This is my first attempt at posting BIF. I am typically blown away by the images I come across in this forum and thought it was time to post a few pictures for criticism.
The following pics are from last Friday, Jan 16. The sun cooperated with hardly a cloud in the sky. Winds were from the east to south east while I was shooting pictures. This was my second trip to the dam this winter and my second attempt ever at BIF. I used my 6D with my 100-400. Typically I shoot all manual but did try both aperture and shutter priority on this outing. I did play with some of the auto focus functions in the customs menu to help with tracking the eagles. I don't know if it helped however I did get more keepers this time than my last time out on Jan. 2nd. I'm sure the 6D isn't the best tool to use for shooting BIF but for now it will need to do for now while I decide if the 7D Mark II is in my future. I recently sold my 60D in anticipation of an upgrade for my second camera. I'd appreciated any and all constructive criticism and any pointers in the right direction to help with my skills. All pics are pretty heavily cropped and I did some processing in Lightroom 5.7.
BNJarrett wrote:
I was helping you embed your images. Welcome to FM! Very strong set for somebody just starting out. Glad my blog hopefully helped a little!
Nice shots for a first post! I like #4 the most, it's a great moment, but if it were up to me (which it is not!) I'd rethink the cropping -- my first reaction is that a somewhat more landscape-y crop would frame the moment better. There is forward motion in the shot but the crop sort of detracts from it. Just my two bits.
Mark
Good catches that are very nice and sharp and at a good light angle. Regarding your request for suggestions: since you are cropping anyway, I'd suggest straying from putting the subject in dead center. For example, try moving the frame so the eagle is flying into it. Google photo composition, angles, rule-of-thirds, etc., for for standards to get you going (but don't be a slave to dogma).
---John
Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Yes, I should be more mindful of my cropping. I did crop and repost the first and the last picture. I think I like the new look of those two pictures. Thanks for the suggestions and for looking.
USM IS wrote:
A heck of a good start! Keep em' coming. The colors are right and bright and your exposure is pretty darn good for starting out.
Mike
Mike thanks for the kind words. The sun was kind to me that day however I must admit I do struggle with nailing the exposure. As stated earlier I typically shoot manual and I did play with both shutter and aperture priority on this outing. I do a lot of trial and error. Any suggestions on consistently nailing the exposure from anyone would be appreciated.
