Posted by David Schoen on February 15, 2009 at 8:33 PM
iso 2500, f7.1, 160th sec, 70-200 VR at 200 with 12 mm kenko.
about 6 feet from bird, 30% original image
Posted by Geoff Shapiro on February 15, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Very nice, David. I'm impressed by what that D-700 (you do shoot with that don't you?) can do... ISO 2500, eh?
I have almost zip success with towhees where I live. They are way too stealthy and shy and I seem to never get one out in the open long enough to get a decent image. And here you have an image taken from 6 feet away!
The one part of the image that bugs me is that blurry area in upper right. Although it is probably a mass of leaves or what have you, it almost looks like its had the smudge tool used on it in PS.
Posted by David Schoen on February 15, 2009 at 11:48 PM
you are correct about the smudge tool. I admit I could have done a lot better here but the point was more to show the D700 at iso 2500...
Posted by Erik Lundh on February 16, 2009 at 12:33 AM
Yes,
I like this also. The bird is sharp and stands out nicely with the light background with a slight bokeh (aside from where the smudge tool was used). If I had a nit, it would be that out of focus leaf right at the bottom of it's leg.... I was going to get you for a dust bunny except for that it was a speck on my computer screen.
Posted by Rick Lundh on February 16, 2009 at 1:05 AM
David,
You nailed the depth of field here and your processing looks decent to me, however... There seems to be some hot spots around the image and also...I'd prefer to stare at the face and not the hiney
Posted by John Williams on February 16, 2009 at 1:53 AM
As to the D700 and the iso2500, point well taken. I'm jealous!
I love towhees and am enjoying this. I'll echo the Lundhs about the out of focus leaf and the hot spots.
Posted by David Schoen on February 16, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Thanks guys for the comments. Rick: if you saw my previous post of the song sparrow, you can see I'm in a butt shot rut. I did try to tone down the hot spots but I guess you can only fix so much. It was raining at the time this was shot. I'm guessing that was water reflection. The posterior leg is a clone of the anterior leg. I cloned out an OOF leaf. Despite all the faults in this image, I am still amazed at what the D700 can do at iso 2500. Soon, I buy Nix shampoo and post nit free image...
Posted by Craig Strand on February 16, 2009 at 1:02 PM
Nice Towhee shot David, I too find these guys hard to capture, either hanging out up high so all you get is butt shots or they move down level and into the brush. The fact that he's so clear and in the open is a plus and I like the detail. Only nit as mentioned the smuge job in the upper rt corner.
Discussion
7 repliesabout 6 feet from bird, 30% original image
I have almost zip success with towhees where I live. They are way too stealthy and shy and I seem to never get one out in the open long enough to get a decent image. And here you have an image taken from 6 feet away!
The one part of the image that bugs me is that blurry area in upper right. Although it is probably a mass of leaves or what have you, it almost looks like its had the smudge tool used on it in PS.
I like this also. The bird is sharp and stands out nicely with the light background with a slight bokeh (aside from where the smudge tool was used). If I had a nit, it would be that out of focus leaf right at the bottom of it's leg.... I was going to get you for a dust bunny except for that it was a speck on my computer screen.
You nailed the depth of field here and your processing looks decent to me, however... There seems to be some hot spots around the image and also...I'd prefer to stare at the face and not the hiney
I love towhees and am enjoying this. I'll echo the Lundhs about the out of focus leaf and the hot spots.