Richard Matheny
September 2019 - Carolina Chickadee
Original
About the Image(s)
I have decided to show another image from one of my backyard safaris. This little guy kept fliting around at the feeders but would never land except on the feeders. Finley he was ran off the feeder by a House Finch and decided to use my neighbors Crape Myrtle as a resting spot and I had him. Would have been much nicer if he would have faced me but he did turn an look at that offending Finch back at the feeder.
Equipment included a lawn chair, Ice cold sweet tea. I was using a Nikon D500 with a Nikon 200-500mm 5.6 lens attached. Also I was using a Feisol tri-pod.
My setting were ISO 1600 and 1/800sec at F5.6 shooting in Manual. You can see that I had a pretty heavy crop but I think it turned out ok. I increased the contrast a little and used the brush too to apply some sharpening and clarity. I also ran the image through Topaz deNoise to remove a little noise.
I should thank my neighbor for planting that Crape Myrtle Tree. I think this really just proves that you can always fun to shoot, even in your back yard.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
15 comments posted
First and foremost I want to compliment you on your selection of gear. PSA always likes to consider the photographer's gear and set of as part of the image. I think you chose wisely. But did you include lemon for the tea??
While I never like to see heavy crops you seem to have managed to keep good detail in the subject. The eye is clearly visible and the bird itself has a bit of character with the ruffled feathers.
Otherwise this little guys is really cute and appealing. I like him much better than if his feathers had been all smoothed down. It is amazing what you can find in a backyard when you have the proper gear at hand.
While you sort of honor the rule of thirds by moving the bird slightly off center I feel a slightly greater move to the right would improve its position. The bigger issue is the reds particularly those in the upper left corner. Red is an eye arresting color and it competes with your subject. Posted: 09/05/2019 19:14:30
While I never like to see heavy crops you seem to have managed to keep good detail in the subject. The eye is clearly visible and the bird itself has a bit of character with the ruffled feathers.
Otherwise this little guys is really cute and appealing. I like him much better than if his feathers had been all smoothed down. It is amazing what you can find in a backyard when you have the proper gear at hand.
While you sort of honor the rule of thirds by moving the bird slightly off center I feel a slightly greater move to the right would improve its position. The bigger issue is the reds particularly those in the upper left corner. Red is an eye arresting color and it competes with your subject. Posted: 09/05/2019 19:14:30
Thanks Larry for the helpful comments. One of my teaching suggestions or pet peeves when photographing Birds is to try to photograph the bird when it is actually doing something or something special is happening with the bird. This little guy wasn't doing much but that fluttering of the feathers gave it some action even though it was otherwise setting motionless. You are absolutely correct about the bright red/pink flower.I should have toned that down. I see your point about moving the bird a little to the right, I will have to watch that closer. I just did not want it in the center of the image. Posted: 09/08/2019 12:53:41
I agree with not centering the image. On the other hand something has to be done with the reds.
I also agree about shooting birds when they are "doing" something. However the really ruffled feathers do provide a good look. Posted: 09/08/2019 15:16:26
I also agree about shooting birds when they are "doing" something. However the really ruffled feathers do provide a good look. Posted: 09/08/2019 15:16:26
Great composition Richard. I really like the way the bird is positioned and you captured the catch light in the eye wonderfully. The feathers give it feature as if it just ruffling or if there is a bit of a breeze. With your ISO at 1600 it allows for a bit more noise which is also noticeable in the lower feathers than anywhere else. On my canon, I can select High ISO noise reduction in the menu and from I have read about your camera, it has the same features. The may help with the noise.
At nearly 500 mm, with your crop sensor, you are actually shooting at close 800 mm. I believe your cropping is well done, especially from the original and the amount of reflective blue glass off the right side. You do have bit of room to the right as Larry mentioned to move the bird, but it appears to very limited, otherwise you might capture that blue reflective glass.
The deep green leaves are beautiful and detailed with some Bokah in others. Great image. Posted: 09/08/2019 08:15:54
At nearly 500 mm, with your crop sensor, you are actually shooting at close 800 mm. I believe your cropping is well done, especially from the original and the amount of reflective blue glass off the right side. You do have bit of room to the right as Larry mentioned to move the bird, but it appears to very limited, otherwise you might capture that blue reflective glass.
The deep green leaves are beautiful and detailed with some Bokah in others. Great image. Posted: 09/08/2019 08:15:54
A bright feel-good picture! Has color and a cute little bird. Cropping is good with the rule of thirds and space in front of the bird, etc. The bird is not a perfect specimen, but that's the way they look a lot of the time, and a profile shot is fine with me. BUT you should not tell us about the lawn chair, sweet tea etc. Tell us you bushwacked for miles through the wilderness, broke your leg (compound fracture) but still got the shot before dragging yourself back to civilization (joking). Posted: 09/21/2019 15:25:29
I did think about making up some kind of story but folks that know me know that I am old ,slow, and sometime tend to embellish the facts about the size of some of my fish I have caught.Thanks Michael, sometimes the normal stuff makes a good photo. Posted: 09/21/2019 19:09:02
Wow! what a setup to admire & wish for... @Larry - Hahaha I would have definitely included lemon if I were to be on Richard's chair :-)
I agree with Larry about the pink/red on the extreme left to be a distraction. Overall with all the clutter around, you have managed to get the viewer's eyes to the bird. That is really great! The bird looks very similar to a bird called "Great Tit" here. Posted: 09/23/2019 04:55:42
I agree with Larry about the pink/red on the extreme left to be a distraction. Overall with all the clutter around, you have managed to get the viewer's eyes to the bird. That is really great! The bird looks very similar to a bird called "Great Tit" here. Posted: 09/23/2019 04:55:42
So I have got rid of the pink and most everything else as well. I do agree with all distractions being unacceptable. I completely changed the crop. Posted: 09/23/2019 15:29:03
Wish you could get such click on the camera directly. This is much better composition-wise but I am sure you would have noticed the clarity loss due to heavy crop.
The other point one of my Seniors told me was not to oversize the bird beyond what it actually looks like (to avoid mis-representation I believe). Not sure if you all in the group vouch on this point too. Posted: 09/24/2019 02:56:02
The other point one of my Seniors told me was not to oversize the bird beyond what it actually looks like (to avoid mis-representation I believe). Not sure if you all in the group vouch on this point too. Posted: 09/24/2019 02:56:02
When editing, or for that matter when shooting, always remember, the best images have the least distractions.
The following is just a bit of PSA guideline for images of birds.
I'm currently judging a international photo contest for the PSA and one of the categories was BIRDS. Just for the record, not a single photo made it past the elimination round (the first cut) if the bird was static (just sitting on a branch) or if the background contained distractions. Every bird was doing something. Also no flight photos if the birds was just flying in a sky. Something had to be happening even if it was just carrying a twig or a meal. Posted: 09/23/2019 14:09:15
The following is just a bit of PSA guideline for images of birds.
I'm currently judging a international photo contest for the PSA and one of the categories was BIRDS. Just for the record, not a single photo made it past the elimination round (the first cut) if the bird was static (just sitting on a branch) or if the background contained distractions. Every bird was doing something. Also no flight photos if the birds was just flying in a sky. Something had to be happening even if it was just carrying a twig or a meal. Posted: 09/23/2019 14:09:15
Wow Larry. Just so I'm not confused, "which is easily accomplished". A good image of a bird flying with nest building material in it beak would stand a chance of making the first cut? Posted: 09/23/2019 15:12:07
This is a good input Larry. Thanks! Will keep this in mind while selecting images for Salons (especially PSA salons). I assume the same would apply for mammals in Wildlife too...
Posted: 09/24/2019 02:54:01
Posted: 09/24/2019 02:54:01
Hi Guys----this is a two part post. I finished the international contest judging and when I get all the final scores compiled I'll show some of the winners and why. For now I'll post two photos about flipping. First---I put in the caution sign for demo purposes.
In the first photo the bird is facing to the right. PSA does not like this. So if the sign was NOT in the photo we could flip this so that the bird faces left. So here is the first shot. Posted: 09/24/2019 14:29:56
In the first photo the bird is facing to the right. PSA does not like this. So if the sign was NOT in the photo we could flip this so that the bird faces left. So here is the first shot. Posted: 09/24/2019 14:29:56
This is the flipped version so the birds faces the PSA approved left.
However, in this photo there is a "tell" that shows the photo is flipped--the sign. If you flip the photo the sign is reversed and gives away the fact that you flipped the image.
Does this make sense? Posted: 09/24/2019 14:34:46
However, in this photo there is a "tell" that shows the photo is flipped--the sign. If you flip the photo the sign is reversed and gives away the fact that you flipped the image.
Does this make sense? Posted: 09/24/2019 14:34:46
My last note for now. This image was entered in the contest.
While the background is clean and looks nice, the image itself is too ordinary. It is just a bird in flight.
It is sharp, had good color and is placed appropriately on the left fixation point it lack impact. We selected 45 of 302 images to move to the final round. This did not make the cut.
Tonight or tomorrow I'll show some of the final images so you can see what works.
Madhu---I also had a category of animals----I'll show you a few of those so you get the idea for beasts since tomorrow I'll show the fowl. Posted: 09/24/2019 14:40:17
While the background is clean and looks nice, the image itself is too ordinary. It is just a bird in flight.
It is sharp, had good color and is placed appropriately on the left fixation point it lack impact. We selected 45 of 302 images to move to the final round. This did not make the cut.
Tonight or tomorrow I'll show some of the final images so you can see what works.
Madhu---I also had a category of animals----I'll show you a few of those so you get the idea for beasts since tomorrow I'll show the fowl. Posted: 09/24/2019 14:40:17