Show Us Some Birds...33

That doesn't look very comfortable! Nice shot though.

@vinayn: Nice pose and very nice capture at 250mm. Cheers... Brian

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_booth/4441334187/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_booth/4439181173/in/photostream

A700/Sony500/8

Mindiraser wrote: Here is my first picture of a bird. I have only been shooting for a month. So be easy. I took it with my 55-200 Sony I got last week. Hope you like.

Nice shot! Especially considering you are just getting started. Just a couple of comments. The exif data shows you were shooting in Auto mode and the f/stop was f/5.6, which in this case is wide open for that lens at 200mm. I would recommend shooting in A-mode (aperture priority) and in this case I would have stopped it down just a bit. Maybe f/6.3 or so. You don't want to stop it down too much because the out of focus water is an important part of the shot. But most lenses will usually lose a bit of sharpness when used wide open. By stopping it down just a tad you will probably get sharper results.

Secondly, I'm wondering if you boosted the saturation and/or contrast afterwards. If so, I think maybe it was a little too much. But then again, it may have just looked like this straight out of the camera. In that case I might have lightened it up just a bit afterwards.

Finally this is nitpicking, but on the left edge of the photo you cut off the duck's tail just a bit. That sort of thing tends to be a distraction that draws the eye away from the main subject.

Thanks for sharing. Look forward to seeing more!

revdocjim wrote: Nice shot! Especially considering you are just getting started. Just a couple of comments. The exif data shows you were shooting in Auto mode and the f/stop was f/5.6, which in this case is wide open for that lens at 200mm. I would recommend shooting in A-mode (aperture priority) and in this case I would have stopped it down just a bit. Maybe f/6.3 or so. You don't want to stop it down too much because the out of focus water is an important part of the shot. But most lenses will usually lose a bit of sharpness when used wide open. By stopping it down just a tad you will probably get sharper results. Secondly, I'm wondering if you boosted the saturation and/or contrast afterwards. If so, I think maybe it was a little too much. But then again, it may have just looked like this straight out of the camera. In that case I might have lightened it up just a bit afterwards. Finally this is nitpicking, but on the left edge of the photo you cut off the duck's tail just a bit. That sort of thing tends to be a distraction that draws the eye away from the main subject. Thanks for sharing. Look forward to seeing more!

Thanks a lot for the comments and critique. I did zoom it. It was my first time to use my 55-200 lens. It was getting dark fast and hard to keep the light. I was not using a dripod so when I shot a little stepped down, the shutter was longer and i couldnt keep the blur out.

My style for photography usually has a little more saturation and contrast, but the reason for it in this case is my wife loved the color. I didnt like the shot all that much but she insisted I use it.

Little singing robin