Superb shot of the yellow warbler, John! I would print and hang that one!
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Superb shot of the yellow warbler, John! I would print and hang that one!
Wow! Great shots, Denise. I especially like the first two.
Thanks, Jon! I don't mean to hog the thread but yesterday and today I was able to get out and dodge a few raindrops.
Here are a few from today ...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/...f6234028de.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/...7b010dc0a7.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2246/...043a3ca0df.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/...c45c0dca47.jpg
These pale in comparison to the shots on this page. Great shots everyone. Both taken with a 70-200 f4L IS and with two 1.4x tc Kenkos
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ahibH19XEQ...5_07_16071.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4UR6O98z81...5_07_16076.jpg
Nice shots Denise and Jayson. This is one from this evening in the backyard...it's an immature male Summer Tanager.
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/0044.343V1858.jpg[/img]
Oh thats a cool shot Joel! One thing I see on my screen is under the bird between it and the branch the noise is still present. I know your a perfectionist with that stuff, just wanted to point that out. Really nice grab. That blue jay shot above is awesome. I can only dream! Thanks for the complement on the one above.
I'm not sure what that second bird is Jayson but I sure wish we had those around here ...beautiful shot! The background beautifully compliments the subject!
Awesome Tanager, Joel! they sure are colorful! We don't those in my area either![:(]
Denise
Thanks Denise and Jayson.
You're right about the noise, I guess my eyes were fatigued last night and I didn't see it. This was a fairly large crop and the IQ suffered some but I had never seen a juvenile before so I kept it.
Yesterday was a very active bird day....the doves were extremely cooperative....
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/8176.343V1812.jpg[/img]
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/7563.343V1762.jpg[/img]
Great dove shots Joel. Sorry I didn't mean to nitpick. Your stuff always is inspiring. I had never seen one of those birds before so I guess that is why I was looking closer than normal. I snapped a picture of a western meadowlark the same day I caught the others. I have never saw one in real life before or maybe I just didn't look hard enough. This was again with the 2 kenkos stacked and a 70-200mm f4L IS and cropped heavily also. Going to get a 300F4 soon I hope.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PIp1PFMhLv...5_07_16021.jpg
Denise, I noticed that it looks like you stepped up your bird shots quite a bit, you have some really beautiful, colorful, and sharp shots on the previous page. Keep up the great work!
Joel, Your shots are extraordinary! Once again, very sharp, beautifully composed shots with clean, creamy backgrounds!
Jayson, that was very observant of you, I didn
Hi Jason, if you want a birding only lens the 400mm f/5.6 is far superior to the 300mm f/4. The AF is quicker and you don't need as many extenders, extenders GREATLY affect AF also. Bare it's sharper and handles extenders better. The 300mm is more versitile with it's IS and wider aperture but since you are stacking extenders you would be better off with the 400mm.
John.
Thanks, Rich! I figured it was time for me to step it up some! Especially with all the beautiful shots posted here!!
Here are a few from Friday, quite a large amount of cropping done since I was quite a distance away but I think they are still ok.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2522/...2c957aa444.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/...e1056f537e.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/...b217639b16.jpg
Nice waterfowl Denise... the first one especially....see if you can use the shadow/highlights adjustment to bring out some detail in the momma goose's head and eye.
Here's a Cardinal from this afternoon (in the rain of course)....
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/1513.343V1963.jpg[/img]
@ Joel, Great job as usual on the cardinal, ---The bird really stands out against the dark background. Did you use fill flash on this one?
@ Denise, Very nice job on the Canadian and baby. But I agree with Joel, a little adjustment on Momma
Thanks for the compliments and advice! I haven't had any time to learn a thing in CS5 since I got it and I know this is an easy process to do but...i opened up the program just now to figure out how and well, I ended up just closing the program back up! I'll learn how to do something in it someday! [:S]
Denise
Jayson....nice pix. I would have liked to have seen the meadowlark cropped a little more off center, but it's a good capture of a bird I rarely see.
Joel.....to be honest Joel, I've run out of superlatives for your BYBs. I'm going to have invest in a Thesaurus before I can con't commenting on your pix. Also, don't comment on the wx....since I've rtned from FL (week ago Sunday), I've had one blue sky to shoot in and abnormally chilly temps; I'm still wearing my ski parkah when I go to shoot the GHO in the swamp. [:)] This week's wx; gray, cool and wet.
Denise....nice goose family moment pic. I second Joel's advice and will add a point of my own (for what it's worth); w/relatively static dark headed, dark eyed birds I focus on the birds eye (all birds' eyes are my focal point), not only to ensure crispness of the eye, but to establish proper exposure so the viewer may see details of the eye and it's surrounding head area. Yes, this can cause major conflicts in exposure w/other sections of the pic, but they're not the subject and can more readily be corrected w/out damage to the focal point.
BTW Denise.....I haven't seen one Oriole at my new, Oriole specific feeder [:(] They con't to visit my seed and suet feeders.
Bill
female Hooded Merganser
[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/650x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/4214.f-Hooded-merganser-copy-2.jpg[/img]
[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/650x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/0451.f-Hooded-merganser.jpg[/img]
Opinions wanted; I'm trying the black border around my bright background shots that are posted onto white backgrounds.....is this an improvement for the pic or does it matter one way or the other?
Thanks for looking and expressing your opinions.
Bill
Bill, I think the black border suits this particular image...it brings out the darker tones of the bird nicely, but I am not sure about using it on every image with a light background.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Williams
Thanks Bob and yes I used the 580EXII with the better beamer at - 3 stops (ie "fill flash")
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill W
Thanks Bill that's a very nice compliment, I appreciate it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddt0725
Denise .... you really need to dive in on CS5. You have really been making some nice images and I would love to see them processed a little more.
Here is the basic shadow/highlight adjustment.....
1. Once CS5 is open up on the top left click on 'File > Open' then find your image on your computer and open it
2. Now, at the top again, click on 'Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights and a window will appear
3. Here are the basic starting points to set inside that window
Shadows Amount 0 Tonal Range 15% Radius 30
Highlights Amount 0 Tonal Range 16% Radius 30
Color correction +3
Midtone contrast 0
4. Now click on save as defaults inside the window
5. Now, for your goose image, adjust the shadow amount and tonal range to see if you can see some detail start to emerge in the black areas. Feel free to move the sliders to extremes to see what happens (some ugliness will occur when you go too far)
6. If the detail comes out but the image looks "washed out" just bump the midtone contrast up a little
7. Now click on OK....That's all there is to it......you can tone down highlights the same way by tweaking the amount and tonal range
Thanks VERY MUCH, Joel!! Over lunch today, I actually even got a chance to look at one of the books I had bought and was reading how to do something similar to what you have above.
Hopefully, I will get a chance to try your instructions when I get home from work tonight!
Thanks again!
Denise
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill W
Hi Bill,
I think in terms of presentation, the black frame adds a little, but overall, I prefer the unframed image for the very simple reason that I like to see as much detail of the image/subject as possible and adding the black frame causes you to use less than 800 pixels for the image/subject. I just did a rough scaling on my screen, and I would estimate that you used ~10% of the image width for the frame. I like theslightlylarger Merganser. [:D]
Brant
@ Joel, Bob & Bill - does this look any better? I worked on the shadow around the eye and the highlights some on the chest ...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5127/...ed6168d94b.jpg
Thanks for the advice and the "how-to" tutorial!
Denise
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddt0725
I do think it is better, I can see some detail now, good job.
Female Eastern Towhee
1D3
420mm
580 EXII + better beamer at -2 2/3 stops
ISO 1000
f/4.0
1/500
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/3034.343V1892.jpg[/img]
Yes D.....now I can see the eye....the details aren't muddied, a big improvement.
Also Denise....I have a book; Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photographers by Ellen Anon & Tim Grey. I find it to be very informative and, though I haven't looked, I'm sure they must have a CS5 version.
Thanks, guys! And Bill, the book is on its way!
Joel - Beautiful photo of the towhee! Now if I can ever get anything that perfectly exposed and sharp, I will then consider myself a great photographer!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddt0725
Denise, Nice job with your PS work---Made a marked improvement.
Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddt0725
Well thank you so much....I have no doubt you can get similar results...learning some basic stuff in CS5 will do it for you.
Here is what I use 99% of the time
Adjust exposure, recovery, blacks, clarity in ACR then open the picture as a 16 bit TIFF
Crop the image and clone out anything that needs to be fixed or you want to fix
Levels adjustment
Selective color adjustment (usually just the reds, whites, neutrals and blacks)
Sharpening (unsharp mask)
Create a duplicate layer and run noise reduction
Create a reveal all layer mask
Use the black paint brush to reveal the sharpened bird and perch
Flatten the image
Change the image mode to 8 bit
save a full size copy as a 8 bit tiff
reduce size to 800 pixels
one more pass with unsharp mask
save as JPEG (less than 200kb quality)
It looks like alot but once you do each step a few times you can optimize a good image in a few minutes
Let me know when you want the details of any of those steps
Here are couple firsts for me, I was too lazy to set up a perch. Heck, after 12 hour 6 day week it's amazing I even went out to take pictures at all!
Ok here goes.
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/3250.IMG_5F00_7626_5F00_DxO-reduced.JPG[/img]
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/8814.IMG_5F00_7628_5F00_DxO-reduced.JPG[/img]
This is the first time I got a clear shot of these guys.
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/8171.IMG_5F00_7701_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
Just another Chickadee. Looks like he might have been fighting, he has something on his lower left chest.
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/2260.IMG_5F00_7704_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
My favorite of the bunch, first time I got a clear shot ot of this guy.
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/6303.IMG_5F00_7734_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/3731.IMG_5F00_7729_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
First shot of a Female Starling (I think), you can see the weather sealing in action! Oh no, I'm getting soaked![:)]
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/1050.IMG_5F00_7751_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/3438.IMG_5F00_7770_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/15/3010.IMG_5F00_7780_5F00_DxO.TIF-reduced.JPG[/img]
First time I shot a Black-Headed Grossbeak, these guy are awsome in real life.
Sorry for so many posts, I haven't shotin a while and couln't help myself! All taken in about half an hour, much faster than waiting out in the swamp for two hours for some ducks!
Cheers,
John.
Great shots, John!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Glass
While there's a first time for everything, this wasn't it for you. The baltimore oriole is orange like that, but has a narrower and longer beak, and a different pattern on the backs of the wings. What you did shoot for the first time is a black-headed grosbeak. Still just as awesome...[Y]
For comparison, here's a Baltimore oriole from my archives:
[url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_brain/4844142232/in/set-72157624462563459/lightbox/]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/...81acae78_z.jpg[/url]
EOS 7D, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6<span style="color: #ff0000;"]L IS USM @ 400mm, 1/640 s, f/6.3, ISO 1250
Thanks a lot John! I
John (Neuro) thanks for the bird ID, I would have made the same mistake Fast Glass did. I also have another one for you ---If I can ever catch him on camera. I have a bird that frequents my yard (When I don
John, Great set----You have so many great looking and colorful birds---Please send some south.
Thanks,
Bob
John (FastGlass)....one more correction for you; the bird you've ID'd a female Starling is a female Red-wing blackbird. Simply, the beak is the give away; starlings have long, narrow, normally yellow beaks and stouter bodies.
ID for the woodpecker (just in case) is a Downy....looks exactly like a Hairy, but much smaller body and (here's that beak again) a shorter beak.
Nice collection of birds in the rain John....your wx looks pretty similar to ours (Boston, MA area)....WET!! We're having a terrible spring.
It's ruining my daily pix of the owlet's growth....I went over yesterday and took my cycling rain jacket......not for me, but for the 500. I don't have a rain jacket to cover my set up. [:)]
It seems that everywhere I look on this forum there's another shot of a hummingbird, except in this thread. I'm not complaining, of course, the birds here are all great shots too. I've been too busy lately to check the site often and comment, but I had a treat catching up with recent posts tonight.
Here's a good antidote to the hummingbirds. This Southern Giant Petrel flaps its wings about once every 50 seconds instead of 50 times per second.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/...2a9e5fe9_b.jpg
5D Mark II, EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm, f/11, 1/400s, ISO 125.
Hey Fast Glass (John),
Really nice set, and what a wonderful variety of birds!
The only one that could be better would be #8 since the eyes are not sharp and it has it
At Bill.
Thanks for the correction, I