Flava of the month

Discussion

21 replies

Posted by Nigel Blake on June 2, 2008 at 4:04 PM

Male Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava flavissima at one of my favourite sites at this time of year.
Canon EOS 1Ds MkII + 600mm f4IS and 1.4X

2008:05:09 18:38:27
840mm
1/320 sec, f/10
Mode: Av
Metering: Evaluative
Exp comp: -1/3
ISO: 320
AF mode: AI Servo AF
Drive: Continuous: frame 1
White balance: Auto
Flash: Off
File size: 13.5MB
Image size: 4992 x 3328
Color matrix 4: Adobe RGB
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Contrast: -1
Sharpness level: 0
Tone: Normal
Custom Functions:
CFn 17: Expand AF activation area to 7 AF points

RAW conversion BreezeBrowser pro, other PP CS3

Posted by Major Gilbert on June 2, 2008 at 4:12 PM

Lovely image Nigel great BG complimenting the bird and lots of Info.

Major.

Posted by Barrie Courtenay on June 2, 2008 at 4:13 PM

Beautiful Nigel...........

Posted by Tim Munsey on June 2, 2008 at 4:15 PM

Lovely shot, really like the fine detail and the softness of the feathers.
Cracking capture.

Tim

Posted by tony flashman on June 2, 2008 at 4:24 PM

Lovely shot, the background colours works a treat. The oof area in front of the tail distracts slightly.

Tony

Posted by Tim Taylor on June 2, 2008 at 4:35 PM

A very eye-catching shot Nigel. Is there some blurred foreground foliage adding to the misty green on the right and over part of the tail? Very effective and great control of those bright yellows too.

Posted by Nigel Blake on June 2, 2008 at 4:41 PM

"Is there some blurred foreground foliage adding to the misty green on the right and over part of the tail? "
Yes there is, and it was deliberately used to obscure the tail enough to hide the lack of DOF causing it to look soft, and help to point the viewers attention to the birds face and body.

Posted by John Robinson on June 2, 2008 at 5:26 PM

I think I might have liked an out of focus tail to be honest.
But I suppose obtrusive vegetation will always be a problem with this low level stuff.
I use a flymo !
JR

Posted by Danny Green on June 2, 2008 at 6:13 PM

Wow this is a cracking image Nigel love the low POV works a treat and the colour just pops, great shot.

Danny

Posted by Jeremy on June 2, 2008 at 6:18 PM

Good title, and good shot!

Posted by Matt Doggett on June 2, 2008 at 6:29 PM

Very nice - I like the blurred foliage - gives a sense of being hidden whilst watching it

Posted by Tim Taylor on June 3, 2008 at 2:50 AM

Thanks for the extra info Nigel. I've tried to use blurred foreground foliage myself recently in some low level shots but usually manage to get it overlying something like the eye of my target - LOL. More practice needed.

Tim

Posted by Mark Sisson on June 3, 2008 at 3:29 AM

My kind of image - cracking colours that just jump out of the screen too.

Mark

Posted by Matt Cole on June 3, 2008 at 4:35 AM

an excellent shot, the colours are great.

Matt

Posted by Paul Inglis on June 3, 2008 at 7:42 AM

Hi Nigel,

Oh, this is awesome, simply awesome image! Love it!

Posted by Alan Woolnough on June 3, 2008 at 7:50 AM

Lovely image Nigel

The soft foreground effect is nicely subtle {i think sometimes it can appear too contrived}, and works well for me.

Fine shot of this gorgeous bird!!

Alan

Posted by Dave Courtenay on June 3, 2008 at 8:33 AM

Great selective focusing-beautifully vibrant image

Dave

Posted by Greg Hitchcock on June 3, 2008 at 11:06 AM

Very nice indeed! Well captured.

Greg

Posted by eric weight on June 3, 2008 at 2:57 PM

That's a beauty. the Oof stuff doesn't bother me, it just pushes the eye straight to part that matters.

Eric

Posted by Nigel Blake on June 4, 2008 at 4:12 AM

Many thanks everyone.

Posted by PhilH on June 4, 2008 at 7:04 AM

The pea soup is just right here, super shot.

Posted by Elliott Neep on June 5, 2008 at 6:38 AM

Hi Nigel. Love everything about it. The colour, the pop of the bird from the background. Great stuff!