Post your best bird shots!

[Joel Eade]

Bill,


This is the Pelican image after conversion in ACR, cropped and resized for the web.....UN-processed with photoshop.....





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[Joel Eade]

Here is another one of a different pelican just about to touch down.....same camera settings......





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[neuroanatomist]

Ok, so I almost deleted the workflow I copied from your previous post after seeing this. I didn't, because it seem like it will still be useful. But your unprocessed image is simply excellent straight out of the camera. The 'pop' is there...the PS work just adds to it slightly.


Again, great shots, Joel!

[Joel Eade]

Thanks,


The day that I got to shoot birds in Florida I managed to shoot about 22 gb of raw images......I am still going through them and processing......this one was a good raw image so the final processing was easy and the result even better.


Of course I have alot of less than stellar images.....maybe I

[bob williams]

Joel, just to chime in again---That workflow is great stuff, especially for us PS novices. But, the bird shot ---well, just "wow".

maybe I'll start a "post your worst bird shots" thread

Can I be first????? I have a bunch of those

The more I shoot bird images the more I strive to "get it right in the camera" .... I think it definitely gives the best final results

Ditto


Bob

[JJphoto]

Joel, just to chime in again---That workflow is great stuff, especially for us PS novices.

yes ,I can't agree more with that. I took me some time to start with, but once I get familiar with it, I can probably finish the whole process in 10-15 minutes, and it really helped me to understand PS better and faster.

Can I be first????? I have a bunch of those

actually I am interested in knowing others that how much is your keep rate? for me, I have taken about 8000 bird shots since I got my 7D, and may be a hundred of them worth to be kept and probably 20-30 of them are considered very good. of course there are a lot bust shots but still I think my keep rate is very low. I know it is a subjective thing, but it's good to know a general idea from you guys.

[Bill W]

Joel...the relatively un-PP

[bob williams]

actually I am interested in knowing others that how much is your keep rate? for me, I have taken about 8000 bird shots since I got my 7D, and may be a hundred of them worth to be kept and probably 20-30 of them are considered very good. of course there are a lot bust shots but still I think my keep rate is very low. I know it is a subjective thing, but it's good to know a general idea from you guys.

Joel, That doesn't sound to far off---My keeper rate is very similar, especially for birds. But, you do have to askwhy its that way? Is it focus, lighting, metering, composition, camera set up,etc,Did weremember to check settings before shooting?( thisone is common for me).Did we use the right equipment for the shot ie, tripod, flash, lens, filter etc.


One thing I have realized: When I take my time tothink about and set-up the shot, use a tripod, check equipment settings etc--My frame count goes down and my keeper rate goes way up. Couple of things I learned with my humming bird efforts: Manual focus, manual exposure settings and a few test shots to get things just right before your subject arrives---really helps a lot.


I have also assigned my AF to the AF-On button on my 7D, that way I can meter and focus seperately---This takes some practice, but really does help once you get used to it.


Even with all of that, I still may only get 5 or 6 good shots per 100.


Finally, Sometimes it just takes a little luck--especially with wildlife.


So, your not alone,


Bob

[Joel Eade]

I think there are a few variables that change over time to affect your keeper rate. For me I have noticed the following :


1. I am more picky as to what constitutes a keeper.....this lowers the rate


2. I am more choosy as to when to push the shutter, waiting for the right light, pose, head angle etc etc... this increases the keeper rate even though I may take less shots.


3. I am paying more attention to camera settings and I am quicker at adjusting settings "on the fly"


4.The more I shoot, the more proficient I become at focusing and framing, learning to do to things almost without thinking


5. So over time I shoot less frames but more of them are good.....sort of a "wash" I think, saves time looking through a load of images though.


The day I spent in Florida was the first time I had ever used a 500mm lens and I went out from daylight to dark (6 am to 7pm with a 2 hour lunch break) actually with a guide so I took a lot of images. I used my Gitzo and Wimberly II head the entire time. Part of the time I was in a pontoon boat and other times in the water or on a sand bar. So I had the advantage of the guide knowing when and where to be under the given conditions to optimize the chance of getting good shots.


All that being said.....I am usually happy if I get one or two "great shots" every time out but my overall keeper rate is probably 10% at best. With birds you are dealing with a subject that rarely stops moving, combine that with all the environmental variables and it

[Bill W]

JJ....I keep about 70% of my shots on first viewing. When I go thru my pix, I view at 1:1 in Lightroom looking for eye sharpness, good exposure and distractions in the composition, e.g. branch intersecting bird, really terrible background/bokeh (this is really easy to do w/the 100-400 LOL), etc.


I