Posted by David Taylor on February 19, 2013 at 5:04 PM
...thrush, or should it be song thrush and snail? Not really for critique, as there is much room for improvement, more of a work in progress shot as I have set my self the goal of gettimg an iconic shot of a song thrush with snail, early days yet as I have only just started. Pressure, pressure. Any advice, will be gratefully received.
Thanks for looking.
Sigma SD 14 dslr
Sigma Bigma at 226 mm
f8 1/250 sec
Tripod
ISO 400
Manual exposure, auto focus
Ambient light
RAW file Processed in SPP 5.4
PictureWindowPro32v6
Neat Image Pro
Re-sized in StereoPhotoMaker 4.39
Posted by Neil Burton on February 20, 2013 at 2:52 AM
I would say check the focus of your lens, the stones seem to be fine but not the thrush ;) and maybe find a simpler BG, very busy, too much going on. Keep at it ;) I never got a thrust shot so cannot really be a judge.
Posted by Barry Southon on February 20, 2013 at 4:24 AM
David
The thrush seems lost amongst the other objects to me. Very much work in progress but good tuition nevertheless. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by David Sewell on February 20, 2013 at 6:26 AM
I've been after this shot for over 40 years, so if you find the secret please let me know! I would suggest a wider aperture, firstly to throw that background out of focus a little more, and secondly to shorten the exposure a bit. Song thrush heads move very quickly when they are bashing snails, and a fast shutter is essential to stop the movement.
David
Posted by David Taylor on February 20, 2013 at 10:13 AM
Thanks for the input, gentlemen. I think it's a toss up between natural looking surroundings, mossy stones etc, or a minimalist look with a plain background and smoother stones. Decisions, decisions.
David the secret is snails, snails and even more snails,with a source of calcium - limestone, cuttlefish bone, oyster shell for example, to encourage them to stay, and plenty of stones for them to hide under and when the song thrushes come, the birds can use the stones for anvils. Oh yes and shoo any blackbirds away they hate song thrushes for some reason.
I tried today but they completely ignored the snails.
So last but not least, a song thrush do as you tell it hypnotist kit.
Rufford Old Hall tomorrow so it'll have to be Friday for my next attempt, weather permitting.
Posted by Oscar Dewhurst on February 21, 2013 at 9:09 AM
David,
I think you could still have the best of both worlds. A clean background definitely improve this, but I think you'd still be able to achieve a natural looking image with stones etc. Maybe try and make sure that the thrush lands on a similar spot each time?
Oscar
Posted by Nick Mckeown on February 21, 2013 at 1:49 PM
Some good advice been given David, look forward to more. There are some shadows on the bird from the bg branches so avoiding them would stop that occuring.
Nick.
Posted by Dawn Monrose on February 21, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Looks like a great set David, I'm definitely for a cleaner smooth background, and the light looks a little harsh in this, but a great start. Never actually witnessed a thrush doing this so great to see!
Discussion
9 repliesThanks for looking.
Sigma SD 14 dslr
Sigma Bigma at 226 mm
f8 1/250 sec
Tripod
ISO 400
Manual exposure, auto focus
Ambient light
RAW file Processed in SPP 5.4
PictureWindowPro32v6
Neat Image Pro
Re-sized in StereoPhotoMaker 4.39
The thrush seems lost amongst the other objects to me. Very much work in progress but good tuition nevertheless. Thanks for sharing.
David
David the secret is snails, snails and even more snails,with a source of calcium - limestone, cuttlefish bone, oyster shell for example, to encourage them to stay, and plenty of stones for them to hide under and when the song thrushes come, the birds can use the stones for anvils. Oh yes and shoo any blackbirds away they hate song thrushes for some reason.
I tried today but they completely ignored the snails.
So last but not least, a song thrush do as you tell it hypnotist kit.
Rufford Old Hall tomorrow so it'll have to be Friday for my next attempt, weather permitting.
I think you could still have the best of both worlds. A clean background definitely improve this, but I think you'd still be able to achieve a natural looking image with stones etc. Maybe try and make sure that the thrush lands on a similar spot each time?
Oscar
Nick.
Bob