European Exotica

Gallery: AvianPosted January 6, 2015143 views6 comments

Penthaz, Switzerland
D300s 300mm f2.8 G ED VR2 with 2TC series 3 attached
ISO 640 1/1250 at f /8.0 EV 0.00 WB Auto Centre weighted average
Hand held
RAW file original, Bit depth 16, 18% of original frame!
Photoshop PS6

This is essentially a follow-up to my earlier posting of the European Bee Eater, a very colourful bird. In this sort of shot, I’m concentrating mostly on a rendition of the translucent wing feathers. As usual, abundant noise was a recurrent problem.

Your crits. and nits are most welcome.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on January 6, 2015 at 10:59 AM

David,
If your goal is the rendition of translucent wing feathers, then you achieved your goal. With an 18% crop it is hard to imagine not having a noise challenge. If the bird were flying toward you with it's eyes visible and in focus, it would be a much stronger shot. Thank you for posting.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on January 6, 2015 at 11:03 AM

A nice bird in flight shot, but I agree with Patrick's comment that it would be even better with the head and eyes in the picture.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 6, 2015 at 2:25 PM

Directly overhead, the eyes and head are a non-issue. One could wish it were so, but it didn't happen. The 18% of full frame is a game loser. The noise problem and your noise reduction are a consequence. It is further aggravated by a center weighted average that (in the full frame), tries to average too wide a gamut. Better a single point metering. I would rather see the bird small in the frame. The 300S is a capable camera, but this exceeds its capabilities.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on January 6, 2015 at 8:12 PM

David, I agree with the others that flying toward you would have been a stronger shot. Wow, what a crop. The translucent wings are well documented. Nice job!

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by David Rowe on January 9, 2015 at 8:32 AM

Many thanks for your suggestions regarding the composition and thanks Phil for suggestions vis à vis the noise problem. Concerning the technical quality of my numerous Bee Eater shots, I must say that I was quite disappointed. After a fair amount of deliberation and much Photoshopping I settled for these two for posting on account of their being the least poor.
David

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on January 10, 2015 at 1:14 AM

David,
Love the colors of this bee eater. However as others have noted cropping down 82% does not leave many pixels left and also introduces noise. There is not much in the way of feather detail at and the bird is heading away. Always more impactful to be able to see the eyes of your subject regardless of everything else. Even with the new full frame modern cameras from Nikon and Canon cropping this much is pretty much a game ender unless the image started out perfectly exposed and was tack sharp. I love the enthusiasm you have for your capture and I wish you the best at getting a better angle and a closer shot next time.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments