Description: As she jumped and flew between the branches late in the afternoon, she stopped for a brief moment to capture her. Nikon D500, 500mm, 5/6, Settings: 1/1000 sec, F7.1, ISO11400, manual pattern metering. I did use Photoshop and cropped all 4 sides, Filter for sharpening and noise and Adjustment in shadow and highlight.
Specific Feedback Requested: I am just grateful I captured her and sometimes the technical aspects are secondary.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)
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What a treat! I have a pair or two in the yard and hear them all spring and early summer, but only ever see the male. Not quick enough to get a shot of him though so this is a special treat! Not many people bother with the females because they are so camouflaged, and so I applaud you going for it. If you can crop her away from center and more to the left it would strengthen the composition. I’d also see if you could darken the branch in front of her foot, that would also keep our eyes on this beauty. I love her tail position and the little bristles around her beak.
Looks like you started with a good capture but the NR and sharpening don’t do justice to the image. It’s worth starting over from the raw file with better techniques. I echo @Kris_Smith’s advice about the bright branch – Nik Viveza could do an excellent job darkening it with excellent masking. You could also select the bird to protect it and inverse the selection and do some low-opacity cloning to soften the BG branches a little. I’d love to see a rework!
Hi Norma
I have never seen this bird before, thank you for bring it to us. I do not think the filter for sharping and noise helped this photograph. There seem to be some artifact just below the wing. You can get free trials of DXO PureRaw and the Nik collection. Both of the programs and very useful with high ISO photographs.
Nice looking American Redstart.
Peter
These small birds are tough to catch out in the open. I agree with the issues regarding the noise and sharpening and the other respondents have made good suggestions for you. Still a pleasing image.
Excellent job getting this bird in the frame at all Norma. Others have addressed the processing issues and it looks as if with some work it could be turned into a really stellar image.
Peter thank you I found the free trial. I am going to see what I can do. I have been looking for better control of the noise in my images as most are taken with high ISO and produce unwanted noise.
The thing to keep in mind about digital noise is that it is always there. It’s a constant. When we overwhelm the noise with signal - meaning light - the noise is suppressed. As in signal-to-noise ratio. Low light or fast action situations mean we naturally expose for a shorter period in order to freeze action or hand hold. This often results in less light and so less signal in the signal-to-noise ratio. Of course it also depends on your sensor construction and camera, but in general noise is a backdrop to all photos. Exposing to the right is a way to mitigate it, even over-exposing to a degree that the highlights aren’t blown. It’s been beneficial for me to keep this in mind when I have to crank the ISO and the result is a more manageable shot.
I took the advise of Peter and got the DXO pureraw software and worked on the image. I hope I used the software correctly and improved my image. The one with white name is the new version.
The repost is improved, but there’s still some waxy smearing on the head from noise suppression. Also reduce the brightness/exposure as the repost is on the edge for clipping. Exposing to the right is done in the field during shooting. As you move up in ISO, the sensor works harder to capture the limited available light. This generates heat and produces noise. I use Topaz DeNoise at the start of the editing process. Auto feature for this plugin works great, and I will often reduce or increase the amount from the suggested level. Post your RAW file too so the reviewers might be able to take a stab at providing a solution for you…Jim
How do I post the original image in the same post as the first. I did want to post the revised post next to it but could not figure it out. The second post, I did use raw and I did use a noise reductions software. Here is the original image if anyone wants to take a stab.
I did minimal noise suppression as noise was really not an issue. The highlights are blown and I could recover some, but not all under the tail coverts. I was able to get the head detail situated and it sharpened just fine. The original is slightly overexposed, but workable. Play around with your camera and examine the histogram to check for clipping. It looks like you can drop your exposure by -0.3 to -0.67 ev…Jim
