The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is the second time I post this little owl. After my first visit to the hide, I noticed that my in flight pictures lacked sharpness. So I went back (after correcting my camera’s settings…). The pleasure and excitement of seeing these wonderful small birds so close by were as intense as the first time. But the eggs have hatched and the work for the parents was intense. Especially since they do not seem to like the rain and stayed hidden for quite a while.
Specific Feedback
Rainy weather also means little light. I had to crank up the ISO in order to reach high enough speed levels. Noise reduction has improved over the last years. But is the quality sufficient? Should I raise more the level of NR in LR? It remains a compromise between less noise and sufficient sharpness, anyway. Any tips for improving the sharpness in camera are gladly accepted also.
Technical Details
Canon Canon EOS R6
ƒ/8 (largest possible aperture at the focal length)
1/2000
481 mm (RF 200-800mm)
8000 ISO
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
The face looks nice and sharp to me, Xavier. Given the settings you were at, I can’t see what you might change to improve it. That’s a bout as slow a shutter speed as I’d like to use for a relatively small bird While you might be able to go even higher on the iso these days, you wouldn’t gain much unless you were deliberately underexposing and bringing the image up in processing.
It’s interesting that you talk about it as being dark and gloomy, but the way you took and processed the image, gives it the feel of a bright, sunny day.
I’d say your settings are very good. Hopefully, you can get back for a nicer day before the youngsters fledge.
I agree with Dennis on this one. I think the head the face are pretty sharp, but the blur in the wings affects the quality of the image. Still nice to get this on film or is that pixels. You’re pretty limited with an iso of 8000 and that lens set up that you have. But it could be worse, and you could have some limitations on your iso and other factors. By the way, I would be happy to have this image. I don’t see very many owls and I really like what I see when I do find them.
Hi Xavier, really nice catch. The face and eyes are sharp which is what matters most. The blur in the wings show the motion present which is good in my eyes. Agree with Dennis on the settings. I think you did well. I use DXO PureRaw to help with image quality at high ISO. Really increases the ISO’s I can effectively shoot at.
