Gloria Grandolini
November 2024 - Hanging Out
Original
About the Image(s)
This is a small ground finch feeding on a Galapagos Giant Tortoise, which is endemic to the Islands. This was shot in Santa Cruz Island. I was fascinated by these small birds that are such an important part of Darwin's evolutionary theory. I took other photos of them but I loved this one on the the tortoise shell as that is one of their main feeding grounds. They are small and hard to catch and I regret not having the zoom lens in that field trip. I added a photo with of the tortoise to give you the perspective of size. Suggestions to improve the shot before printing are very welcome.
Shot with Canon EOS R5 RF24-70 lens f.2.8 L IS USM
70mm, 1/250 at f/8 ISO 800
Handheld
6 comments posted
(Groups 21 & 94)
The story is good, but without your explanation I would have no idea what the finch is sitting on. The exposure looks better in the original. In fact the story is better told with your original. Afraid the bird itself isn't sharp enough from the distance you had to take it from to blow it up as much as you did.
You must have better shots from such a special trip? However, if you want to print, I would lower the brightness of the shell. Crop out a lot of the background and add more shell. Just my opinion you understand. Posted: 11/06/2024 20:30:42
You must have better shots from such a special trip? However, if you want to print, I would lower the brightness of the shell. Crop out a lot of the background and add more shell. Just my opinion you understand. Posted: 11/06/2024 20:30:42
Thanks Leslie, I see your point. Yes I regret not having had the zoom lens. Posted: 11/11/2024 15:34:20
Gloria, I agree with Leslie. Lucky you that were able to get a fairly sharp image with this magnum crop. I tried a different iteration of the crop and adjustments going from the original, but the very low resolution did not help. Posted: 11/14/2024 16:16:01
Hi Gloria, I was very much fascinated by the Darwin's finches on Santa Cruz Island. I am impressed with the sharpness of the image after the mega crop. But I agree with Leslie, have you tried sharpening the image and darkening the turtle shell? Maybe with the raw image you will have better luck. Posted: 11/14/2024 20:31:45
Bird photography ,and especially small birds, requires expensive high quality lenses . Your description is great Gloria and the quality of your image is of such a high standard that you could present us with such a clear depiction of your vision. It may not be a reward winning photo but clear and substantiating your description for any viewer to follow. Posted: 11/19/2024 18:05:57
Gloria, those little birds are hard to photograph. I love photos of them, but they're easily spooked and have to be shot from considerable distance. A much longer telephoto would have helped. But, even with a long lens, you almost have to do up-sampling, noise reduction, and lots of "sausage making" in the post processing. Posted: 11/19/2024 21:02:49