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Archive 2015 · Bug Juggler

  
 
LuckyStrike
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Bug Juggler


I was staked out this afternoon , camera in hand, observing one of my red squirrels and as I stood quietly a number of small visitors came along. The light varied from full shade on the ground to strong backlighting in the cherry tree.
I don't feel like any of todays photos were great, but I wondered how you pro's handle totally different light situations when birds present themselves suddenly at close distance.
The towhee appeared for 2 seconds and luckily I had my EV on the plus side, but not quite enough to brighten the dark feathers.
These images were tweeked a bit using iPhoto from jpegs ...I do think once I get photoshop installed on a new computer,(and learn how to use it) the raw images will emerge better.
Anyway .. your thoughts please on fast moving subjects in varying light situations? How can I prepare more competantly? (My guess is experience will be the best teacher and you can't win em all)

LuckyT



© LuckyStrike 2015


Squiggy in the cherry tree





© LuckyStrike 2015


Shady subject , moving quickly at my feet





© LuckyStrike 2015


Bug Juggler





© LuckyStrike 2015


Towhee .. 2 second pose





© LuckyStrike 2015


Peanut Enthusiast




Apr 17, 2015 at 12:23 AM
pdmilesjr
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Bug Juggler


These are nice photos. I don't know why no one has commented yet. To help with backlighting I use a flash set on TTL BL FP. These are Nikon terms, but I am sure Canon has something similar. I also use a Better Beamer flash extender. BL stands for balanced lighting and FP is a high speed sync designation.


Apr 17, 2015 at 06:40 AM
LuckyStrike
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Bug Juggler


pdmilesjr wrote:
These are nice photos. I don't know why no one has commented yet. To help with backlighting I use a flash set on TTL BL FP. These are Nikon terms, but I am sure Canon has something similar. I also use a Better Beamer flash extender. BL stands for balanced lighting and FP is a high speed sync designation.


Thanks so much for the note ... I love your photos and posts and appreciate you taking the time here today.

I'll have to look into the Better beamer .... So far my experience with flash has only been with using the built in unit and I don't like the harsh quality it gives ... nor do my subjects. It really seems to disturb the birds, who are already nervous with me standing there. Doesn't take much to frighten them off... I am getting in close for most of these shots ( 5 to 10 feet)
Thanks again for your note

Terry




Apr 17, 2015 at 10:04 AM
Herb Houghton
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Bug Juggler


Hi Terry. For what it's worth, here's my two cents. In #1, although it appears sunny, the subject is mostly in the shade, which would give a warmer tone to it in. If you are bound to jpegs in capture, it would be best to accurately adjust the WB in capture. The midtowns could be brightened to lighten the fur detail. There is a purplish streak directly below his ear. I'm guessing it's filtered sunlight through it's ear ? #2 is a tad tight in frame and midtones could be brightened on the bird, and possibly clone out the bright green leaves.#3 I like this shot best. Some might say more dof to sharpen the tail, but I think this highlights the bird's head and prey better with less dof. #4 looks sharp , but the branch through it's head is a distraction for me. If it were mine, I'd clone it out down to it's feet. #5 is a tad tight for me too. Is that a boreal chickadee ? What a cool brown patch it has. I wish it faced the viewer. Lastly. I might crop square or vertical on this one to remove the brightly colored leaves from the frame. TFS


Apr 17, 2015 at 10:37 AM
surfnron
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Bug Juggler


A nice set Terry. At 5' or 10' you don't need a better beamer. They are mainly for use where the subject is out of range of the built in flash or a hot shoe flash. For fill flash, try setting the flash to -2/3 of a stop and work from there. You are not trying to use the flash a the main light source, just add a little detail ~ Ron


Apr 17, 2015 at 12:44 PM
LuckyStrike
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Bug Juggler


Herb Houghton wrote:
Hi Terry. For what it's worth, here's my two cents. In #1, although it appears sunny, the subject is mostly in the shade, which would give a warmer tone to it in. If you are bound to jpegs in capture, it would be best to accurately adjust the WB in capture. The midtowns could be brightened to lighten the fur detail. There is a purplish streak directly below his ear. I'm guessing it's filtered sunlight through it's ear ? #2 is a tad tight in frame and midtones could be brightened on the bird, and possibly clone out
...Show more

--------------------------------------------- Hi HERB! Thanks for your insight.. Its very appreciated. That purple tone through the squirrel's ear is the strong sunlight giving a thermal view effect ..yup! As for cloning out that awkward branch... I agree, but have no photoshop yet... That will happen soon! (Then to learn how to use it)
The chickadee is our W Coast species. "Chestnut backed" tinly little critters! and quick!

surfnron wrote:
A nice set Terry. At 5' or 10' you don't need a better beamer. They are mainly for use where the subject is out of range of the built in flash or a hot shoe flash. For fill flash, try setting the flash to -2/3 of a stop and work from there. You are not trying to use the flash a the main light source, just add a little detail ~ Ron

Hi RON! Thanks for clearing this up ... Perhaps a less brilliant flash would be OK .. I find the normal setting too "flashy" and scares my birds as well! I will have to go into the settings and see if I can figure out how to drop it back 1/3 or 2/3 ... for detail!






© LuckyStrike 2015


Chickadee poses for new 1.4 extender test




Apr 18, 2015 at 01:43 PM
skibum5
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Bug Juggler


some really nice shots there

yeah if things leap around sun to shade and the auto-exposure tends to fail and in opposite ways, it's tricky.

One trick that works on a soccer field where the lighting is strong near the goal and weak edge center, etc. is to put it to M mode and then keep finger on shutter roller dial on the top and quickly roll the shutter speed up or down as the player moves to different parts of the field. In your case the lighting change is too extreme for that though. You could try to pre-program custom functions C1-C3 with the M settings needed for 3 cases and try to spin that around quickly.



Apr 18, 2015 at 03:04 PM
birdied
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Bug Juggler


Nice set ! 3 and 4 are my picks If you are using the pop up flash on the camera, you can diffuse it to soften the light in addition to trying to dial down the flash exposure. There are several built in flash diffusers , here is a link to just one of many .

Pop Up Diffuser

Quickly changing light, sun to shade can be very tricky for me. You could try spot metering on the subject , but if you hit the wrong spot it too can be troublesome. Learning how to scroll the exposure compensation quickly is one way to go.

Birdie






Apr 18, 2015 at 03:18 PM
davidearls
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Bug Juggler


I think Herb's suggestion about white balance correction will get you farther toward your goal than anything else. I'm amazed at how people trust WB settings completely to the camera, almost as if they don't exist.

Surely somebody has figured out how to diffuse built-in flash by now. Handkerchief? Waxed paper? Having a trick in your bag will serve you better than buying a bigger bag to lug more gear.




Apr 18, 2015 at 05:38 PM
morris
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Bug Juggler


Fun set Lucky

Morris



Apr 19, 2015 at 06:59 AM





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