Hello, I'm new here. And I've brought bird pictures!

[atomray]

Hi all,

Last year I decided I would like to take better photos than what my phone allowed, mainly for capturing family memories but also exploring more general photography. Since then I've changed cameras as well as shot some film, and am loving it. I'm looking to improve so I joined this website hoping for some feedback and to participate in the community.

This photograph is one of the early ones I took that caught my eye and thought it would be a nice first share for critique.

 

[kmac]

Welcome to the site

Your photo is well exposed, but what is it you like about it ? It doesn't really tell a story.

[Eery Mithun]

6 hours ago, atomray said:

Hi all,

Last year I decided I would like to take better photos than what my phone allowed, mainly for capturing family memories but also exploring more general photography. Since then I've changed cameras as well as shot some film, and am loving it. I'm looking to improve so I joined this website hoping for some feedback and to participate in the community.

This photograph is one of the early ones I took that caught my eye and thought it would be a nice first share for critique.

 

Hello @atomray, nice to have you here. I've also joined this forum this week and found everyone to be very helpful. Surely, you'll get to improve your photography. About your first shared photo, in addition to having the exposure correct, you have also chosen the time of the day right which has brought out the colors feeling absolutely natural. Moreover, you shot is very pleasant to the eyes as all the colors (except for the sky) fall within a narrow harmonious hue range and the blue of the sky contrasts the rest finely. But the subject of the photo isn't well defined, the viewer may find it hard to know what to look for in this image. The only relation I could make was between the 3 fence posts at the bottom and the 3 birds at the top - but still that's a very weak in my opinion. One more thing, I would like to mention - it's about the placement of the horizon in the composition. The placement seems very close to the middle but not exactly - which may lead the viewer to think that the photographer tried to place it in the middle but didn't quite make it. IMHO, if you had your camera lowered about a feet and tilted slightly upwards, than the horizon would appear around the bottom third area and also make the fence posts more prominent, additionally it would bring the birds closer to the posts. I'm no expert, just a hobbyist - so don't take my words for granted. Just sharing my views.

[atomray]

The three birds are the subject, but I would agree that it isn't obvious. Seeing them against the wide prairie landscape at sunset was what made me pull over to capture the scene. I've let the other aspects - fence, farmland, wire, horizon, clouds, sky extend past the frame to try to show the expansiveness of the scene, providing layers perhaps, and leaving the three birds sitting in the center.

@Eery Mithun I like your comment that not having the horizon centered looks like a mistake. I felt like having it right in the center would feel less organic, more staged, so I did crop it that way. Thanks for the feedback, I'll have to give that some more thought.

 

[ericphelps]

I instinctively liked it because it looks much like our day trip grounds here in Arizona. You've got the scene right, and the color of the grasses, but is the 'softness' of the foreground a choice? Looks good but thought I'd ask.

[atomray]

2 hours ago, ericphelps said:

I instinctively liked it because it looks much like our day trip grounds here in Arizona. You've got the scene right, and the color of the grasses, but is the 'softness' of the foreground a choice? Looks good but thought I'd ask.

It was not, my mental checklist of things to do before capturing an exposure was (is) still developing, and I left the aperture wide. I didn't soften it in post.

[Eery Mithun]

34 minutes ago, atomray said:

I didn't soften it in post.

I guess the softness comes from the subtle motion blur of the foliage/leaves/grass (I'm horrible with the plant kingdom) resulting from the calm breeze.

[Ricochetrider]

Hi, welcome! Thanks for being brave enough to post in "critiques".

I like this shot, but actually could like it more- without the wire and birds! They are so minimal as to be barely noticeable. For me, there's always something about fence lines and open prairie that captures my imagination. It's such a big, wide open scene that having to "dial it down" to really see the birds comes off (to me) as work. I advise to have your intended subject(s)  be stronger overall in the frame, let the subject be the subject, rather than an "oh OK wait, what's this?"  element of your photo. I guess what I'm trying to say is that here, the birds don't really come off as the primary intent of the photo.

SInce you mentioned the word "crop" I'd now like to see the whole original photo uncropped! This brings me to something a good friend who is an accomplished photographer told me once, "get the shot correct in the frame to begin with". In otherwords, create the shot you want in the here & now- as you're shooting. It gives the viewer a stronger sense of your intentions, and makes for less post work as well!

As to the "soft" focus in the extreme foreground, somebody else may back me up on this - but considering the overall look of the shot, I guess that foreground stuff is simply too close to where you were standing, to be in focus. For a shot such as this, one might assume the aperture would be something like f/11, focus distance set to infinity?  Any elements  closer than "X" feet away, won't be in focus, while all distant elements would be.  Although IIrC you did use the words "wide open" which seems to point towards the opposite- F/2 or whatever (wide open) rather than a smaller aperture like f/11.   

 

Good luck with your new camera(s) and your venture into photography!  

Edited November 14 by Ricochetrider

[Woolsocks]

I like the image. And you could name it after that famous song: Bird on a wire. 

 

But the current title confuses me. It took me a while to actually identify the power line and the birds. 

[dcstep]

Well let me talk technical stuff. I see a nice shot of a prairie, which has some tiny birds in it. Nothing wrong with that, but the title is way off base.

So, you're shooting film! 

Since you weren't intending to soft focus the foreground, you need a smaller aperture, like f/8 or f/11. If the grass is blowing, then you need to get the shutter speed up over 1/100-sec.

What software are you using to process the image after you've digitized it? Many (most really) will allow you to reduce that haze near the horizon. I have no attraction to film, but I've been shooting since 1959 and know more about it than I care to. My DxO Photolab software allows me to work that sky a bit to clear it. I'm sure that Lightroom allows similar ability. Most shoot film because they enjoy the process and the unique color distortion of each film. You'll want to preserve that, but you may still want to add clarity and deal with imperfections, such as a crooked horizon or a cow pie in the foreground, etc. It's a matter of taste.

If you really want to seriously photograph birds, then you're going to need a 400mm lens or stronger. If you can get close, a 200mm might make due, but not in a prairie environment like you were in.

Since you're a newbie, consider posting EXIF information so that we can talk technical as well as stylistically.  For film shooters, the equivalent to EXIF is shutter speed, aperture and film type and speed rating.

Given how clear the sky is, I think that you've under exposed a bit. I think that prairie grass should pop more. I don't think that's a characteristic of whatever film you used.

[jc1305us]

The photo is well exposed with nice colors, but I could barely see the birds tbh. Also, I don’t get a sense of scale, maybe someone standing at the fence, his back to the camera, with a cowboy hat on would give it that “oomph” ofherwise, I like it. 

[mikemorrellNL]

I read this thread weeks ago and then decided not to add a comment to those already given. Now I have.

I'm not so focused on 'details' but I really like this photo!

The very first things I liked were:

- the 'expanse' of the landscape and the color contrasts between the (golden) fields and the (blue) sky

- the fence as an immediate foreground and also as a 'context' for the photo; IMHO, if you'd stepped over the fence, the photo wouldn't have been so good.

- Although opinions are divided, I really like the small birds on the (diagonal) telephone line. Both the line and the birds (however small) just - subtlety - break up the expanse of the sky. For me, me they're not a major 'focal point' of the photo but a nice (natural) detail that breaks up the 'expansive landscape' and adds interest.

Perhaps the title of the thread (... "Bird Pictures'') threw some members off.  An alternative title could perhaps be "xxxxxxx Landscape"

 

Best wishes,

Mike

[atomray]

Thanks for all the feedback and sorry I haven't been back for a couple weeks. Shoulder surgery!

Some clarifications

• this is a digital photo from about a year ago, shortly after deciding to get a decent camera, i.e. not a cell phone, a Fuji X100 - I wanted to keep it basic to start, i.e. fixed lens
• I mentioned also shooting film since then, but just meant to introduce myself, irrelevant here
• the title of the post was meant to be a title for the post, and not a title of the photograph - my bad

@Ricochetrider Thanks for the comment. I definitely differ in regards to "oh OK wait, what's this?" - I like some interesting, subtle details that you might miss on first glance. Not everyone's cup of tea. I checked and the crop is just pulling it in to an 8x10 aspect so just clipping the sides a bit, nothing consequential. I guess I should have said that I didn't crop it to put the horizon in the middle. The aperture was F/4 which wasn't deliberate - at the time I didn't think to adjust.

@dcstep It was digital - F/4 | 1/500s | ISO 160 | 23mm APS-C; I was driving, saw the scene and decided to pull over and capture it. New to the camera and probably had it on auto or aperture priority and didn't think. I hadn't thought about trying to clear the haze, that's interesting, I'll give that a try. And yeah, thinking about investing in a longer lens.

@mikemorrellNL Thanks for adding your comment. That's pretty much my thoughts and it's nice  to get a bit of validation along with the constructive feedback.

 

[dcstep]

14 hours ago, atomray said:

Thanks for all the feedback and sorry I haven't been back for a couple weeks. Shoulder surgery!

 

@dcstep It was digital - F/4 | 1/500s | ISO 160 | 23mm APS-C; I was driving, saw the scene and decided to pull over and capture it. New to the camera and probably had it on auto or aperture priority and didn't think. I hadn't thought about trying to clear the haze, that's interesting, I'll give that a try. And yeah, thinking about investing in a longer lens.

 

 

Ah so. If you were in aperture priority or manual, you should have been around f/8 to get better DOF.. SS and ISO are fine.