Still Shooting Birds

sm4him · Jan 7, 2013

Though coastalconn has made me despair of ever getting the sort of bird photography HE gets... :lmao:
I persist at it nonetheless, and I *think* these are at least somewhat improved from previous attempts.

Your C&C or just general banter so that my thread at least doesn't die of neglect, would be most appreciated.

1. Eastern Towhee: IMO, this is the weakest of the bunch, but DANG this little dude is hard to get a picture of!! They won't ever come out from the bushes.

Jan_5_2013 (70)edit_web by sm4him, on Flickr
Frosty feather by sm4him, on Flickr

2. Chickadee. Carolina chickadee, I think; someone who knows these things can correct me if I'm wrong. Wish it hadn't turned its little head at the wrong moment.

Jan_6_2013 (48)edit_web by sm4him, on Flickr

3. White-throated sparrow

Jan_6_2013 (43)edit_web by sm4him, on Flickr

4. Cardinal. I have had the HARDEST time getting what I would consider a decent photo of a cardinal despite the fact that there are at least a dozen of them in my backyard constantly. Something about the red coat and those black, black eye areas frustrates me. But this one comes close, I think.

Jan_6_2013 (26)edit_web by sm4him, on Flickr

5. Tufted Titmouse. Another one that's hard to get as they are quite skittish and flit quickly from one place to another. There's a pair of them (one of them with an eye out, I think) that have become slightly more comfortable with me around.

Jan_6_2013 (52)edit_web by sm4him, on Flickr

6. Finally, my favorite of the bunch, a Mockingbird. Annoying as all get out, but they are quite photogenic.

Jan_5_2013 (31)edit_web by sm4him, on Flickr

cgipson1 · Jan 7, 2013

Sharon... some nice birdies! That cardinal is very pretty!

Designer · Jan 7, 2013

I like them all! Very nice!

coastalconn · Jan 7, 2013

Sharon, your catching up

Are these all heavily cropped or just resized? I see many were shot +2 EV were you on spot metering? You've captured some very nice images. They might need some noise reduction or it could be a result of cropping?

Mully · Jan 7, 2013

I like all of them ...nice and sharp ...there is something about #3 that is a little more special...nice job

sm4him · Jan 7, 2013

Thanks, all! Charlie, you know it's always an extra bonus to me if you approve! ;-)

coastalconn said:
Sharon, your catching up Are these all heavily cropped or just resized? I see many were shot +2 EV were you on spot metering? You've captured some very nice images. They might need some noise reduction or it could be a result of cropping?

Haha, no I have a looonnnnggg way to go, but thank you!
Some of them are cropped more than others. The chickadee and the towhee are probably the most heavily cropped. The cardinal, sparrow and mockingbird far less so.
Yes, I was using spot metering. The EV was mostly just experimentation. Actually, I accidentally discovered I'd been on EV -2.0 for I don't know how long--days, maybe!--so then I started just playing with it to see. Now I'm gonna show my ignorance (YET AGAIN! :lol:

) and admit that I don't completely understand how EV works in conjunction with everything else and when I should use it instead of adjusting other settings.

They could definitely use a little noise reduction, but that's another area I haven't really worked on, and I feel like when I try to use it, I just end up un-sharpening what I just sharpened. Again, I'm just not sure where the balance is between noise reduction and getting sharp images. Of course, if I'd just get it a little more right in camera, that wouldn't be as much of an issue.

But it's getting there, slowly but surely. Mostly slowly. ;-)

SCraig · Jan 7, 2013

All of them are very nicely done! Bird eyes can be difficult because they are frequently dark and hidden in a patch of dark feathers. It does make it difficult but you did very well keeping them visible.

I don't do a lot of noise reduction on my bird shots because I don't like to lose the detail in the feathers. If I do anything, I'll usually apply a heavy dose of noise reduction to the entire image and then undo about 90% of it on the bird itself. All that really does is blur the background a little more and get the noise out there, and leave just a little bit on the bird.

Regardless, great shots!

WesternGuy · Jan 8, 2013

Sharon, nice images, I like them all. The last two with food in their mouths are the best captures.

WesternGuy

LaFoto · Jan 8, 2013

Wow, all your attempts are sooo much better than mine EVER were.
And it's so funny to hear how you feel "intimidated" (no, not really, and for no reason!) by coastalconn and other really good bird photographers who come to the forums, when more than five years ago I was in the same position, only were the bird photographers on here other people.
You might enjoy reading up my "LaFoto-And-The-Birds-Saga" in three parts:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/critique-forum-archives/77649-pigeon-any-good.html
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...o-birds-long-saga-many-pictures-part-2-a.html
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...birds-part-3-saga-today-starling-10-pics.html

It's old threads from 2007 - and you will see that my bird photography never even came close to what you achieved here!

sm4him · Jan 8, 2013

SCraig said:
All of them are very nicely done! Bird eyes can be difficult because they are frequently dark and hidden in a patch of dark feathers. It does make it difficult but you did very well keeping them visible.

I don't do a lot of noise reduction on my bird shots because I don't like to lose the detail in the feathers. If I do anything, I'll usually apply a heavy dose of noise reduction to the entire image and then undo about 90% of it on the bird itself. All that really does is blur the background a little more and get the noise out there, and leave just a little bit on the bird.

Regardless, great shots!

Ah--good idea, thanks Scott! I tried something sort of like that, but more complicated, with masks, on a couple yesterday (not, I think, any I posted here) but I think the next time, I'll give your suggestion a try.

LaFoto said:
Wow, all your attempts are sooo much better than mine EVER were.
And it's so funny to hear how you feel "intimidated" (no, not really, and for no reason!) by coastalconn and other really good bird photographers who come to the forums, when more than five years ago I was in the same position, only were the bird photographers on here other people.
You might enjoy reading up my "LaFoto-And-The-Birds-Saga" in three parts:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/critique-forum-archives/77649-pigeon-any-good.html
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...o-birds-long-saga-many-pictures-part-2-a.html
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...birds-part-3-saga-today-starling-10-pics.html

It's old threads from 2007 - and you will see that my bird photography never even came close to what you achieved here!

LaFoto, thanks for the links; that was an amusing read while I had my morning coffee! You improved quite a bit in a VERY short time, though--those starlings were quite nice! I detest starlings, but they ARE interesting birds. They fly (and land in your yard and trees) in flocks so thick here that sometimes it turns the sky dark. Hundreds of them--it always makes me think of Hitchcocks The Birds movie (which I was, for some inexplicable reason, actually ALLOWED to watch when I was about seven years old--that was a Bad. Plan.).

I bet if you'd stuck with it, YOU would be the TPF Bird Master now!
Oh, and I'm the youngest of 5 kids--4 of whom were extremely bright and talented, geniuses even. I have a LONG history of feeling intimidated by others better than myself... :lmao:
But I keep telling myself, it's just that rockin' lens coastalconn has. Well, that, some luck... and incredible talent.