Pond Heron

[JRajput]

My experiments with bokeh.

Specific Feedback Requested

Any

Technical Details

Canon R 5; 500 mm lens; ISO 1250; 1/2500 sec. at f 6.3

[Dean_Salman]

Great shot and the bokeh looks really good.

[David_Bostock]

Beautiful bird and wonderful bokeh. I like the soft foreground blur in front of the bird too. It works quite nicely.

[Diane_Miller]

Very nice – both the Heron and the bokeh!! You should keep that lens!! In my experience, the 100-500 gives a very strange pattern for small specular highlights, although I haven’t really paid attention if it varies with focal length or with the teleconverters. I should do some test shots.

[Diane_Miller]

I was wrong! We still haven’t taken down the Christmas tree so I went to close focus with the 100-500 at 500 (3 ft) and shot the tiny lights from 15 ft away with a somewhat underexposed BG. It’s not quite like light coming through a tree outdoors but will do for now. I got the same smooth circles you did. When I’ve gotten those pinpoints of light outdoors through trees, they have always been larger and sparser so I’ve never seen them quite like your image.

But what I was thinking about is tiny “sparkles” – like light reflecting off a rough wet surface like granite rock. It has peculiar details in each tiny circle of light. Probably something quite different than bokeh, which is from the shape of the iris diaphragm.

And apologies for getting off the discussion here.

[JRajput]

@Diane_Miller

Very nice – both the Heron and the bokeh!! You should keep that lens!! In my experience, the 100-500 gives a very strange pattern for small specular highlights, although I haven’t really paid attention if it varies with focal length or with the teleconverters. I should do some test shots.

Thanks @Diane_Miller it varies with focal length and aperture too. I intend to keep this 500 mm lens, it has been my work horse, may change it when RF 500 mm comes.

[JRajput]

@Diane_Miller

…they have always been larger and sparser so I’ve never seen them quite like your image.But what I was thinking about is tiny “sparkles” – like light reflecting off a rough wet surface like granite rock. It has peculiar details in each tiny circle of light. Probably something quite different than bokeh, which is from the shape of the iris diaphragm.And apologies for getting off the discussion here.

I believe with 100-500 mm lens, one is likely to get smaller circles. thanks to f 7.1.
I hope to try this with my 200 mm f 2 lens some day, but I don’t carry t for bird photography. I’ll be going for a shoot next week, will do more experiments with bokeh.

[Mike_Friel]

It’s lovely, but I’m not 100% in favour of the yellow circle over the bird’s body.

[Dennis_Plank]

Interesting experiments, Jagdeep, and a fine image as a result.

[Hans_Overduin]

Experiment succeeded. I love these kind of shots, and the bokeh is adding so much here. Way to go! Hans