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Weekly Wildlife Thread: Jan 24th - Jan 30th

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Awesome as usually. I'm really loving that first Stilt shot!
--
Long live the HMS Beagle
Critiques always welcome!
 
Well, I'd never think to be looking for macro insect shots in the snow. Good job Wolfgang!
--
Long live the HMS Beagle
Critiques always welcome!
 
Some more practice with the 70-400 (A850)











The blue bird one isn't particularly pretty, but I like it because SSS gave a pretty good result.
ISO400, f/5.6, 400mm, 1/60s

Here's a full-frame so that you know the crop percentage - not bad!

--
JL Smith
http://jl-smith.smugmug.com
Gear listed in profile!
 
Stunning shots--I especially like the cinnamon teal (at least I think that is what it is). The hummer shots are the best I've seen.
--
Steve W
weather photos: http://home.comcast.net/~scwest/atmo/
 
I never get as sharp a pictures as you guys do, dont know what im doing wrong. All these shot handheld Sony a700 with Bammy ( big A Tammy ) 200-500mm







--
Sony a700 with HVL56AM
Sony a550 ( Wife )
Minolta 50mm F1.4
Minolta 28-75 F2.8 Japan
Sony 18-55 ( Kit )
Tamron 70-200 F2.8 Di
Tamron 28-105 F2.8
Tamron 28-200 3.5-5.6
Tamron 200-500 5-6.3 Di
 
3sgilbert said:
I never get as sharp a pictures as you guys do, dont know what im doing wrong. All these shot handheld Sony a700 with Bammy ( big A Tammy ) 200-500mm
Click to expand...
3s your pictures are probably very sharp when you have the Original Jpeg or raw.

I suspect that the way we produce for the web is not up to standard and everybody has a little trick for sharpening. ( I am amazed at the sharp pictures of birds that this wildlife thread produces.)
 
I have this combination, too (see my earlier post in this thread) and I would me more than happy with a Harrier shot like yours!
Regards
Peter
 
Very nice pics. Perhaps it would pay off to reduce the highlights (I use the recovery slider in Lightroom) a little in #1, as part the bill seems a little over-exposed. Still, I really like them!
Regards
Peter
 
This redtailed hawk stopped for a break in a tree near my house yesterday as I was unloading my car after an uneventful trip to bald eagle territory.

Sony a700 70-400G @ 360mm big crop.





--
Ken Daves
 
Knowclue said:
3sgilbert said:
I never get as sharp a pictures as you guys do, dont know what im doing wrong. All these shot handheld Sony a700 with Bammy ( big A Tammy ) 200-500mm
Click to expand...
3s your pictures are probably very sharp when you have the Original Jpeg or raw.

I suspect that the way we produce for the web is not up to standard and everybody has a little trick for sharpening. ( I am amazed at the sharp pictures of birds that this wildlife thread produces.)
Click to expand...
I have been wondering about that. I only use one program for all my PP which is called ACDSEE, i figure they might be using a work flow that turns out a sharper JPEG. Its disheartening though I have even begun to question my lens. I also wonder if some of these razr sharp BIF shots are taken using a gimbal style head and not hand held making them another level of sharp. Wish I knew the trick, I have tried giving up color detail ( raise ISO ) to be able to raise the shutter speed but that harrier is probably the sharpest I have ever attained and it still dont cut the mustard.

Although discouragig its still very fun trying....
--
Sony a700 with HVL56AM
Sony a550 ( Wife )
Minolta 50mm F1.4
Minolta 28-75 F2.8 Japan
Sony 18-55 ( Kit )
Tamron 70-200 F2.8 Di
Tamron 28-105 F2.8
Tamron 28-200 3.5-5.6
Tamron 200-500 5-6.3 Di
 
I don't see much wrong with your pictures. They look plenty sharp to me.

They seem to be when the sun is high in the sky, which can make a difference because it creates stronger shadows. I also helps getting close to the subjects to be able to capture more detail.

Other than that, the difference could be due to post-processing. For instance, I create masks to sharpen only the bird and do NR on the background. I also improve levels, contrast, brightness and saturation. Finally, I do some small amount of sharpening after the pictures have been resized for the web. This is done to remove some of the "softness" introduced by the resizing algorithm.

I'm sure others here have similar PP flows. You can check from Frankman's recommendations on dyxum. Check out this link:
http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/topic29447_post308214.html#308214

I hope this helps.
Cheers,
--
Luis
 
Thanks Luis,

Check out Owen Holts shots using the same setup, its just another level above mine. Thanks for the tip, not sure if my PP software allows sharpening of the subject separate from the background but that seems reasonable why a lot of other pictures subjects seem to POP and have better bokeh at the same Fstop. If you sharpen the subject and NR the background would that not have the same bokeh smoothing effect as shooting a more open aperture?

--
Sony a700 with HVL56AM
Sony a550 ( Wife )
Minolta 50mm F1.4
Minolta 28-75 F2.8 Japan
Sony 18-55 ( Kit )
Tamron 70-200 F2.8 Di
Tamron 28-105 F2.8
Tamron 28-200 3.5-5.6
Tamron 200-500 5-6.3 Di
 
It's true that Owen's copy of the Tamron 200-500 is a sharper than the average, but I think he also manages to get quite close to the birds.

It's also true that sharpening only the subject and doing NR on the background improves the bokeh, but only a little and it's mainly a side-effect.

The main idea behind this is to remove some of the possible noise in the picture without removing the detail on the birds and at the same time to enhance the detail on the bird without creating artifacts on the background.

To do this I use photoshop (you can use either Elements or the full version). Creating the masks can be quite easy once you become familiar with the lasso and magic wand tools. I do the rest with some actions that I've put together during the years.
3sgilbert said:
Thanks Luis,

Check out Owen Holts shots using the same setup, its just another level above mine. Thanks for the tip, not sure if my PP software allows sharpening of the subject separate from the background but that seems reasonable why a lot of other pictures subjects seem to POP and have better bokeh at the same Fstop. If you sharpen the subject and NR the background would that not have the same bokeh smoothing effect as shooting a more open aperture?

--
Sony a700 with HVL56AM
Sony a550 ( Wife )
Minolta 50mm F1.4
Minolta 28-75 F2.8 Japan
Sony 18-55 ( Kit )
Tamron 70-200 F2.8 Di
Tamron 28-105 F2.8
Tamron 28-200 3.5-5.6
Tamron 200-500 5-6.3 Di
Click to expand...
--
Luis
 
Good job on the bittern and the smew. I liked the second one of the bittern since it shows more detail on the feathers. I wish it had been in a hunting position though..

Also, I didn't know about smews. They seem to be cool little ducks. It must be hard getting a good exposure on the males. It's a good stress test for the DR on the camera. :-)
--
Luis
 
I guess I am going to have to breakdown and learn some photoshop any recommendations on a book or guide?
--
Sony a700 with HVL56AM
Sony a550 ( Wife )
Minolta 50mm F1.4
Minolta 28-75 F2.8 Japan
Sony 18-55 ( Kit )
Tamron 70-200 F2.8 Di
Tamron 28-105 F2.8
Tamron 28-200 3.5-5.6
Tamron 200-500 5-6.3 Di
 
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