Nightski

I saw some activity in the thorn bushes across the grassy field in Buffalo River State Park. I can't say I snuck up on them because they certainly saw and heard me coming. I think the few that remained by the time I got there simply felt safe in those thorny bushes.

ISO 3200
F/8
1/400
370mm

Song Sparrow

(Download)

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

Nice composition with the bird off to the side and the diagonal branch leading the eye. It's challenging to get the focus spot-on with such a small subject and at a good distance. Well done.

xxredbeardxx Loc: San Clemente CA.

Beautiful shot. You caught this little fellow perfectly.
Why did you have your ISO so high?
Was it darker than it looks?
Ether way, great work.

Nightski

Yes, the bird was in shadow. They don't come out in the open very often when predators are near. Little birds in the wild are probably one of the hardest things to capture. I think flying ones would be near impossible.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Nicely exposed and focused sparrow...with a good catchlight!
Was the AF or MF? With twigs about I usually opt for MF to avoid "back-and-forth AF indecision", and often use through-focus burst exposures.

Dave

Nightski

MF .... Dave ... now you're just bragging .. LOL ... are you kidding me .. I have all I can do to hold that big lens up with two hands! LOL

I do have to use the center focal point as that is the only one that locks focus quickly enough. It messes with my composition sometimes.

Nightski

Thank you, photoninjia ... focusing on tiny little beings flitting around tangled branches is indeed a challenge!

carlysue Loc: Columbus

great detail,Sandra, especially the claws on those little feet. I think Joe would be pleased with your work.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

A nice photo of a cooperative bird. ISO 3200 is high but, for the 6D, is quite useable. Composition, with the bird on the right hand 1/3 line is good although I prefer the bird to be looking into the frame. Can you crop to the other side?

Focus is adequate for small print use but was hampered by some side to side movement blur. If you look at the catch light, you will see that it is laterally extended as are the specular highlights on the twig just to the left of the bird. I suspect that you had a little breeze that was moving the branch and the bird. VC or IS is no help with that.

Sometimes we are between a rock and a hard place. The technology just isn't up to our needs or desires. High ISO, VC, lens aperture nearly wide open still left us with a shutter speed of 1/400...not quite enough to stop that subject motion. ARGH!!! This is where a faster lens can be a big help. The 500mm f/4 that you covet would have given you two more stops to play with.

Don't get down on yourself. You are making great progress but are finding out what wildlife photographers contend with every day they are in the field. There are so many uncontrollable variables to deal with. I've had plenty of days where I have trashed every photo I took.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

That's as good a bird-in-tree shot as I've seen. The usual practice is to have the direction of the gaze into rather than out of the frame, but in this case the opposite seems to works fine. The branch placed up the left side of the frame would have looked unbalanced, and his looking out of the frame adds to the story-telling (ever-vigilant and looking into the distance..... at what? ).

Nightski

I won't birdpix .. I can tell this is a sport that takes lots of practice and a good amount of luck. I'm just getting started. I was thrilled to just get this at this point. I am grateful that you pointed out how I can tell if I am perfectly in focus. Thank you. I never thought of the bird movement on the branch...

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Another perspective on the "catchlight" and "motion"

The " catchlight"of the eye in this image is actually two closely adjacent catchlights, one at the margin of the cornea and the other at the margin of the conjunctiva of the "third eyelid" (nictitating membrane). There are a number of other micro-highlights and details in the image that likewise show no evidence of movement...either of camera or of subject.

Dave

Nightski

Thank you, RG. No .. you are right. I should have cropped this a bit differently. I'll go back now to see why I didn't. I can't imagine why .. there was nothing but tangled branches in that scene.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

Look again Dave. There are a number of bright spots on the main branch that are doubled in exactly the same orientation as the doubled eye catchlight.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

This image is very noisy in download. Did you run it through Define 2? There is definitely some camera or subject movement in the image. The eye catchlight and several bright spots on the main branch are doubled showing side to side movement. Are you using back button focus? It can be very helpful in situations like this. Once you have focused on the bird you can relax your hand while you recompose and then press the shutter. For me its much easier than holding the shutter half way down while trying to calm the waving camera/lens. As far as cropping, I would crop the left side of the image so that the bird's eye is just at the one third point in from the left.