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  1. #1
    orilliaman's Avatar
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    First post

    Finch


    First post

  2. #2
    jiro's Avatar
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    Willie or Jiro is fine by me.

    Re: First post

    The way you composed the shot is commendable. My only small concern is the lack of sharpness on the main subject... the bird.

  3. #3
    orilliaman's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    I agree it is not as sharp as it should be but it was one of my first attempts at bird photography.
    I am pretty new to DSLR photography so am still learning.
    Thank you for your comments.

  4. #4
    Peter Ryan's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Welcome to CiC, if you go into My Profile you can include your name uner Real Name adn it will show up in the left hand column. We usually use first name here to keep the forum informal and inviting.

    To try and assist with your sharpness issue can you tell us the shooting details like the shutter speed, focal lenght of the lens, etc?

  5. #5
    orilliaman's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Hi
    shutter speed was 1/80...aperture was f5.6....focal lenght 300mm.. ISO 100.
    Shot with Nikon D3000 and 70-300mm nikkor lens.
    I personally think the shutter speed was to slow allowing for motion and therefore a unsharp image.

  6. #6

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    Re: First post

    It appears there was an aggressive noise reduction during PP.

  7. #7
    Peter Ryan's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Quote Originally Posted by orilliaman View Post
    Hi
    shutter speed was 1/80...aperture was f5.6....focal lenght 300mm.. ISO 100.
    Shot with Nikon D3000 and 70-300mm nikkor lens.
    I personally think the shutter speed was to slow allowing for motion and therefore a unsharp image.
    Hi Keith,

    Thanks for including your name. The wide aperture has provided a beauthiful shallow depth of field (the background is lovely) but the shutter speed was too slow for a lens of that focal lenght (unless you used a tripod or had image stablisation) to hand hold without camera shake. There is a really good tutorial here at CiC that Sean has just finished on shutter speed in relation to lens focal lenght and other techniques. I strongly suggest you have a quick read and I am sure this will help with camera shake in the future. I re-read them regularly as I learn something new every time (or at least imprint it on my mind).

    Come back with any questions you have after reading the tutorial.

  8. #8
    orilliaman's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Hi Peter thanks for the comments I will check out the tutorials soon.

  9. #9
    Mario Xavier's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Hey Keith, welcome to CiC. Nice capture. I have yet to get a bird or animal other than my hyper-active niece . I'm new to DSLR photography myself (November 2010) and I must say you've come to the right place. These guys have a lot to offer. It's a great community to be a part of.

    Enjoy!

  10. #10

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    Re: First post

    Aside from the technical details, which are important and must be overcome, it is a nice shot, and I look forward to more from you as you learn.

  11. #11
    orilliaman's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Thanks guys for all your input looks like I have found a great place to call home.

  12. #12
    Jim B.'s Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Very nice 1st attempt! 1/80" is too slow for hand holding.Raise the ISO and try to get in the 1/400" range or higher.Do a search for "long lens techniques".You will find information on how to hold a lens for best stability.
    Practice,practice.....looking forward to your next shots.
    Last edited by Jim B.; 28th February 2011 at 01:38 PM.

  13. #13
    Ollokot's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Hi Keith,
    Welcome,I am a new comer to DSLR photography myself and am learning an awful lot from this community.
    Birds and all wildlife have always been of massive interest to me.
    Your shot has been very well composed and has a lovely background,the comments above will steer you in the right direction.
    Do you know the name of said bird ?.
    Best Wishes,
    Pat

  14. #14
    CNelson's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Nice image Keith...welcome. Composition fine, sharpness an issue but you will have a great time moving forward with your DSLR.

    Chuck

  15. #15
    Moderator Dave Humphries's Avatar
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    Re: First post

    Hi Keith,

    Just to add my tuppence worth ...

    I have that lens (assuming you mean the one with VR) and it really isn't great at f/5.6, nor f/7.1, but it settles down nicely at f/8, so I leave it there!

    Could I also ask:
    a) was there a significant crop applied in post processing?
    b) did you shoot RAW?
    c) did you sharpen at all in PP?

    What the others have said about shutter speed for focal length is all true, but not-withstanding that, birds tend to move and any slight breeze will literally 'ruffle the feathers' destroying any detail in the process, and the VR won't help with all that - as you probably already know.

    You defintely need to get that shutter speed up to about 1/800s if possible, that's 4 stops more, plus one taking you from f/5.6 to f/8, but shooting at iso1600 on a D3000 isn't really going to be feasible unless you're close enough to fill the frame and not crop significantly, so the alternative is shoot in better light, meaning sunshine.

    You will benefit from being able to apply noise reduction like Neat Image, no idea if you have something like that, as Sahil says, it is very clean, but I wonder if a sharper, slightly noisier bird might not have been better?

    I don't consider myself an expert, and I'm still struggling to get these tiny critters sharp in my own shots, and one thing I find essential to retaining feather detail is processing from a clean image, which means get the subject as large as you can in the frame and noise reduce before any sharpening, so you can get away with a low threshold when doing the final sharpen after downsizing.

    Now I'm not sure how much you already know (some I'm sure), so I won't labour any of the language above, but if I, or anyone else, has said anything you don't understand, please don't hesitate to ask for clarification.

    Despite the barrage of questions, it is a very pleasing image and your compositional crop is spot on.

    Cheers,

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