Finally Got a Good Raven Portrait (FZ30)

sdwsp · Jun 17, 2006

But it sure helps to have a cooperative subject, even though he was eyeballing me all the time. Taken today here at Point Fermin; you can see the tidepools in the background. P mode, MacroAF as he was only about 10 feet away, f5.6, 1/100 sec. I also ran it thru my new Paint Shop Pro X's Smart Photo Fix program. That in itself convinced me to buy the upgrade from PSP9. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

--
Best Wishes,
Steve
http://trailhiker.smugmug.com

tylerken · Jun 17, 2006

I seriously doubt you can do much better than this. Very difficult subjects to photograph and you nailed it! Next time do it with the Raven in flight

Pssst... The terns were out in force today.

--
Ken
Panasonic DMC FZ20, Wired Remote, Sunpak 383
DCR-6600, TCON 14B, Nikon #5T & #6T
http://ken.smugmug.com/

LaRee · Jun 17, 2006

That is one mighty fine Raven shot Steve. I think it is actually the best I've seen. What do you think the secret was? I have found the smart fix in pspx to be a mixed bag. It works very well on some shots and not so well on others. Maybe it has to do with the in camera settings I have chosen? It is nice that you can use the controls to customize what you get though. I've been so lazy, I've been shooting with high in camera settings and just a crop and light highlight and shadow adjustment in Picasa2 have been getting me the results I like. I do wish Picasa2 had a user unsharp mask adjustment. I don't like one click sharpening for most things, seems too strong to me. Sorry to get off on a tangent here. I am having so much fun looking at everyone's photos I am neglecting the TON I have to go through on my computer. Plus I should work on the shots I took for the challenge. Ah, so much fun to have and not enough time. ;0) Your post was a nice distraction from my to-do list. Thanks!
--
~~LaRee~~
http://www.laree.smugmug.com/

Antara · Jun 17, 2006

It is a true portrait. The face is so present. And the shiney feather details. Lovely.
--
Antara
http://antara.smugmug.com

Hawkowl · Jun 17, 2006

Hi Steve. The only suggestion I have is to frame it!! Those birds are very difficult to photograph because of all that reflective black and you've managed to do it perfectly, showing all the fine detail! I love ravens (when they're not eating my baby ducks!) and used to watch a pair sit on the telephone lines and talk to each other every morning - a sort of glonk sound! Always a laugh!
Regards
Marcia

Dave In LA · Jun 17, 2006

Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allen Poe are gonna both be giving rave reviews....can you stand it. Very well done my friend. Fix the post highlight a bit and print and frame it!!

Absotutely posilively fantabulous!!
--
Dave in NW Louisiana
‹(•¿•)›
FZee30, Tizzy 1,
Nikon TC-E17ED & 4T,
Elpro 2 &4, Sunpak 3eight3, Tasco RDeeS
http://www.iciclelanding.com/avidphil

ATV Bill · Jun 17, 2006

Boy that's a good shot. Lots of detail on a very black bird. Good work.

Bill

B_Algood · Jun 17, 2006

Great job here Steve, love the feather detail with all of the blue to black to grey sheen on them, and great focus on the head and eye, very sharp, mighty fine photo, just right for wall hanging...Bill~
--
'Always be good' * Current camera and lens set-up in profile...

Gallery: http://doogla.smugmug.com/
img src=

sdwsp · Jun 18, 2006

I manuvered myself into position all the while thinking he was going to fly off, but he must be used to people. I had my FZ30/RDS all set for BIF pics --- i.e., full manual, 3-area high-speed AF---then switched over to P mode and single-area Macro AF when I realized he was going to give me some time for a portrait. I always think of Gil's "3-seconds-to-get-the-perched-bird" rule so I'm glad my reflexes were having a good day

) .

A RIF shot next? Hey, one achievement at a time...
--
Best Wishes,
Steve

Aussie Bob · Jun 18, 2006

No suggestions from me Steve, you have to be very happy with that one, very good.

Cheers,
Bob.

sdwsp · Jun 18, 2006

So much so that I got it online without waiting to get a CD (I was in one of my "spend-money-online" sprees yesterday). Early impressions have me thinking it's more user-friendly than the earlier PSPs but I never gave myself the time to understand most of what the program offers. As I mentioned to Ken the key to getting the details was having the slanted early-morning (about 7:30am) light directly at my back; there really was no way that I could miss. I'm like you, I don't like to do a lot of post-process futzing around so that's why I went for the Smart Fix. The original was pretty good to begin with; it just needed a little tweaking. I haven't tried Picasa yet but I hear nothing but good things about it. But I'm trying to keep my life simple and uncluttered as much as possible, which means just Paint Shop Pro X and Qimage for printing. Though I did download Rawshooter Essentials as I may just take a stab at RAW...figure I should give it a whirl if I plan on taking the DSLR plunge soon.

Have a good day, LaRee! Hope you're on the mend and getting some recliner-in-the-backyard time...

)

Thanks as always for your comments!
Steve

RobOne · Jun 18, 2006

Great details and tonal range for such a difficult subject.

sdwsp · Jun 18, 2006

It is SO difficult to get even a sem-decent shot of a raven what with all those black feathers; it usually just comes out as a detail-less black smudge. The morning light at my back did it this time. I took a pic at another angle and it's nowhere near as good as this. The light even got the blue-black sheen, too. Wish I could take that branch out in front of its tail, though.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve

sdwsp · Jun 18, 2006

the FZ30's Leica lens is just as good as any DSLR's. It does help that the Raven was only about 10 feet away, though; most of my bird shots are taken at full optical.

Thanks for looking!
Best Wishes,
Steve

Gene Montreal · Jun 18, 2006

Only suggestion I have has already been suggested. Frame the sucker!
Amazing detail in that shot.

--
Regards,

Gene (From Montreal)
========================
http://ghealy.smugmug.com
========================
Eff ZED Thirty / KM Dimage ZED Ten

sdwsp · Jun 18, 2006

It's almost like they're trying to clear their throats so they can do a full-throated cry. And I don't wish to see one of them taking off with a duckling..I'd probably throw a rock at it! Not that it would do any good...That reflective black has always ended up as a featureless smudge but this Raven cautiously gave me the time to change my angle until my back was to the sun. How often does THAT happen? About as often as having 2 opportunities to get Blue Grouse pics...

)

Thanks as always, Marcia!
Steve

John_Reed · Jun 18, 2006

Every feather detail comes out in your seemingly perfect exposure. He's bowing his head, is he ashamed to pose? To do this right, you have to make the conscious decision to set the exposure for the Raven's black feathers. I'm often so geared for Egrets that my blackbird shots lose all their feather details. I'll have to train myself to be more patient. Fine job, my man!
--
Just cruisin' ...

EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeThirty, Tizzy (who captured the Egret)

sdwsp · Jun 18, 2006

Dave, if I think 2 dead people are gonna give me "rave-n" reviews for this, then that's when you can cart me away...

) And thanks for pointing out the highlights on the post. I did a highlights adjustment and tweaked the histogram in PSPX and it looks much better. I never was much for getting into the intricacies of post-processing but since I can see results --- and PSPX seems to be a lot more user-friendly than the previous editions --- I think I'll delve into it more.

Thanks, my amigo in Shreveport!
Best Wishes,
Steve

JRobins · Jun 18, 2006

Good one Steve!! Those blacks are tough. Be careful with PSPX quick fix--it can suggest some very odd setting--goes for bright. I usually have to rope it in quite a lot. But it has some very cool fetures. Thanks for scouting out the forum for me!!!!!
--
Joan

FZ30
http://www.joanr.smugmug.com

Blake Cook · Jun 18, 2006

Nowhere as good as your photo, but the series shows just how brazen these crows and ravens can be. This crow chased this adolecent bald eagle back to the tree then harassed it for over half an hour, (longer than I wanted to hang around) Meanwhile six other eagles within a couple of hundred feet, watched on with little interest.

--
Blake in Vancouver
FZ5, S70

Finally Got a Good Raven Portrait (FZ30)

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