Solo Sandhill Crane at Bernardo Waterfowl Management Area

[Jim Keener]

Hello. I drove to Bernardo this afternoon to get in some practice with longer focal lengths. I'll borrow an 800mm lens in early February, and hope to get some closer shots than I have so far. But I understand, and had it confirmed today, that shooting with extra long lengths brings its own problems. The first half hour of shooting produced but a few in-focus images, and most of those were underexposed. And without settings changes both problems were gone soon. I do not know why. Either why they were initially out of focus, or why that problem disappeared. There must be ghosts at Bernardo.

Anyway. I liked the puffy background on this one. The shot itself is nothing out of the ordinary, but I am amazed at the focus using the version 1 IS 500mm lens with a 2X teleconverter.

• Canon EOS-1D X
• EF500mm f/4L IS USM +2x III
• ƒ/8
• 1000mm
• 1/2000s
• ISO 800
• James Keener rs
• Flash not fired
• Thu, 14 January 2016 1:02 AM
• Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.3 (Macintosh)

ORIGINAL

1DX, 500mm f/4, 2X TC
tripod/gimbal

1/2000, f/8, ISO 800 — I might go to a faster SS in the future with the longer focal length.

Evaluative metering, +1 stop, back button focus, AI Servo. One sensor spot focus, since the maximum aperture was f/8.

LR
- highlights
+ shadow
+ clarity and vibrance
- blacks
+ saturation for red, yellow, blue

PS
smart sharpen

I'm eager to learn (heh, heh) from your C&C.

 

[Glennie Passier]

Jim, Yet another great image of these cranes. I like your composition, and you have shown the ROT lines in the original. Nice touch. For the amount of crop the noise is very good...or lack of it! You have made the BG look like clouds rather than the mountain. I also like the different colour on the bottom, though I might consider softening the colour of the OOF branch that's trailing behind. I also like the work you are doing in LR. Very effective. Maybe the ghosts at Barnardo was cloud cover, or just that little bit later in the day. I always find my first 100 ( or so) shots are rubbish until I can settle on the right "everything". Remembering all I have learnt here, and finding a nice place for the bird to be is not easy work...But I enjoy it immensely.

 

[Jim Keener]

And, Glennie, I owe you an apology. This bird has bug one leg.

 

[Glennie Passier]

Ha Jim! I'm going to post a duck without a tail soon! Just for laughs. I also have a pheasant tail dove, without his pheasant tail. So you're doing very well!

 

[Diane Miller]

Classic flight shot with good shadow detail and a gorgeous BG. I would have taken it for clouds, too. But I'm afraid it's on the soft side. I suspect the amount of crop is the culprit. Rather than looking at the equipment or settings (which should be as good as it gets) I'd suspect shooting through that much atmosphere could be the culprit. Thermal mixing and particulates (haze or moisture) can really limit sharpness and those conditions can be hard to predict.

I'll often try to find a test shot where I'm solidly on a tripod with good AF and shoot something like a power pole at the approximate distance that I might be shooting birds. I have several "standard poles" at places where I shoot frequently and their sharpness can vary quite a bit from day to day or during a day.

 

[Jim Keener]

Oh, Diane. It's soft. I didn't want to see this because it's pretty. I often find myself with other bird photographers at the Bosque, and there's a running joke: "This shot is worth 30 likes on Facebook!" And this is what I call a FB shot. I'll grow up some day and be more discerning before I upload images. The hint about test shots is most useful. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Diane Miller]

It is pretty -- it's VERY pretty! And given better conditions you'll get equally pretty (or more so) shots that are tack-sharp. The old adage: "Get close. Then get closer." is SO relevant for bird photography.

As a certified pixel-peeper I probably put too much emphasis on sharpness. When you get a shot like that, if there is enough interest in the BG, go for a looser crop and try some sharpening of the JPEG and you'll probably magically have a sharper shot. Well worth a try here!