Ilike this shot but others don't. What do you think?

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Tom Reynolds

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OM-1/300f4+MC-20 TC. F4, 1/1600

I was shooting the bird perched which resulted in a nice shot. I happened to catch the bird taking off but 1/1600 wan not fast enough to freeze the wing tips. Nevertheless I like the presentation of motion by the OOF wings. You?
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Blurred wingtips don't bother me at all. Due to the lighting up here I shoot in that regime a lot. If I deleted every blurred wingtip from my files all I'd have left in my portfolio would be mammals :confused:
 
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The bird is a Western Bluebird taken @ Point Reyes with Daniel. Daniel liked the stationary shot which is tack sharp with a wonderful background. I accepted his evaluation but in looking at this shot again I am not sure he is correct. Here is the shot he liked better:

PA062201_western_bluebird_small.jpg
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I prefer the second image.

IMO the first image can be dramatically improved in about 1 minute in something like Lightroom by darkening and maybe further softening the background.

The second image again IMO is helped by the background being distinctly darker than in the first image. If it were mine I would darken the stick so that visually it competes less with the light on the bird

Slightly clipping the tip of the wing bottom left of the first image is a minor issue, though present.
 
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I wouldn't overanalyze the shot. It looks great. I have a personal preference for the first shot, FWIW. I like the action. Thee head position in the second shot isn't to my liking, but That's just me. :)
 
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If you like it, that is all that matters. For me, the blurred wings are not a problem. However, as presented here (it may look softer here than the actual image), the bird's head is a bit too soft for me. The second photo is, to me, the best of the two, even though it is a BOAS (bird on a stick).
 
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Interesting how the "likes" are different. It's all subjective. I like the action better. If I may, the only thing you could do to make the action shot better, is to Photoshop in a bit more on the bottom. But I love it just as it is, as well.
 
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Tom Reynolds said:
OM-1/300f4+MC-20 TC. F4, 1/1600

I was shooting the bird perched which resulted in a nice shot. I happened to catch the bird taking off but 1/1600 wan not fast enough to freeze the wing tips. Nevertheless I like the presentation of motion by the OOF wings. You?View attachment 74943
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I do like it, very much. I think some blur is fitting for action shots. After all, the main difference between stationary and moving is blur, even with just our vision. So why would this blur be a bad thing? I also like the stationary pose for the bird. Both are fine images in my view.
 
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StarTracker50 said:
Interesting how the "likes" are different. It's all subjective.
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i kinda liked the BIF shot best though I too Daniel's advice and did postprocessing in the BOAS shot. For the BOAS I spent considerable time getting the background where I wanted it, but Bay Photo did not print it to my liking, so I readjusted the shot and declined Bay Photo's "correction" option.

I took hundreds of shots, all at f4, 1/1600 @ 50 F/s. The conditions were identical so I could create the same "look" with the BIF shot that the BOAS shot has but I have already paid for two expensive metal prints, so I won't. The BOAS shot fits in perfectly with my photograph wall motif which is dominated with single subjects on a perch from Laguna Seca Ranch so I will go with the BOAS shot.

Of interest, is the question: "Why is the BIF shot's bird head less sharp than the BOAS shot?" Is it because the bird is moving or because I only have one shot of the BIF with the bird completely in frame while, I have a large selection of BOAS shots to choose from? I guess I shouldn't complain because the camera collected a takeoff shot from a fast bird. (note: Slow down your frame rate you miss the BIF shot.)

Tom
 
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Tom Reynolds said:
Of interest, is the question: "Why is the BIF shot's bird head less sharp than the BOAS shot?"
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I can't be 100% sure since I'm looking at a "reduced" picture, but is it possible your camera focused a bit behind the eye? Are the neck feathers a bit sharper than the head feathers? That or a combination of some movement? That all I've got.
 
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Tom,
I always prefer to capture images of the animal doing something interesting which is why I prefer the flight shot. As for your edit of the first shot, I would say "split the difference". I agree with your assessment the second one is a little over sharpened and a little over darkened for my taste. I didn't want to mess with your image without permission but I would probably clone out the vertical bright stick in the background and darken the bright green leaf along the left edge and do a motion blur removal with Topaz or some other software on the head of the bird leaving the rest of it as is.

It is a nice image. The BOAS is also a nice image but the one of the bluebird flying is more interesting, at least to me.

Nice work.
Jeff
 
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I think both photos are excellent. The essence of a creature cannot be captured in a single image - to have excellent photos of stationary (different stances too) and action (including interaction) are the challenge for me.
 
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