shadybill Loc: Indianapolis , Indiana

I wish these shots were clearer. Nikon P520 42 zoom. zoomed all the way out.

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Elliern Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

Thanks for sharing. Keep shooting and keep posting. They will get better.

jederick Loc: Northern Utah

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Sometimes, it's better to get something, rather than nothing. I saw a hawk on a pole outside the other day. By the time I got outside, it was gone.

shadybill Loc: Indianapolis , Indiana

These pics were taken from an open window. The hawk was blocked from my view from every window by the trees. My back yard was full of birds until he showed up.

Gitzo Loc: Indiana

Bill;

When you say, "clearer".......always keep in mind, photography is mainly "about" three things; knowledge, equipment, and "technique"........in that order.

A knowledgeable person will usually get a better picture (with the same equipment ) than a person who is lacking in knowledge.......(usually because they have already developed "better technique". )

There are many things that prevent "average pictures" from being "great pictures"; with sufficient knowledge it becomes increasingly possibly to determine what factors are keeping "average pictures" from being "great pictures".

Some of the things that almost all pictures must have to be regarded as "great" by most people;

#1. an interesting subject

all three of your pictures have an interesting subject.

#2. composition

this is probably my weakest point........but in all three of your pictures the composition is pretty good.

#3. sharpness (or a lack of sharpness )

when you're about to take any picture, ask yourself....."what causes sharpness and un-sharpness"? we're about to become technical here, but to keep it simple, the usual culprit is...any movement while the shutter is open! which will be caused mainly by....."camera movement", (hand-holding the camera as opposed to having it on a tripod ), or even solidly held against ANY motionless and solid object; (a great big rock maybe? )

#4. Un-sharpness is also caused by "subject movement"; ( small birds are usually much more difficult to get sharp pictures of because they tend to "move around" much more than large birds do.

#5. Lack of sharpness can (and IS ) also caused by too slow shutter speed.

#6. Also, a lack of sharpness can be due to insufficient depth of field, (DOF ).

#7. You'll note that equipment hasn't been mentioned yet; generally speaking, an "expensive" camera can be expected to make a better image than an "inexpensive" camera. However, it's also quite easy to take terrible pictures with a "very expensive" camera, and occasionally get great images with "inexpensive" equipment. (again, depending on knowledge and technique. )

#8. At the end of the day, the thing that prevents MOST images form being "acceptable", (or even "great" ), is poor lighting.

#9. When you add all of these things up, they always add up to...."knowledge" or a lack of it.


A knowledgeable and careful photographer using an inexpensive "point & shoot" camera on a tripod can often times get sharper images than a less than knowledgeable, careless photographer using an expensive D SLR "hand held".


One more thing to consider; we're all on a forum here; as a general rule, people on forums are "nice", "polite", "friendly", etc etc etc; so when they comment on other members pictures, their "critique" of an image may or may not be entirely "subjective"; "nice people" seldom want to make other "nice people" feel bad; I can GUARANTEE you......when you submit your images to a well-known publication, (Nat Geo perhaps? ), they will be very quickly "looked at" by photo editors whose ONLY interest is in publishing "the best of the best", with absolutely no regard to "who took what" with "which camera or lens"!

I should probably also add, many otherwise "perfectly acceptable" images have been completely ruined by......"terrible backgrounds"! (anyone who has ever done any shopping on eBay will be VERY familiar with this! )

shadybill Loc: Indianapolis , Indiana

Thanks for taking time to share your knowledge. Someday I hope to have more time to learn and become more experienced in photography. Your tips have been very helpful. And yes, everyone on this site have nothing but nice comments. As an amateur, I learn alot from this site. My nikon p520 has few settings and effects which it easier to come up with decent shots that sometimes surprise me. Thanks again

fyrlife

Bill, I had the 520 and bought the P600 so I am very familiar with it. I am in a club with people who do Wildlife and have $15,000 cameras. You CAN compete with these with your camera, I know! Gitzo makes some excellent points. I bought it because you can learn about everything with all the settings this camera has (except RAW)until and if you decide to drop big coin on a full DSLR. I highly recommend you buy the "Photographers guide to the Nikon P600" or maybe they have one for the 520 as well, but the 600 will work. It is by Alexander White on Amazon kindle for $7.99. It will tell you in much more detail how to use this camera to it's fullest potential, much more than the manual. Then practice-ALOT. Use different settings. Make sure your vibration reduction setting is on. Take note of your metering selection. It will also make a difference what focusing selection you choose. I have had a lot of hits, but plenty of misses as well. I think your squirrel will clean up nicely in PS. Your camera has almost every setting an expensive one does and the HDR and macro it can accomplish are incredible. It will just take you time to learn it and you will get better. I look at my images from a year ago when I bought the 520 and can't believe how much improvement I see! It is a good camera, you just need to become a bit more familiar with all it can do!

shadybill Loc: Indianapolis , Indiana

thanks, im definitely getting that book