WedNEsDAy PiC #7

[mt4x4]

<p>Trying again</p><div></div>

[dansutton]

<p>robert body: that picture is amazingly sharp, not to mention the great colors and focus, etc. Was that a 300mm prime that you used? but that detail to these admittedly green eyes is stunning. how much pp went into that photo versus the original capture. i'm asking just so i might be able to replicate some of that, but otherwise, very great photo.</p>

[Sanford]

<p>Nikon D300, 18-200 mm Nikkor zoom.</p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>here's an available-light pic from the Chinese New Year's Day Parade, San Francisco.</p><div></div>

[rarmstrong]

<p>Excellent Pintails, Robert!<br>

Very nice golf shot, Sanford!<br>

Thank you, Jose! Another great thread!<br>

Dick</p>

[robertbody]

<p>Well my Pintails photo is Ok in my opinion, it's a good start.<br>

The action is its biggest strength, but everything else could use improvement. It was 9:45am and the sun was too strong, an hour ago it would have been much better. I had to darken it a bit. I didn't use flash with flash-extender, i was about 20 yards away [i could look that up if someone asks :-) ] and that is a 17% / 45% crop (that means that it's 17% of the original, but had i kept the height too (not just width) it would be 45%), it's with a 300mm prime which is..... not enough for shots like this.<br>

What else. For shots like this it's best to sit still in a "promising spot" and watch what happens, track the birds through the viewfinder at most times and watch for action. In this case there were 8 male Pintails chasing 1 female around, then they all flew off together. It was a great opportunity but the light nor the lens weren't optimal......... and as you know it's all about the light.<br>

With a 300mm i have to work a lot harder than someone with 500mm f/4 + 1.4TC [need to be closer or crop]. As far as focus, 300mm f/4 AF-S can track something like this, but i do miss shots and that makes me very frustrated, like birds in flight too, where it shouldn't be so demanding on the AF to keep the focus throughout and let me press full-way.<br>

Here are more of - <a href="http://www.robertbody.com/answers/new-photos/index.html">my recent photos with 300mm f/4</a> - the Pintails photo looks better on that page, here it's a bit compressed from original 880pixel width, and if you click on that picture and then "Big" at top of page, you can see it 1500pixels wide.<br>

The wide right included the little guy's head sticking out, he's the best part of the picture. With 1.4X teleconverter the focusing might have been ok too. Action shots like this are not hard, but you do need the focal length of 500mm+ and good light.. of course.</p>

[rarmstrong]

<p>Robert, thanks for the information! A 500 mm f4 with a 1.4 TC is on my wish list:-) I couldn't get your link to load...I'll try again tomorrow.<br>

Dick</p>

[robertbody]

<p>As far as focus, this is f/4 at 37.6 meters [41 yards] away, and the Pintails are about on the same plane, so while the focus should have been on the Pintail on far left [actual center of the picture], the Pintail on the far right looks the sharpest.<br>

As far as Post Processing, if someone wants the original JPG or NEF i can email it to you , but let me just summarize that with 9:45am the sun in Arizona is already harsh then and you get the contrast where the dirt is lighter than you see and when you darken it you get dark faces on the Pintails so the top Pintail got a touch of lightening on his head, him only. A bit of Saturation increase, maybe +10, a little more red possibly +8.... these can make an ok shot a bit more Ok, but there is nothing like getting the same shot an hour earlier, can't fake great light.<br>

Also let me say about using a tripod.... well i don't recall if i specifically used it for that shot, probably not because of the action going on and you can respond a lot faster with the camera in hand, but i was low and sitting and using my knee as a support. The Focus was on Continuous tracking. You want to use tripod, but if they are taking off and landing, tripod can make you miss the shots unless you know exactly what will happen where.<br>

Also about 500mm+ focal length [assuming you use the good stuff, $3000+ lenses] would show you a bigger image and introduce other frustrations while fixing the "short lens syndrome". Putting 1.7X extender on a 300mm f/4 would be the most-expensive reasonable-cost way.</p>

[robertbody]

<p>Richard, my link......... patience... you must be using Internet Explorer which takes a long time to load 200+ images in thumbnail format. Other browsers show the images as they load, IE just shows blank page for a while, then shows all..... patience.<br>

Here are - <a href="http://www.robertbody.com/birds/pintails.html">Pintails specifically</a> - but the first link has lot more variety.</p>

[scott_pogorelc]

<p>@ Rene', it could just be me, but I think that bird is mooning you ;)<br>

@ Hamish & Andy: great compositions - very original</p>

<p> </p>

[andy_j]

<p>Baby Chick I ran into in Costa Rica<br>

D700 70 - 200 mm (at 170mm)<br>

1/1250 F 5<br>

ISO 400</p><div></div>

[rjm photo]

Nikon SP, 105mm Nikkor</p><div></div>

[adam zyto]

<p>Today on my way home from work. My new D300 doesn't disappoint.</p><div></div>

[dansutton]

<p>andy i really like that image. nice control of depth of field there. really brought that little guy out. <br>

robert- you have quite the eye for light. that picture just struck me though. the bird with his wings stretched back and necked craned forward just gives so much movement right there; his feet pulled up. really enjoy it. also, the concentric waves around the bird silhouetted against that reflected sunlight was magnificent. and just as an aside it was really interesting to see the pictre of the photographer patiently waiting for his shots and light. i now hate my tripod. ha. thanks for the information. and really enjoyed the photos.</p>

[erica_cooper]

<p>taking a leaf out of Andy's book, I decided to experiment with the whole ring/book/heart/shadow thing, so I got a cool shot of that. but THEN, i realized that there was an even better picture i could take, being this one, which is ultimately just creepy</p>

<p>d90 w/ VR 18-200 @200mm; 1/60s, f/9 ISO 500</p><div></div>

[robertbody]

<p>Thanks Dan, and don't hate the tripod, I couldn't have taken these pictures without the tripod - <a href="http://www.robertbody.com/cities/tempe/tempe-town-lake/previews.html">November Arizona Sunsets</a> (and other photos)- a good tripod goes a long way. Tall tripod without a center column. Would be nice if the good stuff didn't cost what it does. I got a used carbon Gitzo in May and I love it. It's taller without any center column than my Manfrotto was with center column [very much increases vibrations]. And the light is half the success.</p>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

<p>Everybody,<br>

great shots. I've been up since 6am (rare for me) sat in traffic for about 1 1/2 hr to go shooting in San Pedro. Was there till 6pm (from about 8:30am) - Drive home took almost 2 hours due to so much traffic & I was so tired....<br>

So I have shots from yesterday at the mechanic's with my husband's car & today shooting some birds in a new garden for me.... But I've not done anything to any of them.<br>

So I may have to ask Lex & Shun's indulgence & hopefully I will have something by tomorrow....<br>

Past that - Bernard my thoughts are with all of you. I went through Southern California Wildfires in, was it, November..... I think so... of last year. I had to evacuate our horses in the middle of the night - after hosing down our barn for about two hours. My husband hosing the house & trees around our property.<br>

I left our home suddenly not being able to reach neither my daughter nor my husband with two horses in the trailer & fire & 70 mph winds. Very scary.....<br>

Beautiful shots & I'm sorry I'm too tired to say anything more....<br>

Lil :-)</p>

[simistef]

<p>Wow ! Great pictures in this thread ! I hope mine will not dissapoint. It has been taken near Hamburg at sunset. I runned almost 2 miles to get to this point, and it was after the rain. I think this made the sunset so fabulos. I got soaked wet but i think it deserved it.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/8231318-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="456" /><br>

Nikon D80, 18-135 mm lenses, no tripod</p>

[batsonca]

<p>Lovely pictures this week, this is the first link I go to on a Wednesday and Thursday. I am great fan of landscapes - so very intrigued (in a good way) by Robert's photo - excuse my ignorance what is a Nikon SP - Rangefinder?. I have a D80 and used Pentax before, so be kind.</p>

[hamish_gray]

<p>Colleen, this is a Nikon SP<br>

<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_sp">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_sp</a></p>

[dan_south]

<p>Lex, et al., thanks for explaining the rules of the road. I'll post my submission this evening.</p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>Great pictures everyone. These Wednesday thread are getting better and better.</p>

<p>Keep up the great work!</p>

[dansutton]

<p>ha. i didn't mean i hated tripods in general, just my bulky clumsy one. it's a sunpak or something like that, and the weight and annoyance keep me fom using it. it seems that a good tripod is a great investment.</p>

[mt4x4]

<blockquote>

<p>a good tripod goes a long way. Tall tripod without a center column.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Only problem is that, when you don't have a center column, if you want to make an adjustment in height, you get to make 3 adjustments, not one.</p>

<p>There is nothing wrong with a center column, as long as you don't have to extend it much to get the height you need. Even if I had a systematic tripod, I would still get at least a short center column for it. I have a Gitzo carbon and love it. It is tall enough that I don't need to extend the center column, but I still prefer having a center column for convenience.</p>

<p>Just my 2 cents.</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>I think this week is the best about birding, all bird shots are outstanding to my taste. Nice to see film cameras too. I envy Robert`s S2. I enjoy a IIa but sadly it doesn`t work properly with Nikkors. I`m so tempted to shoot film, I didn`t use it last weeks because my freezer is full of undeveloped film cannisters. Perhaps next week. Too much work at the office, too little time to enjoy.</p>

<p><em>Bernard</em>, I`m sorry about what is happening to your country. Although Australia is at our antipodes, I have seen all this devastation at the news. My best wishes for you and your people.</p>

<p>D<em>an and Richard, (Apurva)</em>... just to add to your thoughts my idea about interpretation in photography: It`s a well known journalists joke; "don´t let reality to ruin a good news item" (I`m translating to my clumsy english). In photography and seriously speaking, I`d say; "don`t let reality to ruin a good photography". IMO, the best photo is the one who show your point of view (your interpretation) whatever it is.</p>