This male House Finch found a tasty and nutritious sunflower seed on which to munch.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Just got a new camera and lens and I’m in a steep learning curve! Any feedback is appreciated, but particularly the technical details of the image.
Technical Details
Canon R7, Canon RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1 L IS USM Telephoto Zoom, f8, 1/400 sec., ISO 1000 @ 400mm. Processed in ACR and PSE 2020. Topaz DeNoise.
Looks like you’re having a lot of fun with your new rig! I’d crop this more and get rid of the greener/darker bits on the right. Wouldn’t he give you a turn??
Practice, practice, practice @Kris_Smith! I agree with getting rid of the mess on the right. Actually, he gave me lots of poses, but I liked this one because it showed the seed in his mouth best, and caught the glint in his eye.
Hi Terry: I tend to agree with Kristen’s comments. Here’s an alternate crop, though I did have to use some cloning in the upper right because I couldn’t get rid of all the green. I like the wall or whatever it is in the background-it has a cool texture. I think you’ll love your new camera and lens-I’ve seen some wonderful results from that combination.
Thanks @Dennis_Plank. Nice work on the crop. I’m glad to read your comments on the bg. That’s actually the north side of my neighbor’s house. It’s shaded most of the day and I thought it would make a nice bg, but I wasn’t sure. Yeah, lovin’ the new gear so far!
Congrats on the new gear. I think these new cameras take bird photography to a new level. And the 100-500 is the best glass I’ve ever had. I spent a lot of time on You Tube seeing what settings bird photographers were using-Whistling Wings, Jan Wegener, Duade Paton, and Simon d’Entremont-all Canon users.
Did you use eye auto focus? It seems the eye and facial area could be a bit sharper. Nice perch and light and the seed is a good addition.
Thanks @Allen_Brooks. Lovin’ the new rig so far, but still have lots to learn. Yeah, I visualize that going from that 60D and the 70-300 glass to this new gear is akin to a fighter pilot jumping out of a WWI biplane into an F-15. I have watched Whistling Wings, Duade Patton, and Simon d’Entremont vids, but haven’t gotten to Jan Wegener, yet. In fact, some of these videos were what convinced me to get serious about the R7.
I did use eye auto focus and tracking. If I didn’t nail it, I suspect it was operator error.
