Posted by Mike Andrews on July 16, 2009 at 10:37 AM
A fairly overcast morning on Skomer, and the puffins didn’t seem to want to play, so I went for a wander.
Spotted this guy on the lime kiln and took a series of shots, getting closer each time. This was as close as I could get without leaving the path and squashing Shearwaters, so I am afraid it's a fairly heavy crop, but a bird that was missing from my portfolio. Hopefully better to come, but still a shot I was pleased to get.
All and Any comments welcome
Nikon D3 with Nikon 300 mm/F2.8. 1/3200 sec, F2.8, ISO 1000, EV -0.3. HH
It's certainly a real thrill getting your first shot of one of these so congratulations on spotting him and getting something at least, even if it was a very distant view.
I know you are after any advice that could be given so with that in mind I was wondering why your camera settings were, as they were. Judging by the blue sky and your high shutter speed, it looks like a very bright day so I was wondering why you were shooting at such a high ISO setting and also with the lens wide open. IMHO a better option would have been to lower your ISO and stop down a stop or two to maximize image quality.
Posted by Mike Andrews on July 16, 2009 at 2:18 PM
I do indeed welcome any comments and advice I can get.
Normally my camera skills exceed my Photoshop skills (but not by much). In this instance I have been playing around with the picture. The sky was actually a flat grey, so I changed the colour temperature on a layer and rubbed some blue through it to give the sky a little more interest.
As for the camera settings, at the time my general setting was for 1000 ISO, and I was expecting to be shooting puffins against a duller background; hence the wide open lens. I didn't expect to see this. My reaction was to take the shots at the current settings - it didn't even occur to me to change them. After the last shot of 7 I couldn't get any closer, so I was about to change to a converter when he/she took off and flew directly away from me. I still don't have any flight shots.
Many thanks for your regular constructive comments Justin. They are very much appreciated. I do now usually have the camera set to 400 ISO, and only change when the situation demands it.
Discussion
4 repliesSpotted this guy on the lime kiln and took a series of shots, getting closer each time. This was as close as I could get without leaving the path and squashing Shearwaters, so I am afraid it's a fairly heavy crop, but a bird that was missing from my portfolio. Hopefully better to come, but still a shot I was pleased to get.
All and Any comments welcome
Nikon D3 with Nikon 300 mm/F2.8. 1/3200 sec, F2.8, ISO 1000, EV -0.3. HH
I know you are after any advice that could be given so with that in mind I was wondering why your camera settings were, as they were. Judging by the blue sky and your high shutter speed, it looks like a very bright day so I was wondering why you were shooting at such a high ISO setting and also with the lens wide open. IMHO a better option would have been to lower your ISO and stop down a stop or two to maximize image quality.
Normally my camera skills exceed my Photoshop skills (but not by much). In this instance I have been playing around with the picture. The sky was actually a flat grey, so I changed the colour temperature on a layer and rubbed some blue through it to give the sky a little more interest.
As for the camera settings, at the time my general setting was for 1000 ISO, and I was expecting to be shooting puffins against a duller background; hence the wide open lens. I didn't expect to see this. My reaction was to take the shots at the current settings - it didn't even occur to me to change them. After the last shot of 7 I couldn't get any closer, so I was about to change to a converter when he/she took off and flew directly away from me. I still don't have any flight shots.
Many thanks for your regular constructive comments Justin. They are very much appreciated. I do now usually have the camera set to 400 ISO, and only change when the situation demands it.