Bugs and birds
Sep 22, 2011 15:46:06 #
I'm relatively new here and also a relative novice with regard to photography.
The attached photos were all taken with the Canon 70-300. I know it's an entry level piece of equipment, but one has to do the best with what he has.
I look forward to your comments, especially ways I can improve my techniques.
The blue jay was taken through a glass plate in a storm door.
The attached photos were all taken with the Canon 70-300. I know it's an entry level piece of equipment, but one has to do the best with what he has.
I look forward to your comments, especially ways I can improve my techniques.
The blue jay was taken through a glass plate in a storm door.
Blue Jay - Lynchburg, Virginia
Titmouse - Athens, GA
Dragonfly (Macromia) Lynchburg, VA
Sep 22, 2011 17:22:34 #
Sep 22, 2011 17:26:43 #
Sep 22, 2011 17:52:02 #
It is imperative that animal & insect eyes are in focus. It is also important to capture the entire animal or insect, unless it is an extreme macro.
I would like to enlarge your images to confirm, as I think that both bird eyes (especially the Jay) are a bit soft, and the dragonfly is missing tail tip & one wingtip. If the dragonfly image was cropped, maybe re-cropping will restore missing tips.
I would like to enlarge your images to confirm, as I think that both bird eyes (especially the Jay) are a bit soft, and the dragonfly is missing tail tip & one wingtip. If the dragonfly image was cropped, maybe re-cropping will restore missing tips.
Sep 22, 2011 19:23:41 #
I would say you are off to a good start, equipment isn't as important as people like to think.
The Jay has some nice feather detail and considering that it was taken through glass not bad.
The Titmouse has light in its eye, a good thing for birds but is a little soft. You probably had to open your lens up to get enough light and lost some sharpness. Try increasing your ISO or shooting a little slower I would think f/8.0 to f/11.0 would give you a sharp image with your lens.
The dragonfly is soft and could be the same issue as the image of the Titmouse.
Supplying the camera settings would help people evaluate what you are doing and how you might improve your image capture techniques.
The Jay has some nice feather detail and considering that it was taken through glass not bad.
The Titmouse has light in its eye, a good thing for birds but is a little soft. You probably had to open your lens up to get enough light and lost some sharpness. Try increasing your ISO or shooting a little slower I would think f/8.0 to f/11.0 would give you a sharp image with your lens.
The dragonfly is soft and could be the same issue as the image of the Titmouse.
Supplying the camera settings would help people evaluate what you are doing and how you might improve your image capture techniques.
Sep 23, 2011 08:02:20 #
jonsund wrote:
Supplying the camera settings would help people evaluate what you are doing and how you might improve your image capture techniques.
Supplying the camera settings would help people evaluate what you are doing and how you might improve your image capture techniques.
The Blue Jay was taken at f/11, 1/160 sec with an ISO of 1250
Titmouse:
f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO 800
Dragonfly:
f/8, 1/400 sec, ISO 800
I often find it hard to get precise focus, but part of that is because most of my photos are hand held. I have a tripod, but when Im out and about, its usually more convenient to shoot by hand.
Im always torn between shooting within the middle range of this lens OR maxing it out and losing a little clarity. Also Ive been using a 1.4 Kenko teleconverter. Ive wondered if that may be part of the problem.
Thanks for all the comments. I REALLY want to improve the quality of my pics. I know its not always the glass. A lot of it goes back to the person behind it, and - alas, thats me.
Sep 23, 2011 08:09:01 #
I like the blue jay although it could be a bit sharper. I love the dragon fly but wish it was showing the entire dragon fly (with the exception of the slight out of focus). Nice job!
Sep 23, 2011 08:23:54 #
gym wrote:
quote=jonsund br Supplying the camera settings w... (show quote)
The teleconverter will cause some softening, the wider open the shutter the greater the softening.
Many times insects are on moving objects so you can go to continuous focus and it might help.
Sep 23, 2011 10:30:39 #
Sep 23, 2011 13:56:05 #
Sep 23, 2011 14:39:54 #
Thank you. My avatar is a hovering male carpenter bee. Here's the original.
Sep 23, 2011 14:48:00 #
That's a fat little guy! those little wings don't look like enough to support it in flight.Nice picture !
Sep 23, 2011 17:40:16 #
That photo is the result of the old 'blind hog' theory. The males come out in the spring and there's a flurry of activity for about 6 weeks. But they're in constant motion, hovering only a few seconds before they take off again. So I must have taken hundreds of photos with the telephoto, rapid fire, in hopes of 'picking up the proverbial acorn'.
This is best of the bunch.
This is best of the bunch.
Sep 26, 2011 07:25:54 #
gym wrote:
Thank you. My avatar is a hovering male carpenter bee. Here's the original.
I like him! Makes you feel like he's looking right at ya, buzzin' around sayin', "Hey...hey YOU...You in the monitor...look at me, see what I can do!"
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