Nature Backyard wildlife

timo4352 · 02-08-2010, 03:26 PM

Still getting mixed results.
Still striving for focus and sharpness. This one comes pretty close,I think.
Maybe 'cause the lighting was better?
I seem to get lucky here and there... but most of my photos just don't have that - punch...
Suggestions?

Tim

F/6.3 1/80th actual

wallyb · 02-08-2010, 03:30 PM

It's a great scene, but the luminance/contrast in your image is really out of whack. It's made the snow a displeasing grey colour and has worsened the relations between colours significantly. Do you have the original?

timo4352 · 02-08-2010, 04:14 PM

The original

GoremanX · 02-08-2010, 04:56 PM

That would explain why the snow was so grey in the first one. This picture is overexposed, you've blown all the snow highlights. It all looks like a washed-out brightness. Probably comes from hurrying to take the picture before the subject ran off, which is always tricky. You probably tried to recover the highlights in post-processing (hence the gray snow in the first example), but there was nothing to recover. They're soundly blown. You're just making the uniform white into uniform gray and not actually adding any detail.

As for composition, I'm sure someone with more knowledge can help you there

To me, that looks fine, but I find I'm learning a lot by reading other people's opinions.

goddo31 · 02-08-2010, 09:31 PM

What do you use to support the camera and lens? Tripod, monopod? My first suggestion is that your shutter speed is very low, a shutter speed of 1/focal length or faster is normally recommended. Seeing that you're at 300mm, 1/300s or faster would be recommended.

I'm no great wildlife photog, but when I shoot birds etc I usually go for ISO400 right from the start. I reckon on the K-x you could use ISO800 with no problems. This usually ensures you have a nice fast shutter speed, which helps with lack of sharpness due to camera shake.
If you are using a tripod, I suppose you can ignore most of this...

The overexposed snow in your photo is quite distracting unfortunately, so you would need to change the exposure in some way in any case. If you went to ISO400 that would give you about 1/300s shutter speed, and you could increase that shutter speed some more to expose for the snow, or at least stop it from blowing out

I would suggest that in widlife shots it's probably most important to expose the subject well, and it looks fine here, but you also need to try and avoid the harsh background distractions.

Have fun, it's a nice subject and I would like to see more.

timo4352 · 02-08-2010, 11:09 PM

I will have to keep the faster shutter speed in mind, for sure. And maybe just avoid the high contrast & strongly backlit subjects altogether. The snow is the killer, I guess. If I expose for the snow then my subject is a silouette.

Tim

GoremanX · 02-08-2010, 11:20 PM

Originally posted by timo4352

I will have to keep the faster shutter speed in mind, for sure. And maybe just avoid the high contrast & strongly backlit subjects altogether. The snow is the killer, I guess. If I expose for the snow then my subject is a silouette.

Tim

That doesn't always have to be the case. goddo31 mentions using higher ISO, but I've found that the opposite works better for me when it comes to snow. The higher ISO range seems to blow the snow out too quickly. I usually use ISO 100 when shooting snow, it allows me to have a slightly slower shutter speed without blowing the snow highlights. On the K-x, I guess the lowest you can go is ISO 200.

Practice different techniques (on trees and such) until you find a setup that works well for you. Use the histogram a lot to make sure your curve is just approaching the right edge of the graph without quite touching it. That will usually give you white snow with a lot of detail, and the rest of the scene should be exposed fine.

goddo31 · 02-08-2010, 11:27 PM

Unfortunately I don't live in a place where I can shoot snow... ever, but perhaps a polariser would help to cut down on the intensity of the light reflecting off the snow. What time of day was it? Perhaps late afternoon or early in the morning would be less contrasty.

timo4352 · 02-10-2010, 11:42 AM

What good, if any, would a neutral density or polarizing filter do for the extreme contrast?

wallyb · 02-10-2010, 11:46 AM

Originally posted by timo4352

What good, if any, would a neutral density or polarizing filter do for the extreme contrast?

An ND filter will do nothing at all except make your shutter speed slower. A polarizer might be of some help but I think the best advice of all would be multiple exposures for still subjects, or trying to wait until the sun is not so high overhead to go shooting. Unfortunately there is no "simple fix" for this common and annoying problem.

02-08-2010, 03:26 PM	#1
timo4352 Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 169	Backyard wildlife Lens: 300 Camera: K-x ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/90s Aperture: F6.7 Still getting mixed results. Still striving for focus and sharpness. This one comes pretty close,I think. Maybe 'cause the lighting was better? I seem to get lucky here and there... but most of my photos just don't have that - punch... Suggestions? Tim F/6.3 1/80th actual

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02-08-2010, 03:30 PM	#2
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	It's a great scene, but the luminance/contrast in your image is really out of whack. It's made the snow a displeasing grey colour and has worsened the relations between colours significantly. Do you have the original?

02-08-2010, 04:14 PM	#3
timo4352 Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 169 Original Poster	The original

02-08-2010, 04:56 PM	#4
GoremanX Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Georgia, VT Photos: Albums Posts: 1,657	That would explain why the snow was so grey in the first one. This picture is overexposed, you've blown all the snow highlights. It all looks like a washed-out brightness. Probably comes from hurrying to take the picture before the subject ran off, which is always tricky. You probably tried to recover the highlights in post-processing (hence the gray snow in the first example), but there was nothing to recover. They're soundly blown. You're just making the uniform white into uniform gray and not actually adding any detail. As for composition, I'm sure someone with more knowledge can help you there To me, that looks fine, but I find I'm learning a lot by reading other people's opinions.

02-08-2010, 09:31 PM	#5
goddo31 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,576	What do you use to support the camera and lens? Tripod, monopod? My first suggestion is that your shutter speed is very low, a shutter speed of 1/focal length or faster is normally recommended. Seeing that you're at 300mm, 1/300s or faster would be recommended. I'm no great wildlife photog, but when I shoot birds etc I usually go for ISO400 right from the start. I reckon on the K-x you could use ISO800 with no problems. This usually ensures you have a nice fast shutter speed, which helps with lack of sharpness due to camera shake. If you are using a tripod, I suppose you can ignore most of this... The overexposed snow in your photo is quite distracting unfortunately, so you would need to change the exposure in some way in any case. If you went to ISO400 that would give you about 1/300s shutter speed, and you could increase that shutter speed some more to expose for the snow, or at least stop it from blowing out I would suggest that in widlife shots it's probably most important to expose the subject well, and it looks fine here, but you also need to try and avoid the harsh background distractions. Have fun, it's a nice subject and I would like to see more.

02-08-2010, 11:09 PM	#6
timo4352 Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 169 Original Poster	I will have to keep the faster shutter speed in mind, for sure. And maybe just avoid the high contrast & strongly backlit subjects altogether. The snow is the killer, I guess. If I expose for the snow then my subject is a silouette. Tim

02-08-2010, 11:20 PM	#7
GoremanX Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Georgia, VT Photos: Albums Posts: 1,657	Originally posted by timo4352 I will have to keep the faster shutter speed in mind, for sure. And maybe just avoid the high contrast & strongly backlit subjects altogether. The snow is the killer, I guess. If I expose for the snow then my subject is a silouette. Tim That doesn't always have to be the case. goddo31 mentions using higher ISO, but I've found that the opposite works better for me when it comes to snow. The higher ISO range seems to blow the snow out too quickly. I usually use ISO 100 when shooting snow, it allows me to have a slightly slower shutter speed without blowing the snow highlights. On the K-x, I guess the lowest you can go is ISO 200. Practice different techniques (on trees and such) until you find a setup that works well for you. Use the histogram a lot to make sure your curve is just approaching the right edge of the graph without quite touching it. That will usually give you white snow with a lot of detail, and the rest of the scene should be exposed fine.

02-08-2010, 11:27 PM	#8
goddo31 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,576	Unfortunately I don't live in a place where I can shoot snow... ever, but perhaps a polariser would help to cut down on the intensity of the light reflecting off the snow. What time of day was it? Perhaps late afternoon or early in the morning would be less contrasty.

02-10-2010, 11:42 AM	#9
timo4352 Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 169 Original Poster	What good, if any, would a neutral density or polarizing filter do for the extreme contrast?

02-10-2010, 11:46 AM	#10
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	Originally posted by timo4352 What good, if any, would a neutral density or polarizing filter do for the extreme contrast? An ND filter will do nothing at all except make your shutter speed slower. A polarizer might be of some help but I think the best advice of all would be multiple exposures for still subjects, or trying to wait until the sun is not so high overhead to go shooting. Unfortunately there is no "simple fix" for this common and annoying problem.