.I want to push the histogram as far to the right as possible without blowing anything out. This gives the most detail in the image. The image may even look washed out on the camera LCD but if the highlights aren't blinking much it's good.
4. In post processingI convert the RAW image with ACR and maybe sharpen a little
5. After conversion I run shadow/highlight adjustment first then levels adjustment, anything else after these depending on what is needed.
6. Iusually sharen lastwith USMat a low ratio like 0.2 to 0.4 but I may make multiple passes.
7. I create a mask and run noise reduction and sometimes a gaussian blur on the background only
This my general method, YMMV
Joel
Joel, thank you very much for your detailed information.
I use DPP to convert raw files, is ACR better?
I'v not learned photoshop yet, but I'm getting it now, I think your suggestion about post processing will help a lot later on.
really appreciated!
Joel, thank you very much for your detailed information.
I use DPP to convert raw files, is ACR better?
I'v not learned photoshop yet, but I'm getting it now, I think your suggestion about post processing will help a lot later on.
really appreciated!
JJphoto.
I like to use DPP to process multiple images in the same way (ie batch processing) such as family snapshots but with my bird images I find ACR to be better.
Also, photoshop really opens up an entire world of tools you can use to enhance your images. You aredefinitely going in the right direction.
There are tons of tutorials out there and loads of advice on forums like this one so you can get up to speed quickly
Joel
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/Raw00025.jpg[/img]
Joel,
that's definitely one of your best. I really like the extreme smooth background and the angle of the head of the bird. Can you perhaps post the original(non processed) file, so that we can see the difference?
Have you ever tried to capture birds in flight?
Thanks very much for the nice pictures and the info.
Thanks Pieter,
I live in central Kentucky in a heavily wooded area so not much opportunity for flight shots, I have taken some gulls in flight at a local lake but we do not have a large population of Herrons or other large species that lend themselves to flight shots. I have not spent much time attempting flight shots but would love to travel someday to such a location.
Here is the image above converted with ACR without any adjustments......[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/Raw000251.jpg[/img]
Here is one of my few BIF shots.....I don't like the background much but I did manage to get the bird in focus with a decent head angle.
This was with 1D MKIII + 300mm 2.8L + 1.4TC
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/343V94712.jpg[/img]
Joel, I can see the difference between before and after, especially on the bird's eye, I'm ordering my photoshop rightnow[:)]
that GBH in flight is really a nice one!, I like that there are so much detail of the wing even with such a dark background.
I feel lucky I live in the area with many opportunity of BIF.
thanks again Joel
Hi Joe, nice bird, good pose, perch and head angle, clean background, however the upper edge of the lower part of the branch looks unatural to me.
Mandarin Duck Potrait
40D + 500 f/4L IS, handhold, manual exposure, wild bird.
Thanks for looking, all comments, critiques and questions welcome
Larger version http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10482716&size=lg
http://www.pscvn.org/members/308/7-1...9-15-22_AM.jpg
As always Nate thatis quite simply stunning.