Critique Nutty

Stuart Philpott

Stuart Philpott

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Stu
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Yes
A set up shot with bribery.:D

Very different to what we oft do but sort of lovely all the same to spend a day in the woods with some tame guys,very wild but very tame . So choosen bkg choosen stick picked up near by choosen angle to the sun:rolleyes: ha ha ok brightest grey bit,lol. But most of all not the birds and not having to hide as they are bold as hell. i'll repeat this on a brighter day hopefully a bit more dof ss and just plain light would be cool Boldest nuthatches I think I have ever seen. Welcome all crit much time here deliberately playing with ext's and higher iso this place could surely be shot with the bare 300 so sort of a work in progress shot hopefully. HH full frame ie not cropped cloned out dust bunny bit of NR

_70F4729 by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr


cheers for the thoughts on previous efforts processed in dpp4 canon 1div 300f2.8 1.4extiii

stu
 
I think the NR has taken some of the feather details out but a pleasing image all the same.
 
It is a pleasing shot Stu lovely background and a dam fine stick lol but it is a bit soft?

As stated the NR may have something to do with that as well as the high ISO? Where are you dam sun???

I am also not sure if the focus is on more the branch than the bird as it looks sharper than the actual nuthatch or if it just the NR again

I know from experience these little devils only pause very briefly and I bin so many shots of them when they still and by time I have pressed the shutter they have moved slightly, or there a shot of an empty branch ;)

One thing for sure when it comes off you will have a really nice shot there as it very nice background and location you just need the sun now and plenty of peanuts!

I have done a quick edit just applying smart sharpen and adjusted the contrast/brightness a bit I don't know if you think that looks better or not?


32330873604_4c0d5db906_o%20copy.jpg
 
The background suits the bird, but in my opinion bird must be more brighter :) thank you for sharing
 
it is just a little soft but the pose perch and background are spot on

In respect of noise reduction, it is best applied only to the background and not the subject as you will lose detail. I always use NR, neat image, on a duplicate layer and use a mask to restrict to specific areas. However if you are only using DPP to post process, that option is not open to you

Stan
 
mufftrix said:
I am also not sure if the focus is on more the branch than the bird as it looks sharper than the actual nuthatch
Click to expand...

I think this is more of an issue than any possible NR.
 
Lads cheers for all the replies, Nick cheers for the edit. Stan I understand,it's just I'm being forced to use DPP until can get a new computer,but I'm scuppered to spend anything due an impending op and the time it might take to recover. So I can't yet access layers or work in other than a global form,but I don't think the NR is responsible i feel the image is slightly soft,but i'm unsure why. But I do understand the concept Stan and know that when I have access to better post the subject doesn't get NR as it robs detail by default.

Guys focus points (two are active at capture) are set just below the eye could this be down to motion blur in the bird ? Shutter is pretty high but nutties can be jumpy as Mick has pointed out I am just wondering as to a cause and offering up a possible solution/ the plane of focus should catch part of the branch which it has and appears sharp,as pointed out so maybe the shutter was simply not fast enough to freeze our little mate??
Mick cheers for the cool reply and the edit yes improved mate wish I could view at full screen though it's hard evaluatring at this size big appreciation of your time.buddy you are very kind this little things really help me.;. Ha ha the perch was a bit of a revelation when we got home and started musing:rolleyes: it really struck me more then what an effect it has in the images,it should be obvious mate really. Hell it's a bird on a stick if there is only a bird and a stick then the stick may be important huh;),but somehow I was still surprised in some way. sure I went and found something that appealed greatly to me,but the penny somehow hadn't dropped/ the whole thing was very different to what we normally do ,almost constructing a pic then add birdie:D,instead of the more usual senario where we get what we are given and in most cases are damn grateful for the chance . Mick this high iso lark is a work in progress,The camera is capable of producing at this levelof iso (I'm aware of stunning work by folks whom help me at this iso) ,i'm unsure at the next usual step up 6400,but at 3200 she's good if ettr ect is nailed. i'm confident at 2500 but not yet completely at 3200. If this is a bit soft which it appears to be (I had reservations before posting) ,I feel I am responsible not the gear. or the iso for that matter. Tis all good though bro, "Rome wasn't built in a day" there is much on the plus side for me here especially with a part of wildlife togging I don't do that much of and have never really taken this approach with before.

Daniel I just feel I needed a bit of some of the magic called light in stead of this dull grey I keep shooting under but just slightly brighter may well make him pop more thanks for your thoughts:)

Cheers lads very kind, I have more as I get time not only nutties but other more usual chaps,it will be interesting to see if they all suffer similar faults I shot very much at high iso all day so the crit may well help me iron out that as a cause,but I feel either subject moved and shutter wasn't fast enough?? or my technique at shutter press was poor??

seeya

stu
 
I actually think it would be better if the bottom part of the Y branch was cropped out, I find it distractingand draws the eye away from the bird. It looks a grand branch for a perch though. My 2P.
TFS
 
nc_killie said:
I actually think it would be better if the bottom part of the Y branch was cropped out, I find it distractingand draws the eye away from the bird. It looks a grand branch for a perch though. My 2P.
TFS
Click to expand...
a penny is appreciated John two is cool:D

Mate because the lower is outside dof? Why is it distracting buddy? John could you elaborate for me please:). You have picked up on something no one else has ,so it's worth asking for more thoughts . It's cool having more to dig at mate we'll see these again if i'm going to set something again the more ideas are banging around the more I'll have to dig at. when the time comes.

Many thanks for the time John

stu
 
Stu,
I think it is because it is such a good perch with teh lichen and moss,itjust keeps drawing my eye to that. I do not believe that it is due to focus issues mentioned above. This is purely subjective and my opinion. I have tried to crop it but there is still a bit that coudl be clone dout, or cropped on higher resolution. The crop also makes teh bird a bit big and central IMHO. We are never satisfied!!
Sorry, I think I messed up the sizing but hopefully you get the drift.


jwedit.jpg
 
Gotcha mate and thanks muchly for the edit . tis amazing how many different green things are on that branch tis a thang of beauty john ,in some ways the comment and the sheer lovelyness of that stick have made me ponder is it too lovely,as an aside mate from what you have mentioned. I'd pick it up again and use mate for sure,but it has made me ponder.
bird togging is all about the birds...there is almost a classic sort of bkg lovely clean oof stuff and folks find things distracting I oft overlook. for some more plant orientated folks they might gravitate to that perch more than the bird,sort of interesting to muse John.
Ha ha we aren't meant to be satiisfied mate it's in our genes:D


Ta mate we post in a crit forum for opinons grateful for yours alsp the edit tis cool to see options

take care
stu
 
Sorry Stu, I haven't had a chance to comment on this yet. Been so busy grafting. you know how it is, people want a job done but want it done yesterday lol :D

I really like the shot. Exposure seems really good. Like some have mentioned, it seems that the focus is on the branch rather than the bird but I took it and magnified it and the eye is nice and sharp. Obviously, because the bird isn't standing straight, I think it gives the illusion that it's OOF but realistically it's just the slight angle that it's standing at.

Yea, maybe the bottom stick would be better off taken out as the OOF bit in the bottom-left corner draws the eye a slight bit, but I don't think it's too much of a big deal (y)

Keep at it mate,
Wez
 
wezza13 said:
Sorry Stu, I haven't had a chance to comment on this yet. Been so busy grafting. you know how it is, people want a job done but want it done yesterday lol :D

I really like the shot. Exposure seems really good. Like some have mentioned, it seems that the focus is on the branch rather than the bird but I took it and magnified it and the eye is nice and sharp. Obviously, because the bird isn't standing straight, I think it gives the illusion that it's OOF but realistically it's just the slight angle that it's standing at.

Yea, maybe the bottom stick would be better off taken out as the OOF bit in the bottom-left corner draws the eye a slight bit, but I don't think it's too much of a big deal (y)

Keep at it mate,
Wez
Click to expand...

Bro bless ya mate but no need to apologise and my god don't I know about grafting banging me 'ead against a wall with it at the mo.. I have tonnes to share mate never get there much more from this shoot alone never mind what's happened since,the olws are playing ball a bit bro just need a tad more luck,god the hours thrown at them for very little but these last two weeks things are looking up.
anyway to the matter at hand.


Rustydon said:
Hya Stu,
as already said, a pleasing well-exposed image of a lovely bird :)
I agree with Wez about the eye being in sharp focus, so I wonder whether you used a very narrow depth of field on a close-up shot that is making most of the bird - apart from the eye - appear a little soft?

Russ
Click to expand...
Russ thank you kindly as well ,I may as well reply to you both together buddy as the thoughts are along similar lines but first hope you are BOTH good:)

Lads,I first of all don't think there is any probs with MFA on the 1.4 ext I think it's good (and hope that the 2X is also in the ballpark now spent some hours on this mfa lark recently). the techs are 1/1250 f6.3 iso 3200. . Russ i'm guessing i'm about 5meters away from subject i'm using the middle focus limiting switch,2.5 to 6.4M to speed focus aquisition as I know where i'll be shooting in this senario. So although I probably could do with stopping down more at this range it's not a terribly "wide open" shot. i'm really at a loos why the IQ is like it is guys,i'd always blame me first as the week link,but with active focus point just below the eye ...same focal plane and the eye appearing sharp to you both i'm sort of Stuck. maybe it is something to do with the angle of our little mate Wez i'm a bit baffled actually ,but so appreciate the imput from both of you.

Guys I've always struggled with the sharpness or IQ in my images I know I can't process to the full extent yet,which is why I value the edits but find it tricky not being able to see them bigger than I can here. One of the things I really noticed though is that some birds just seem to show more detail in feathers than others . Maybe it's iso,but then again i've seen images by others with the mark iv that have fantastic detail at 3200,although it's higher than what I want to shoot at ,the light here can be such a struggle i'm trying to learn how to use these higher iso's to their best,I 'm at a loss really guys I have others I feel with more detail at this iso,I shot with it alot that day deliberately.

Many thanks both(y)

Stu
 
I will sail against the wind and say I quite like Stuarts rendition the most. :clap::clap::clap:
 
charlychuckchuck said:
I will sail against the wind and say I quite like Stuarts rendition the most. :clap::clap::clap:
Click to expand...

Mate sorry slow i've also not replied elsewhere please forgive mad life buddy,)I do love me dux:rolleyes::D posting when tired and stu = forgetful no excuses but can say sorry mate.:)
Now good sir one very simple question...why charlie?

sorry breif as well mate got a killer tomorow

thanks muchly for the reply Charles

take care

Stu
 
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