Singing Wood Stork

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

This wood stork was standing next to a pond, and it looked like he was singing.

What technical feedback would you like if any? All feedback will be appreciated.

What artistic feedback would you like if any? All feedback is welcome

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If backgrounds have been removed, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

Nikon D90 with Nikon DX 18-300
f/7.1, shutter speed 1/800
ISO 356 (it was set on auto)

Some cropping and exposure reduction in Luminar 4 to darken the background. Also some modest contrast adjustments.

If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
DSC_1544_Wood stork singing
DSC_1544_Wood stork singing1553×2336 462 KB
3

Hi Scott. The only critique I have is that the image lacks clarity to the point that I can’t even see it :crazy_face:

4

Thanks. The image is there now. I could swear I double checked and saw it in the post before finalizing, but I guess not.

5

For this image, your meter was fooled into overexposure due to the dark background. Auto ISO didn’t help you either. The white plumage is overexposed. I took the image opened in Camera Raw just to get a quick clipping level. As you can see in this screen shot, everything in red is clipped with no detail. I don’t know if you’ll be able to recover it with the RAW file, but I’m skeptical. I’m guessing you can get rid of the clipping, but I doubt you’ll get the feather detail back.

Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 4.29.18 PM
Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 4.29.18 PM1314×2046 939 KB

1 Like
6

A cool pose, Scott, and it looks like your focus was right on. The overexposure of the body is a problem as it’s difficult enough to get detail in white plumage even when it’s not overexposed. When you’re using auto-iso, even though you’re setting everything else manually, you’re not really shooting manual, because the camera is covering the iso. That means you need to dial in exposure compensation just as if you were shooting in aperture or shutter priority. For whites or yellows in the sun, I would start at -2/3 or -1 compensation.

1 Like
7

Thanks Keith. I do have it in RAW. I am still getting used to how so identify clipped areas. You are right, I am able to get rid of the clipping, but so far unable to get the feather details back. Thanks for the help.

8

Thanks Dennis. Good advice. I used spot metering because of the white on the bird, but I also had exposure compensation at +2/3, which I forgot to look at and adjust. Many things to learn and think about. Thanks for your help.

9

So what did you spot meter off of? I ask because many people think if they spot meter they will get a “correct” exposure. With this scene where you meter could easily create exposures that are 4 or more stops different and none of them “correct”. If you spot meter off of the white bird, the image will be underexposed and the white bird will be gray. If you spot meter off of the dark background on top, the image will be way overexposed. If you spot meter off of the brown dirt, the exposure would be closer. For this image the only thing that matters is getting the exposure for the bird correct to show details in the plumage, yet have the bird render as white in the digital file.

10

That is a good point. My intention was to spot meter the bird, thinking that would get his exposure correct. That said, I’ve been so focused on trying to get the focus point on the eyes, I probably metered off his beak or head.

11

If you are not 100% confident in understanding what a reflected light meter is telling you, my advice is don’t use spot metering. How big is the spot, and what does it cover… well, that all depends on the focal length of the lens and the angle of view changes when the focal length changes, which of course means the spot used by spot metering changes in angle of view. If you would have metered the white bird, the reflected meter would have assumed that 18% of the light from the subject was being reflected back to the meter for calculations. Of course white reflects more than 18% and hence drives the meter to suggest a set of values that will underexpose. If you metered off the head you would get a different answer, and so on. I’m not saying that spot meters are bad, far from it, but if you’re not really good at reading a scene and understanding what the meter is telling you, your exposures will be all over the map. If you used evaluative or center weighted, that doesn’t mean it will correct either, but the amount of variability goes way down. You still have to take control of the scene and understand the consequences of a reflected light meter. Meters are pretty blunt instruments. They always assume 18% of the light is being reflected back no matter the reflectivity of the subject.

12

Hello, Scott, good choice to have this bird in a vertical frame. You may consider tilting it a little and have a legs parallel to the side of the frame. About the exposure, Keith has given you some excellent background info and advice ! Keep on shooting ! Cheers, Hans

13

That is all very helpful. As you can tell, I have a lot of learning to do. Thanks very much for your help. I really appreciate this forum and your efforts in helping people like me

14

Quick suggestion is to use bracketed exposures especially in these type of scenes with white subject and dark background. Especially until you are used to judging exposure. If your camera can do it I’d bracket 5 stops. Also, if your camera will display histogram in viewfinder turn it on.