White-throated Sparrow on Thorny Vine

[Bill Jobes]

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D850
• ƒ/8
• 700mm
• 1/5000s
• ISO 2800
• WILLIAM JOBES
• Thu, 22 November 2018 2:59 PM
• © 2018 William Jobes ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Licensing information: [email protected]
• Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)

I saw this one on a farm hedge line in indirect sun under some trees. Normally I don't like busy scenes, but this is where they hang out.
Nikon D850 in DX mode
Nikon 500 PF with 1.4 TC III
1/5000
F8
ISO 2800
Full frame

 

[Arthur Morris]

Nice bird with a good exposure but the face is not at all sharp and image quality, especially about the face looks poor. Did something bad happen when you created or uploaded the JPEG? Lastly, the tail is much too close to the frame edge.

with love, artie

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

I wonder if the crop is large, the image has a slightly noisy look about it and I get the impression the bird is a little too saturated and contrast is too high. If crop is large I would suggest reducing it, a little NR may help.

 

[Bill Jobes]

I'm not seeing the 'poor' image quality that you are, Artie, though I agree it could have better detail and sharpness. Yes, the tail is way to close to the edge of the frame edge. I would have had to correct that with better comp in the field, as this is a full frame image.

 

[Bill Jobes]

It's no crop, Jonathon ... this is a full frame image. Points well-taken with the sat and contrast. I was probably a bit too enthusiastic in editing.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Bill. I can only call them as I see them and I am generally not a stickler for fine feather detail but the face of the bird on this one simply does not cut it.

with love, artie

 

[Isaac Grant]

Nice solid pose on the bird with good head angle. Artie I am 100% in agreement with you on this shot. on my 5k Imac the details are lacking. Bill if you are shooting a bird like this that is facing right you have to move your focus point and not keep it dead in the center of the frame. If you moved your focus point to the right you would have give the bird more room in the frame and not had the tail so close to the edge of the frame. In addition when you have a cluttered background like this it is almost impossible to have it look pleasing and not busy. You need to try and get situations where there is more separation between the bird and the background. If you are in a situation where there is not enough separation then having the widest possible aperture is best. I understand that in your case that f8 was the best you could do but that has caused the background to look even more distracting as more of it is in focus. As a rule, I try and not shoot land birds unless I have about 10 feet between the bird and the background. I agree with Jonathan as well as the bird is over saturated with the blues (chest) yellows (back and flanks) and also has too much contrast applied.

 

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks for the suggestions and insight, Isaac. I agree with all and consider myself reminded. As I mentioned earlier, this is a full frame shot, so the tail location came with the territory.

 

[Bill Jobes]

I understand, Artie.

 

[Arthur Morris]

I understand, Artie.

Thanks Bill. It is always a hard lesson for me to never take it personally

That said, the tail location had everything to do with the choice of AF point.

with love, artie

 

[Isaac Grant]

Bill, as Artie and I mentioned the tail location depends on where your focus point is and which one you chose. In this case it looks like the head was dead center because your focus point was dead center. That caused your tail to be tight on the edge. But if you just moved your focus point to the right using the little joystick on the back of the camera then your tail would not have been so tight to the edge. Do you have your camera set up to allow the focus points to move? Sorry but I do not know your camera well enough to advise how to do it. Whennworking in close with birds it is vital that you move that point around depending on where the bird is. It helps with placement of the bird and helps with composition as well.

 

[Dorian Anderson]

Yeah, moving the AF point around is key. I even do it with flight work to make sure the bird is flying into the wide side of the frame. Image looks a bit crunchy, but I suspect that has something to do with
semi-harsh light.

 

[Bill Jobes]

Yes, I can move the focus point, and will be more likely to use it more in the future. Thanks for emphasizing the point.

 

[arash_hazeghi]

all covered above, not much can be done to save this one but I'm sure you will get a better one next time