Show your Bird Portraits

[jprusa]

It’s one of our two major goals; recording a new bird or getting a better photo of an older catch. Cuckoos are interesting birds. Well done.

Thanks Alan!

 

[jprusa]

Congratulations! "It is always nice to photograph a new bird ..." - tell me about this! Sometimes I'm posting photos that are not to much in line - just because I'm so proud of my new catch On other hand it is always interesting to see new bird - at least for me...

Thanks ISv.This is why I love this thread because I get to see photographs of birds from places that I will never visit.

 

[bhf3737]

Another great horned owl surrounded by Autumn leaves and rather hard to spot.
She was pretending to be sleep but with one eye open she was cautiously watching!
EOS-R + Sigma 60-600mm

 

[Click]

Beautiful shot. Nicely done, bhf3737.

 

[bhf3737]

Beautiful shot. Nicely done, bhf3737.

Thanks Click. This one was huge in size (females are larger than male) but well camouflaged and hard to spot. I needed to step back to have her in the frame.

 

[AlanF]

Another great horned owl surrounded by Autumn leaves and rather hard to spot.
She was pretending to be sleep but with one eye open she was cautiously watching!
EOS-R + Sigma 60-600mm
View attachment 187193

I tried earlier this year to get a clean shot of one in Florida. This was the best one, but it meant a lot to me as it was my first of this incredible bird.

 

[bhf3737]

I tried earlier this year to get a clean shot of one in Florida. This was the best one, but it meant a lot to me as it was my first of this incredible bird.

In spite of their rather big size, it is hard to find them here in Autumn because of their real good camouflage and even harder to get a clean picture of them. Perhaps when snow comes, they will be more visible.

 

[bhf3737]

This beautiful female Bufflehead duck was smiling when swimming away!
They have migrated to Calgary for winter. They are medium-distance migrants spending winter in south Alberta and northern US.
EOS-R + Sigma 60-600mm

 

[Click]

Beautiful. Great shot, bhf3737.

 

[ISv]

I tried earlier this year to get a clean shot of one in Florida. This was the best one, but it meant a lot to me as it was my first of this incredible bird.

View attachment 187194

Still good Alan: the light in that scene is rather tricky. I have no idea how much time did you get to takes the photos (sometimes it is miserable - if not most of the time). If I had enough time I wold exposure for the highlights and in PP will lift the rest... Sometimes there is no time and back in the time there was not enough knowledge (or most probably lack of experience) for me to make fast adjustments.
Any way - I still have to see that bird - you are lucky!

 

[ISv]

Bhf3737 - Really nice one!!!
It looks like she knows you have a rush for her (I would have too - I still have to take a photo of that one!)!

 

[ISv]

This beautiful female Bufflehead duck was smiling when swimming away!
They have migrated to Calgary for winter. They are medium-distance migrants spending winter in south Alberta and northern US.
EOS-R + Sigma 60-600mm
View attachment 187197

"They are medium-distance migrants spending winter in south Alberta and northern US."
Hmm... by the way they are coming to Hawaii too - could be the influence of some events (like high wind systems). This year still no report - despite in the previous few years they were regular visitors (just few - but every year!).

 

[AlanF]

Still good Alan: the light in that scene is rather tricky. I have no idea how much time did you get to takes the photos (sometimes it is miserable - if not most of the time). If I had enough time I wold exposure for the highlights and in PP will lift the rest... Sometimes there is no time and back in the time there was not enough knowledge (or most probably lack of experience) for me to make fast adjustments.
Any way - I still have to see that bird - you are lucky!

It was pretty difficult to photo. Here it is with the highlights darkened and the midtones and shadows lifted PP as alternative to achieve your suggestions. The sky is certainly more blue!

 

[Click]

I really like your second version. Well done, Alan.

 

[AlanF]

I really like your second version. Well done, Alan.

Isv makes gentle hints that are useful. Feedback is welcome when it makes positive suggestions of how to improve an image.

 

[bhf3737]

Bhf3737 - Really nice one!!!
It looks like she knows you have a rush for her (I would have too - I still have to take a photo of that one!)!

Actually the male Bufflehead duck is more colorful with green and purple head and a large white patch on the back of its head. Its color pattern is too contrasty. Exposing for white, the head will be total black and exposing for the head will blow the highlights. In this one I tried the latter to record the glossy green purple head.

 

[Click]

Another beautiful shot. Well done, bhf3737.

 

[AlanF]

Actually the male Bufflehead duck is more colorful with green and purple head and a large white patch on the back of its head. Its color pattern is too contrasty. Exposing for white, the head will be total black and exposing for the head will blow the highlights. In this one I tried the latter to record the glossy green purple head.
View attachment 187208

Lovely colours, and there is a real dilemma on what to expose for. Have you tried lowering the highlights and fiddling with the exposure in post?

 

[Keith_Reeder]

Actually the male Bufflehead duck is more colorful with green and purple head and a large white patch on the back of its head. Its color pattern is too contrasty. Exposing for white, the head will be total black and exposing for the head will blow the highlights. In this one I tried the latter to record the glossy green purple head.
View attachment 187208

As Alan suggests, you might be better off exposing for the highlights (you're at +1 EC here - the highlights didn't stand a chance) and lift the head in PP?

It's much easier to get some detail back from "Shadows" than blown highlights, and I suspect that there would be detail to recover from the head, at 0 EC, using Evaluative metering.

Can I ask which Raw converter you're using? They're not all created equal, where highlight/shadow recovery is concerned.

 

[bhf3737]

Lovely colours, and there is a real dilemma on what to expose for. Have you tried lowering the highlights and fiddling with the exposure in post?

As Alan suggests, you might be better off exposing for the highlights (you're at +1 EC here - the highlights didn't stand a chance) and lift the head in PP?
It's much easier to get some detail back from "Shadows" than blown highlights, and I suspect that there would be detail to recover from the head, at 0 EC, using Evaluative metering.
Can I ask which Raw converter you're using? They're not all created equal, where highlight/shadow recovery is concerned.

Thanks Alan and keith for comments. I use Lightroom CC to import and auto-convert all RAW to DNG. It takes a little time to convert them all, but convenient for safe keeping afterwards. I took a couple of shots exposing for the highlights, as you suggested, but the noise in the recovered shadows were high and colos were washed out, so it defeated the intention of capturing the colorful head. I should have had the speed/ISO down at the first place, 1/1000sec was too low here. I should work more on the setting and technique, definitely.