Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was taken at the Cosumnes Wildlife Preserve just South of Sacramento, CA. There was a pair working this tree for insects earlier this Spring.
Specific Feedback
Dark limb going across the BG? I really like the Bokeh in the BG overall in this one. Thank you for looking, thank you for your thoughts.
Technical Details
Canon 7DMii, f16, 1/200 sec, iso 400, -0.7 EV, 100-400/1.4TC at 560 mm.
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1 Like
Hi Ed. I’d definitely remove that dark limb in the background. The rest of it is so nice that it would be a shame to ruin it with that. I do like the composition and the pose of the titmouse. The bird does look just a trifle soft, particularly the face, but I think it’s slight enough that a little microcontrast boost or sharpening in those areas can compensate for it. Though it looks like you had some harsh light to deal with the bird itself looks just fine. You might look at bringing up the shadows on the perch a bit.
A very nice image and a little more tweaking will really make it shine.
this is NICE SHARP IMAGE but I agree with Dennis regarding the dark branch, Might take some work to successfully remoce but worth it
Nice catch of a nice subject – common but very cute! The BG is lovely. I would start by reducing the Darks in raw conversion. The subject feels better for me with a horizontal composition, and that would remove a lot of the dark limb. The rest would respond well to some careful 50% opacity cloning.
Sharpening is not what is needed here – a close look at the catchlight shows motion blur. If the image is otherwise sharp, Topaz Sharpen’s motion blur models may clean it up nicely. I would try it as the first step than compare it with using a conservative denoise first.
Go back to the raw and start over rather than trying to work on an image that already has issues.
Thank you for your help with this one @Dennis_Plank, @David_Schoen and @Diane_Miller. After I get back from Texas I will take another crack at this one. I think I need to learn how to use a monopod for birds one of these days.
Hi Ed. I use one most of the time these days, though if I can, a tripod is still better, but that requires birds coming to a known location like a feeder or water drip setup. Then there’s nothing like a comfortable chair and a tripod. I’d outfitted my monopod with a little Kirk head that puts the Arca Swiss clamp on the side and lets it pivot about a horizontal axis. To that I mount a Wimberley Sidekick and clamp the Kirk head solidly. That puts the CG of my camera/lens directly over the axis of the monopod and allows me to swing it pretty freely in the vertical direction while just pivoting the monopod for horizontal motion. It adds just enough stability to really make a difference. Unfortunately, like all other camera support, the useful stuff isn’t cheap.
For me, 1/200 sec at 560mm is thin ice for handholding. I do like good DOF but I’ve found (on a sturdy tripod) that I don’t gain a lot between wide open and f/16. I have settled on trying to focus on the eye and letting the rest be what it is.
Hi Ed, Nice BG minus the dark branch and a fine pose. Bird looks soft to me too. I agree with Diane that 1/200s is slow for hand holding and preventing motion blur. Raising shutter speed and shooting a wider aperture should help in these situations. A monopod is a good tool also.
