Every once in a while I think I got a good picture. Let me know what you think.

[BigMackCam]

I'm sure you have plenty more good pictures than you think. We're often pretty hard on ourselves.

This is a lovely shot with plenty of feather detail and lovely colours. Well done!

A small tip... If you're not already aware, the 55-300 (like most lenses) performs best when stopped down a little, and this is never truer than at the long end of the focal length range. Your shot was taken at 300mm, f/5.8, ISO 100. You could afford to go to f/8, ISO 200 and a similar shutter speed. That would give you sharper results with even more detail (by stopping down from wide open), and the noise performance at ISO 200 won't be significantly different from ISO 100

[C_Jones]

Nice shot.

[DW58]

One thing I'd change is to give that duck a little more breathing room. To me it looks a bit tight on the left and right. And give a little more room on the right than the left. Generally, if possible, you want to give a little more space to the side your subject is facing. My 2 cents.

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Last edited by DW58; 05-11-2018 at 04:14 PM.

[skolkmeier]

Wow. Thanks for looking at the photo and giving good advice. I need it. Thanks.

[skolkmeier]

I tried to take everyones advice. Here's a mockingbird, in about the same place, but different time of day.

[DW58]

Aperture is still wide open. f/5.8 will result in a softer, less sharp image. And lens is maxed out at 300mm. Zoom lenses are generally weakest at their extreme focal lengths. Maybe try this tomorrow. Set camera to aperture priority. Av mode. Set your aperture to f/8 or just under. Auto ISO at 100-3200. Center weight metering. Back off your focal length from 300 to 250mm-275mm. Get as close as you can to your subject. Shoot a few at distance so you at least have something to look at. Then SLOWLY inch your way closer. Take a couple of shots then get a little closer. Have your focus point on center. You can adjust your composition in post. Your Mockingbird shot here isn't bad at all. My best advice is to just keep shooting. I think I've given you a good place to start for tomorrow but remember that light changes throughout the day and so should your camera settings. Very little about photography is static. Looking forward to seeing more of your images.

[skolkmeier]

I'll do it. Thanks for the advice.

[skolkmeier]

Aperture is still wide open. f/5.8 will result in a softer, less sharp image. And lens is maxed out at 300mm. Zoom lenses are generally weakest at their extreme focal lengths. Maybe try this tomorrow. Set camera to aperture priority. Av mode. Set your aperture to f/8 or just under. Auto ISO at 100-3200. Center weight metering. Back off your focal length from 300 to 250mm-275mm. Get as close as you can to your subject. Shoot a few at distance so you at least have something to look at. Then SLOWLY inch your way closer. Take a couple of shots then get a little closer. Have your focus point on center. You can adjust your composition in post. Your Mockingbird shot here isn't bad at all. My best advice is to just keep shooting. I think I've given you a good place to start for tomorrow but remember that light changes throughout the day and so should your camera settings. Very little about photography is static. Looking forward to seeing more of your images.

Somehow I can't retrieve your message to reply to it, but I did read it and I did follow those instructions. THanks you for taking the time to reply. I have several photos to upload, but haven't had the time to get them on here. Will post some of them soon, as I think you will like them.
Thansks again for your comments and suggestions.
t

[DW58]

Hope it worked out for you as I see I said nothing about the importance of using a shutter speed that is at least equal to the focal length of the lens you're using. A little faster is even better.