This was the first time I used my new 200mm - 600mm telephoto lens. I never photographed birds until one late Oct. I camped near Island Beach State Park in N.J. My camping partner and I discovered an area called the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge south of Island Beach. We spent the day in this area and I started trying to photograph some of the area birds with my longest lens (74mm-200mm). I had such a fun time taking photographs and trying to catch BIF. Unfortunately, most of the photos I got rid of because this lens just wasn’t powerful enough and even cropping didn’t help. I knew after this trip I wanted to start taking bird photographs so I purchased the 200mm-600mm. By the time I received the lens, most of the birds in my area had left for winter. I was out this spring to test the lens out. One of the shots I took was this Blue Bird at one of our parks.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any welcomed.
Technical Details
Sony a7R iv 200mm-600mm taken at 600mm
f/6.3
s/1/2000
ISO 800
I’m glad you’ve taken up bird photography. For me it’s been a great way to get out in nature and it’s made me more observant of what I see in nature. This is a nice look at the bluebird with great colors and nice detail. If the image can hold up, I’d see what you think of a tight crop to show more of the bird.
Thanks Allen. I figured it needed a crop, but I kind of liked the branches. They seemed to blend in well with the colors. It should hold up well for a crop. I’ll see what I can do. I was in a park area designed for birds, so I didn’t want to get off the trail to get a closer shot.
I think you have nice image here. The complimentary background works well for the image. The branches add nicely to the composition. I see no need to crop. I wrote an article a while back that you might find interesting.
Very nice composition and the bird stands out well in the frame. I do think the breast is just a bit oversaturated, though I’m on the west coast and our Bluebirds are a different species, though quite close.
Thanks so much, Keith. I know bird photography is all about getting close and it’s very exciting to get a close up of a bird especially one in flight. However, that’s not always possible and I have to decide whether to crop out a lot of pixels or let it go. I thought the branches didn’t take away from the shot, but added a little bit of environment to the photo because the color matched the background well, they were clean and didn’t interfere with the bird. I’m very much looking forward to reading your article. Thank you.
Hi Dennis. These are Eastern Bluebirds and this was taken in the spring when their colors are the brightest. I copied the photo I’m sending from a bird website. It’s what our Bluebirds look like.
Thank you, thank you Keith. Reading your article comes at great timing for me. Since I’m a newcomer to bird photography, this article is a wonderful release for me. I have some nice bird environmental shots that I wouldn’t post because I didn’t think the bird was close enough for it to be called a good shot. I only posted this shot because my friends really liked it. Your wolf photo in your article is incredible. Thanks for setting me free from thinking close ups are always the best way to go.
I’m glad the article resonated with you. This statement really caught my attention. So where are the rules that say a good shot has to be close? Composition matters FAR more than the size of the animal in the frame. If all you want is close up shots, consult your favorite bird book and you can find all of those you want.
Donna, you captured a very nice image of the Eastern Bluebird. I’m in the east (NC) and it looks fine to me in the colors. Yes, environmental shots are good, and I need to remember that when shooting, because it is so tempting to just get in close all the time. This is a fine example of using the environment. That background really works well too. Great shot!
Hi Donna, Just for the record, I’m completely onboard with Keith’s viewpoint. If you look at his article you’ll see my comment below. With regards to your photo, my thought was not to cut out most of the tree , but to reduce some of the negative background space on the left. Perhaps a vertical crop, leaving most of the left branch intact.
No problem, Allen. I’ll take everyone’s suggestions. The only photography training I’ve had is by watching videos on YouTube or elsewhere. It seems like the big push is longer lens and tight crops. I like getting close to birds, but I only have a 200mm-600mm without a teleconverter. The small birds are still small at 600mm unless you can get close. I was just happy to hear that having more environment around a bird can be a good photograph. I’ve never had my photos critiqued before so I’m a bit nervous about it, but I feel I need to have these critiques to learn. Happy to have any of your critiques.
I think that you did very well capturing this scene. The bird is in bug-catching mode and is ready to pounce. We are all driven by coming in close, but shots taken at this distance are a refreshing change of pace. This image is fine as presented…Jim
Hi Danna
Go tight or leave room to breath, these two framing stiles are always fighting. In this case I would crop in around 20%. I like the overall look.
Peter
After you crop 20%, take a good look at the basic structural elements of the image. By that I mean the lines and shapes. No, those aren’t branches, they are lines in their basic form. A 20% crop will leave you with 3 lines leading the viewer right out of the frame. Give it a try and they see what your eyes do following the lines in the image.
Yes, when I look at this photo, I don’t want to crop any of the tips of the branches off and I don’t think I want to crop off any of the bottom branch either. I think it will look to short. Guess it stays as is.
