Page 61 of 148 FirstFirst ... 1151596061626371111 ... LastLast
Results 601 to 610 of 1477

Thread: Post Your Best Nature Shots!

  1. #601
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Eugene, OR
    Posts
    196

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    Quote Originally Posted by Joel Eade
    The biggest challenge is to get a fast enough shutter speed to get a really sharp image.

    Are you hand-holding the camera? That would seem to me to be the main reason to want a higher shutter speed. Have you tried setting up some sort of support, like a tripod? The reason I ask is that your lens will have a VERY shallow depth of field, especially fairly close. 420mm, f/4 (the lens apparently wide open with a 1.4x extender), at a distance of, what, 10 ft? (You'd have to be close for the bird to be that large on the image.) DOF would be something like 0.02 ft, or 0.24". At 20 ft, it would be 0.1 ft or 1.2", but only 0.6" in front and behind the focus distance. That seems to agree with the last photo. While the focus is perfect on the eye and beak, the bird's body fades away to a blur about half-way down. F/8 would double the DOF. A suggestion: try raising the ISO to 800 & using aperture priority, rather than shutter priority, then different apertures (and speeds, of course) to see if it makes a difference. Most of the articles I've read on photographing birds have not suggested shutter priority, probably because, unless the bird is moving, the shutter speed doesn't matter to them as much as controlling DOF.


    Another way to improve the light might be to use fill flash. Your lens is a perfect match for a decent E-TTL II flash (e.g., 430EX, 580EX) and a Better Beamer flash extender, depending upon the distance. Lots of bird photographers use fill flash (Nate does, as I recall). Putting the flash on the hot shoe will work, but raising it a bit higher on a bracket can be better. You can find good info about the Better Beamer by Luminous Landscape, the Strobist crew, Moose Peterson, and Ralph Paonessa's site. (Ralph sells the Better Beamer and has the best information I've found.) It is recommended (and sold) Art Morris, probably one of the best bird photographers around. The Better Beamer is sold by B&H, Adorama, Naturescapes, and other sources.
    George Slusher
    Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
    Eugene, OR

  2. #602
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Central Kentucky
    Posts
    3,619

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    George,


    I am using a tripod (an el-cheapo aluminum one) and shooting relatively close (10-20ft) as you noticed DOF is an issue. These little birds are constantly moving and even with a tripod anything less than 1/200 sec will frequently be blurred. I do have a 430ex flash but not the extender...that could be worth exploring for sure. I have tried the flash but I'm sitting inside a blind and it doesn't work too well...the results have very strong shadows, also the birds sometimes are so quick they will move before the shutter actuates when the flash fires.(ie blurred image) I might try moving the flash location...my son-in-law has a pocket wizard system I may be able to borrow it sometime. (I used it on some hummingbird pics last year.)


    I have also tried the higher iso as you suggested but I seem to get too much noise to suit me most of the time. It's seems my 40D doesn't like anything much above 500 iso.


    As far as f-stops go I think the sweet spot for my pics is 7.1 If I back off a bit, as you said, the DOF is better, it's just a matter of getting the right light (funny how it boils down to that every time) so I can use the optimum settings. I wonder if some type of continuous light source with a softbox or diffuser might work? Is there something that mimicks daylight?


    thanks again George for the helpful hints!


    I have a carbon fiber tripod and a nice ball head on my wish list but just finished paying for the lens and extenders, the better beamer is relatively cheap...maybe I can get past the finance minister (wife) on that one!

  3. #603
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    2

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    An autumn picture showing some leaves below 10cm of water.


    [img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.34.20/export_2D00_1194.jpg[/img]


    Richard

  4. #604

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    Richard,

    Love the shot but maybe a Circular Polarizer to remove the last little bit ofreflection off the water next time? Other then that love theshot.

    Fred~

  5. #605
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Central Kentucky
    Posts
    3,619

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    [img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28.birds/IMG_5F00_1642.jpg[/img]





    Another attempt with 40D + 300mm f2.8L lens .... this one taken from a little further away, maybe 20-25 feet, but it's a bigger bird and fills the frame pretty well. This was f/4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 250 with the 1.4x extender.

  6. #606
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Anaheim, CA
    Posts
    741

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!






    Reddish Egret and a lucky fish


    40D & 500 f/4L IS, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 250 - Fish is overexposed, the head is a little bit out of focus in the larger version, f/5.6 of the 500 is shallower than f/5.6 of my 400. Thanks for viewing and commenting.


    Nate,

  7. #607

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    Nate all I have to say is wow! That is an amazing shot.


    Joel

  8. #608
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Central Kentucky
    Posts
    3,619

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    I'll second that! Fantastic light...great capture!

  9. #609
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    505

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    Nate,


    Another shot worthy of the cover of Nat Geo.


    I noticed your ISO @ 250. Did you know that ISO 320 is faster and cleaner on the 40D? Canon 40D Dark Noise Histograms(page down to noise graph) When using my 40D, I find 160, 320, and 640 yield the best results. The compromise is 1/3 ev of dynamic range overhead. Instead of being able torecover 1.3 ev of blown highlights in raw processing you'll only be able to pull down 1.0. Worth it to me for a cleaner image. If you already know all of this...please ignore me for there's nothing more I can offer that could add any more quality to this already exemplary work.

  10. #610
    Senior Member Dave Johnston's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    SC
    Posts
    451

    Re: Post Your Best Nature Shots!



    Nate, that is just fantastic. You have really captured the action. Your images always amaze me. Please continue to share!!!


    Dave.


    Hewas a lucky little guy huh?
    5D mark III, 50D, 17-40 f4L, 24-70 f2.8L, 70-200 f4L ​IS, 28 f1.8, 50 f1.8, 85 f1.8, 100 f2.8 Macro

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •