I am not a nature photographer please help.

[BoblyBill]

I started my photography hobby because of my fascination with tornadoes, and I don't know my way around the animal side of taking pictures. Sunday, I had a chance to get the closest I've ever been to non-caged wildlife and would like to get the help of our pros here.

Question #1
First of all what types of birds are these? I'm guessing the first one (I googled it) is a Yellow-Crested Night-Heron and the second/third a Great Blue Heron?

Question #2
How do you balance your detail? What I mean by that is even though I was somewhat close to these guys, I still have to crop them relatively heavily. When is there too much sharpen and when is there not enough? Does that makes sense?

1.
IMG_2826 by flehartychris, on Flickr

2.
IMG_2590 by flehartychris, on Flickr

3.
IMG_2611 by flehartychris, on Flickr

 

[Wozza]

I don't know my way around the animal side of taking pictures.

Could of fooled me!

The main this is that you have the eye of the birds lit really well and in focus! Apart from that, great colour and detail in the photo's. I like the composition in the photo's and the reflection in the second, and behavior in the third really add to this series.

In terms of sharpening and post, if you are artifacting or losing the naturalness of the image, you have then gone too far IMO.

 

[nzmacro]

These are darn good shots. You have very little to worry about. Others will have a better idea on ID. We have totally different varieties here. Excellent shots Chris.

Cropping, show me a bird photography that doesn't crop and I'll show you a fibber . I use 300, 500 and 800mm lenses and 99% of the time I crop. That's where really good quality lenses and sensors come into it Chris. Sometimes I would say I over sharpen, other times, not enough. All you can do is judge them yourself really. No strict rules on that IMO. With higher ISO's I will soften the backgrounds, again sometimes too much and other times not enough I will use selective sharpening using a few software tools.

All the best Chris and going great guns here.

Danny.

 

[IzzieK]

Chris......welcome to Danny's world...they have quite a club around here ...

 

[Radical]

Very nice set.

 

[Civchic]

I have been concentrating on improving my bird photography for 6 months and I would be exceptionally proud of any of these shots! The second bird is indeed a Great Blue Heron, and wow on the shot with fish! It's fantastic! Love the water over his foot, and the detail in his face. Good job.

 

[baturn]

What Danny said. I would be pleased with any of these shots.

 

[BoblyBill]

I don't know my way around the animal side of taking pictures.

Could of fooled me!

The main this is that you have the eye of the birds lit really well and in focus! Apart from that, great colour and detail in the photo's. I like the composition in the photo's and the reflection in the second, and behavior in the third really add to this series.

In terms of sharpening and post, if you are artifacting or losing the naturalness of the image, you have then gone too far IMO.

Thanks Wozza. I guess because I'm a mathematician by trade, I was hoping there would be a concrete way of controlling detail. I might be grasping at straws, but I was wondering if anybody mathematically controlled their detail in a picture. For example, a pro might know that he/she is 40 yards from their subject and at a f/2.8 400mm they know that in Photoshop they can see detail as fine as .02in by using a .5 pixel 50% radius sharpening. But from the looks of things it's going to be more about my preference. I was hoping for something more concrete (my math/logical nature coming out). This whole art thing throws me for a loop because it really comes down to preference of the viewer vs. the artist.

These are darn good shots. You have very little to worry about. Others will have a better idea on ID. We have totally different varieties here. Excellent shots Chris.

Cropping, show me a bird photography that doesn't crop and I'll show you a fibber . I use 300, 500 and 800mm lenses and 99% of the time I crop. That's where really good quality lenses and sensors come into it Chris. Sometimes I would say I over sharpen, other times, not enough. All you can do is judge them yourself really. No strict rules on that IMO. With higher ISO's I will soften the backgrounds, again sometimes too much and other times not enough I will use selective sharpening using a few software tools.

All the best Chris and going great guns here.

Danny.

Thanks Danny. I'll keep plugging away at these birds maybe I'll start dressing in camo and setting up really close to their feeding hole to get closer not so cropped pictures.

Chris......welcome to Danny's world...they have quite a club around here ...

Nice! I'm in a club?

Very nice set.

Thanks Radical!

I have been concentrating on improving my bird photography for 6 months and I would be exceptionally proud of any of these shots! The second bird is indeed a Great Blue Heron, and wow on the shot with fish! It's fantastic! Love the water over his foot, and the detail in his face. Good job.

Thanks. It was cool to see him catch it. I wasn't in position to catch him in the act with my camera, but maybe that'll be my next challenge for my self.

What Danny said. I would be pleased with any of these shots.

Thanks baturn!

 

[CmazzJK]

The first image looks to be a yellow crowned night heron.

 

[JacaRanda]

Very nice shots BoblyBill. If these are your beginning shots of wildlife photography, you are wayyyyyyyyyyyy ahead of the game. Welcome to the addiction.....er club

 

[CD51]

I like your shots, they look great to me. I think when I stopped using auto focus it helped. I don't know if you use auto focus or not, but if you are give manual a try. Keep in mind I am not were I want to be with my pictures yet, just sharing what I think is helping me progress.

 

[coastalconn]

I think you did great with these. Not sure what size they were before you uploaded them. 800px is a little small to judge distance and sharpening. There is no etched in stone sharpening formula that I know of, I sharpen on a picture by picture basis. Not only amount, but type also. As Danny mentioned it is somewhat subjective and personal taste. I tend to under sharpen because I hate noise.

 

[Bamps]

I am no "pro" but I did do a workshop or two on wildlife photography, for what it's worth, I think these shots are all good. The second one with the reflection on the water is my fav, it pops at me more.

 

[BoblyBill]

The first image looks to be a yellow crowned night heron.

Thanks! I was looking at pics of Herons and Egrets and this guy looked like a yellow crowned night heron.

Very nice shots BoblyBill. If these are your beginning shots of wildlife photography, you are wayyyyyyyyyyyy ahead of the game. Welcome to the addiction.....er club

I'm not a total noob when it comes to photography, but going out for a shoot with the intention of getting wild is definitely new to me. I'm a landscape photographer so my shooting style is totally different. I am the type that will camp in one area for days until a storm comes, setup my camera, and take one picture and go home.

I like your shots, they look great to me. I think when I stopped using auto focus it helped. I don't know if you use auto focus or not, but if you are give manual a try. Keep in mind I am not were I want to be with my pictures yet, just sharing what I think is helping me progress.

Half of the shots that I took were manual focus. I had it setup on a tripod. The two pics of the blue herons where auto focus.

I think you did great with these. Not sure what size they were before you uploaded them. 800px is a little small to judge distance and sharpening. There is no etched in stone sharpening formula that I know of, I sharpen on a picture by picture basis. Not only amount, but type also. As Danny mentioned it is somewhat subjective and personal taste. I tend to under sharpen because I hate noise.

Thanks for the comments Coastalconn! You and Danny are people that I'm trying to imitate when it comes to wildlife photography. You guys remind me of a poster on here from a couple years ago by the name of Lostprophet. His shots were epic.

I am no "pro" but I did do a workshop or two on wildlife photography, for what it's worth, I think these shots are all good. The second one with the reflection on the water is my fav, it pops at me more.

Thanks!

 

[Civchic]

That's funny - I've been trying to work on my landscape photography in preparation for a trip I'm planning in November (I want to at least be able to do justice to Costa Rica) and it's so different from bird photography. I go out for birds, I come back with 100+ shots (binning 90 of them, LOL). I go out to practice landscape, come home with 6. It feels so weird.