That was an unexpected bonus!

Luckily I was set and ready when it happened. Got an entire sequence of spread, too.


Marshall

Saw this Blue-winged Warbler in our backyard a couple of days ago.

I've seen one a couple of times before, but it's not a common sight for us.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50255264416_97c9ba1453_o.jpgBlue-wingedWarbler_19Aug2020A by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

Sitting in my easy chair, watching an episode of "Gunsmoke" when I looked up through our patio door and was surprised to see this juvenile Cooper's Hawk, perched there on the railing bold as you please!


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50246653032_0518023fb9_o.jpgHawkOnDeck_19Aug2020TPZ by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Surrounded by our bird feeders, he was looking for an easy meal!


Marshall

This young Red-headed Woodpecker and two adults have been showing up at our backyard feeders lately, chowing down on suet and seeds in the Tractor Supply Woodpecker Block.

It poured the rain here today and everybody got soaked.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50243177487_2364831049_o.jpgWetJuviRHWP_18Aug2020TPZ by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

Here is an article/blog that pretty well covers all aspects of mailing prints. This guy has been around and knows his stuff.

https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2020/06/how-to-pack-photo-prints-for-mailing-or-shipping.html

Marshall

Good photo and a good question, too.

I had the same question when studying a pair of nesting Red-headed Woodpeckers and after some research found the answer. You can't tell from their outward appearance, they are monomorphic, a new word that I learned.

Same with Black-capped Chickadees, they both look the same. Some internet searching did turn up that if you find one sitting on a nest, it is the female. Both sexes help dig out the cavity, then the female incubates the eggs, with the male bringing her food. Then both will bring food to the hatchlings.

Marshall

will47, do you have Sharpen AI set up as a plug-in to Photoshop? That is the way mine is and after I select Filter/Topaz Labs/Topaz Sharpen AI and select which mode (sharpen, stabilize, or focus), I try auto and update change settings if needed, then hit "apply" and let the computer crank as long as it takes. When it finishes and returns to Photoshop the file has been changed, but with no change to the file name.

That is the way I think you want it to work. I looked at Sharpen AI and found I can also open it as a standalone program and drag and drop a file to it. In that case it will do its work and then add a descriptor to the file name and put it with the original unchanged file, in the same folder.

Topaz has a very good support team and If I remember correctly I had to call them and get a Photoshop plug-in problem straightened out. Part of my problem also was there was too much Topaz and not enough of my computer...lol! Hopefully you don't have that problem.

Good luck, Topaz can be an amazing help, so I hope you get it straightened out.

Marshall

You nailed the solution, vonzip...keep trying!

I have found a location at a local golf course, under a big box culvert, where every year Barn Swallows come to nest, so I have a reliable place to practice, yearly.

They come and go from nests under this culvert, and fly out over the golf course lake seeking hatching insects, and then back to the nest with them. I've found that if I pick out an individual swallow as it flies away and try to track that one, then when it turns and is coming back I'll have a better chance of locking focus and getting the shot.

I've got my camera set to be able to use a choice of two buttons for BBAF. One is the single spot expanded to four surrounding points. The other uses all focus points available and uses any one point that the camera decides is good. I have found that when shooting birds against a clear sky background that it is likely that this focus mode will lock on a bird.

Others have said high speed continuous shooting and a high shutter speed, and I agree. I use 1/1600 minimum, and often up to 1/3200 or 1/4000. Shoot in bursts and delete a lot when back at the computer.

It is a lot of time and effort, but getting back on the computer for review and finding one where everything came together makes it worthwhile!

Marshall

Here is the latest version using Gigapixel AI on a cutout portion of the original file, then Sharpen AI on a cropped composition of that.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50194223776_4457e5784a_o.jpgOspreyCutoutWTSharpen by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Marshall

Well, the first paper print was a big disappointment...what got a lot of likes on Facebook couldn't stand up to the scrutiny put to a paper print. That has led to another avenue with the file that I have wondered about but never tried. Initial results look promising.

When I bought a Topaz AI bundle one of softwares was AI Gigapixel, to make gigantic wall-sized enlargements of a file. I don't do that yet, but I wondered if would improve an extreme crop of a portion of a file.

I used Photoshop to cut out a small section of the osprey file, and saved it as the highest quality JPG. Then I opened that file in Gigapixel AI, enlarged to 400%, and cropped within that to a 11X14 composition. The initial Print Studio Pro print looks much better, and the halo-ing around the talons was gone.

A bit more work and I'll add the new improved version here for evaluation.

Anybody else used Gigapixel AI for this?

Marshall

Thanks, Blair, glad you liked it!

I'm amazed that it held up as well as it did, cropped in that close. Topaz surely helped on this one.

Today I'm going to try a paper print of it. Will probably back off a bit on the crop and see how it looks. We are allowed to enter four prints in our yearly camera club show and I'd like to make this one of them.

Marshall

I've got the suite of Topaz AI tools and find them to be an excellent and useful product. I used Sharpen AI in "focus" mode to help an extreme crop of a diving osprey that I posted on UHH recently.

Here is a link to a lengthy, but very informative, article in The Online Photographer by Ctein, an excellent photographer and printer:

https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2019/09/topaz-labs-sharpen-ai-artificial-common-sense.html

Marshall

With the 100-400 at 400 and a 1.4X extender, 560mm is the maximum possible. I tried a 2X but couldn't live with the noticeable image degradation.

I'm pretty well maxed out on kit, especially since most of my efforts are hand-held.

I expect to finish out my days with the 5DmkIV. Was hoping to get a MarkV but looks like that is not going to happen.

Word is that mirrorless is the wave of the future...lol!

Marshall

thinkTANK makes a nifty cloth pocket case that I've found very helpful keeping track of batteries and cards when out in the field.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50188977072_7d8bc5128c_o.jpgIMG_2259 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


It is big enough to hold two LP-E6 or equivalent batteries, two CF cards, and two SD cards. If a battery gets drained or a card fills up I've got the replacement there in my pocket. Putting the used item back in the case upside down is a visual reminder safeguard not to use it again in the heat of the moment.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50188725771_cce5484415_o.jpgIMG_2258 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr


Marshall

Glad you liked it, Gabyto! If you click on the link below the photo, Flickr shows a lot of info.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III
ƒ/8.0 560.0 mm 1/1600 ISO800

Marshall