Another backyard bird

Gallery: AvianPosted June 27, 201293 views5 comments

Here is another in my backyard bird series. This one I had to crop down to about 40%. I like this location because it is a dead tree near the bird feeder where the birds will drop down and stop on their way in and out of the trees. It gives me a pretty clear shot with no foliage. I have been wanting this Jay for a while and finally got it in a nice pose. I took Jim's advice from my last post and darkened the flash reflection in the eye just a bit and darkened the branch a little. As always comments and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

D7000, f/8, 300mm, 1/1000 sec., ISO 800, w/tripod and fill flash.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on June 27, 2012 at 1:36 PM

Personally I'd forget the flash and try to catch the bird in some nice morning or afternoon natural light. I think that with a bird that will sit still for a second or two you could turn the iso down to around 400 and still get the bird sharp at 1/500 shutter speed. On this shot iso 800 looks a little noisy, and the flash makes the lighting a bit unbalanced. For instance, the perch seems to be quite dark, while the lighter colors of the bird look flashed. Still, a nice pose and a good looking Jay.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 27, 2012 at 2:28 PM

While I like the bird's pose, my first reaction was that this feels flashed. I don't know what settings you were using on your flash and flash compensation. I agree with Charlie that I would drop the ISO down, go with a slower shutter speed. I'm still a big fan out fill flash, but the ultimate goal with fill flash is that you can't identify that flash was used.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Rose on June 27, 2012 at 3:08 PM

Nice capture. As was stated by other members, the perch seems to be a tad too dark, and certain parts of the bird seem too light. Nice details though. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 58 Posts, 122 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on June 27, 2012 at 9:38 PM

I agree with Charlie - only use flash when you really really need it, and with todays cameras being better and better at handling high ISO's, flash is becoming a very specific tool needed in unique circumstances. Good morning or evening light will never be replaced by flash.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 28, 2012 at 2:44 PM

I have to agree with Charlie and Keith both on this one. I like fill flash, but only for taking out heavy shadows during bright days....which I even rarely shoot in. Almost always I am done with shooting 2 hours after sunrise and usually don't start again until 2 hours before sunset. What time of day was this Walt? Were you trying to remove heavy shadows? Just wondering why you were using the flash in the first place? It would help knowing if you're looking for suggestions.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments