One month later

Gallery: AvianPosted October 11, 2016248 views5 comments

Sweetwater Wetlands, Gainesville, Florida

The first pictures of this Common Gallinule chick and its mother were taken on July 6. This was on 8/6/2016 – 8:50:31 AM. I can't guarantee that this is the same chick, but I'm pretty sure it's the same mother. There seemed to be only one family there, with three chicks.

Canon EOS 7D EF400mm f/5.6L USM
1/200 sec; f/7.1; ISO 800
Manual; Spot metering
LR5, PS6, Topaz DeNoise, Topaz Detail, cropped to 50% of original

I realize it's a large crop. Some of mine are going to be. I think that quite a few people post images without including the cropping information, especially when it's a large crop. I'm going to go ahead and post images that I like for one reason or another and put the cropping information, and I'll be grateful for the feedback on other aspects of the image if the cropping bothers you. Or if you think it looks okay even with the cropping I'd be glad to know that, too.

I can't get another lens, and I can't always get any closer, usually because of water/wetlands and I won't take even a step in the water and take a chance on water moccasins or alligators, and I want to do bird photography anyway.

So, having said all that, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)

Thank you!

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 11, 2016 at 10:03 PM

Thanks for the information on the crop, Barbara. I don't consider 50% to be a major issue with the 7D or anything later-that's still far more pixels than the 6.3 of my first digital SLR and about the same as the 40D that I thought was a wonderful camera when I got it cool

. If your original is really sharp, you can go down to 10% or so with that camera and still have it look good with web resolution.

I like this as a documentary image, and I like the composition from an artistic standpoint. The adult plumage is tack sharp and the eye of the youngster is as well. For some reason (and at this angle it's not making sense to me) the youngster seems just a touch soft. It may just be it's plumage-some birds are that way. You could try selecting the youngster and adding a touch more sharpening to it. I like the little cove of cattails that are so much a part of their habitat. Nice work.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on October 12, 2016 at 4:35 AM

Barbara,
You would not get me into the water either sad

Great image, the slight softness of the chick is probably the still downy feathers?

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on October 12, 2016 at 10:29 AM

Thanks, Dennis and Ken. I do think it's the still-downy feathers of the chick that make it look that way. I tried various methods of sharpening more before I posted this, but it didn't look right.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 13, 2016 at 9:23 AM

Very nice, Barbara. And good to see the documentation of the growth of the kid. Very nice exposure, not just with details in the blacks but the brighter colors as well. I agree the kid looks a little soft and if it were mine I might try selective sharpening of the kid. The crop is okay; the 7D has enough pixels, certainly enough for web presentation.

As for getting closer, the main reason to stay out of Sweetwater is it's sewage. Wading isn't a very effective way to get closer to wary birds anyway. Bigger glass or a blind and a lot of patience. When I was last in Central Florida, I used a bag blind with some success.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on October 15, 2016 at 7:44 PM

Great habitat image, Barbara. It's good to know the processing information when looking at an image. I like the cheerful color scheme in this image - it's almost Christmasy. The exposure also looks good particularly on the darks.
Re the amount of crop, it is the amount of pixels left that count. As Dennis pointed out newer cameras have a lot more pixels, so even large crops are possible. I have two minor nits - it looks like the reds are oversaturated as I do not see details in parts of the beak. Also, looks like the image could do with a small clockwise rotation based on the reflection. Boh should be easy fixes.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments