bluebird in the dark

[tupe]

Not sure how I got this look. Must have been in Tv mode with the shutter
speed a bit high, causing it to be underexposed. Personally I like the effect.

ISO 400 f/5.0 1/500 214mm

[cfcRebel]

Nice composition Joe but it's a little dark. Is there a particular reason you shoot that at 214mm and not all the way out? Just curious.:)

[catsith]

i like it too

[dancinec]

Interesting, this happens to me when I use a flash as the primary light source and shoot at 1/250 second. This exposes only the subject and not the background. Although you didn't say anything about using flash. It is really a nice clear image Joe, just a little dark. I played with the image a little bit, since you have OK image editing.

[catsith]

sorry dennis, your image is too noisy for me, i prefer the original

[wolverinesr1]

i have to admit i like the effect too.looks like he was under a spotlight.

[tupe]

Thanks Fee, Tina, Dennis and Jeff. Our yard is surrounded by tall trees. Direct sunlight generally comes in at a steeper angle. It's possible that the tricky natural lighting in an underexposed shot caused this effect.

Fee, I've been shooting a lot at around 200mm based on specs on this lens and users comments. All the shots I took today were handheld -- the feeder is less than 20 feet away. At greater distances, I start shooting at about 200mm and work my way up.

I love to watch these shy little guys. They do a lot of sitting and watching from higher perches. It's almost as if they know that their bright blue backs draw attention.

[cfcRebel]

Fee, I've been shooting a lot at around 200mm based on specs on this lens and users comments. All the shots I took today were handheld -- the feeder is less than 20 feet away. At greater distances, I start shooting at about 200mm and work my way up.

Joe, i know a lot of people say it's softer at 300mm than 200mm, and the max aperture is larger at 200mm than max aperture at 300mm, but that shouldn't be the reasons to shoot shorter. The image quality difference between the two FL is not by much, IMHO. Shooting at 200mm and then crop will give less detail than shooting at 300mm. Try a week of Av mode, shooting around f7.1 ~ f8, ISO400. In normal daylight, that gives you enough shutter speed for handheld. And then see which mode suits your shooting style better. Just another trial and error. :)

Fee

[tupe]

Thanks for the tip, Fee. I'll give it a try.

[T.D.]

It is definitely on the dark side, but I still like it. It's not typical, but you can still get a good look at the bird.

Way to go!

[Dimitri_V]

1 word Joe,superb.

[Anthony J Howe]

Brilliant shot taken in the dark. Good shot.

[tupe]

Thanks Turnerzdad, Dimitri and Tony. I'll try to make the same mistake again. :)