Tit in the garden

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Smittler

Senior Member
8878532896_b339ef6fd0_z.jpg
[/URL] image by smittler86, on Flickr[/IMG]

shutter speed 1000/1
aperture 5.6
iso 1600

So, i want to get a shot like this but I want it to be much clearer and less noisy. Personally i love this pic because its my first bird in flight pic, but i really struggle in low light.

in normal light at the shutter and aperture settings as above i do okay, i use 1000/1 and lens wide open and use the lowest iso i can get away with. But as soon as the light drops off im really finding it hard.

im using nikon 70-300mm vr with a d5100 if that helps. This is my first critique post so i hopeive followed the rules :)

​cheers guys!
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
You are talking about noise but it is hard to see that here in the forum. What settings are you using in the camera? Fine JPEG / Large is what you should be using if you are not shooting in RAW.
 
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STM

Senior Member
When I read the title, I thought it would be a NSFW image, but it is a photo of a beautiful little bird.

About the image, the bird is rather small in the frame, therefore it kind of gets lost. Also, there is that rather large white blob which really stands out. Our eyes are immediately drawn to areas of light, especially when in a dark background. I removed the white blob, downplayed the foliage somewhat, as it was a little distracting because it too was light in a dark background and cropped it a little so the bird was not so small in the frame. What do you think?

bird_zps9a7cbd5d.jpg
 
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crycocyon

Senior Member
I think for your first photo of a bird in flight, one really cannot expect to critique something that is a first attempt. I simply thought to myself when I first saw that photo, by gosh there it is! ;)

Birds move fast and in this case it seems you need to anticipate its flight path a bit more precisely as it is stuck leaving the lower corner of the frame. At least the wire or line provides some balance from the other corner.

Male passerines are very territorial. When I was young, I took a wok lid, hooked up a microphone to it, then recorded on a Sony reel-to-reel recorder (two track stereo recording) a male robin in the morning at dawn, chirping and singing away to announce its territory. The wok lid acted to focus the sound even with the robin being far away in a tree. Then, after I recorded it, I played it back on speakers pointed outside (this was all done by my patio door inside the house). The robin heard itself but thought it was another male robin invading its territory and you never saw a robin attack with so much aggression before....squak squak squak squak and it flew straight for me and then right over the house. I guess the point I'm trying to make is there are ways to attract birds (feeders, etc.) so that you can set up the camera on a tripod and once you see the bird fly past a certain point (birds often choose similar flight paths) then you hit the shutter release remotely or with a cable release. That way you are watching the bird as it just enters the field of view rather than hoping you are able to keep up with panning the camera as it flys along.
 
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Smittler

Senior Member
STM said:
When I read the title, I thought it would be a NSFW image, but it is a photo of a beautiful little bird.

About the image, the bird is rather small in the frame, therefore it kind of gets lost. Also, there is that rather large white blob which really stands out. Our eyes are immediately drawn to areas of light, especially when in a dark background. I removed the white blob, downplayed the foliage somewhat, as it was a little distracting because it too was light in a dark background and cropped it a little so the bird was not so small in the frame. What do you think?

bird_zps9a7cbd5d.jpg
Click to expand...

I like it! Thanks, i hadnt even paid much attention to the 'white blob' if im honest but you were spot on. Ideally the washing line wouldnt be there either, but these guys move so quick its so hard to get them with a perfect background.
 
S

Smittler

Senior Member
crycocyon said:
I think for your first photo of a bird in flight, one really cannot expect to critique something that is a first attempt. I simply thought to myself when I first saw that photo, by gosh there it is! ;)

Birds move fast and in this case it seems you need to anticipate its flight path a bit more precisely as it is stuck leaving the lower corner of the frame. At least the wire or line provides some balance from the other corner.

Male passerines are very territorial. When I was young, I took a wok lid, hooked up a microphone to it, then recorded on a Sony reel-to-reel recorder (two track stereo recording) a male robin in the morning at dawn, chirping and singing away to announce its territory. The wok lid acted to focus the sound even with the robin being far away in a tree. Then, after I recorded it, I played it back on speakers pointed outside (this was all done by my patio door inside the house). The robin heard itself but thought it was another male robin invading its territory and you never saw a robin attack with so much aggression before....squak squak squak squak and it flew straight for me and then right over the house. I guess the point I'm trying to make is there are ways to attract birds (feeders, etc.) so that you can set up the camera on a tripod and once you see the bird fly past a certain point (birds often choose similar flight paths) then you hit the shutter release remotely or with a cable release. That way you are watching the bird as it just enters the field of view rather than hoping you are able to keep up with panning the camera as it flys along.
Click to expand...


I like your thinking, i have bird feeders but i had to stop feeding them last year due to lots of cats living near me. There was a little blackbird that used to visit me everyday without fail, and then oneday i found his mauled body, so from that point i stopped feeding them. Im gonna give it another go but ill try to find a mire secure way of feeding them.

stupid bloody birds though like picking up th crumbs off the floor rather than the feeder and i swear im going grey cus of this, im like a policeman guarding the birds and chasing the feline beasts away.

thanks for the tip regarding anticipating their flight path and panning, its something i find hard, its amazing how we think its so simple to just buy a big lens and snap away and get perfect shots, in reality its bloody hard work and lots of patience needed.

Im going to go somewhere with lots of gulls or pigeons so i can get lots of practice in
 
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