Stellar's Jay on my deck rail

[AJ Montgomery]

There are a couple Stellar's Jays that have been coming about pretty much everyday for the past couple weeks, unfortunately, they do not stick around long and are easily spooked. I have many shots of them in the neighbor's yard and their deck, also in surrounding trees, however, this morning I saw one at a feeder on my deck rail. Yet another misfortune, my camera was in the bag with the 17-40 mounted . . . yes, I missed him!

So, I mounted the 70-200 and 1.4 anyways and I waited and waited, oh and did I mention that I waited?

Paydirt! I got him! Not the best light however, this was from about 15 feet, through my kitchen window.

http://www.kajmonty.com/gallery/albums/fowl/IMG_3969.sized.jpg

Model = Canon EOS 20D
Exposure Time = 1/400"
F Number = F5.6
Exposure Program = Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings = 400
Date Time Original = 2005-04-28 09:36:13
Shutter Speed Value = 8.64 TV
Aperture Value = 4.97 AV
Exposure Bias Value = +0.33EV
Metering Mode = Partial
Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length = 280mm
Color Space = sRGB

[cfcRebel]

Great capture! beautiful bird. Thanks for sharing the exif. Looking forward for more pictures from you.

[OceanView]

Very Nice!

I am sure it was worth the wait. :)

[Glenn.B]

Great shot. you sure do get some nice birds visiting your deck rail !!

Glenn.

[robertwgross]

Be careful. The nickname for the Stellar Jay is the Camp Robber.

---Bob Gross---

[Titus213]

AJ,
Nice photo. If you want to lure them in try some peanuts - in the shell. They seem to love them and will devour them faster than the grey squirrels.

[skade]

Cool shot! Beautiful colours! I love the way you framed it.. where can I find out how to do that kind of framing?

[Michaelmjc]

Fantastic shot! The bird food and feeder really add to the picture.

[AJ Montgomery]

Thanks all, I appreciate the kind words and feedback.

Skade, here is how to do them as I have done, using Adobe PS:

The frames and drop shadows are very simple to produce. As for automation, they can be saved as an action and run on a single photo or on a series of photos.

Here is a basic step by step for setting them up:

1. Open a single image. Preferrrably a full size image as from your camera.
2. Open the Actions window, Window-> Actions or ALT-F9.
3. Click on the "Create a new action" button to start recording.
4. Resize the image to whatever size you desire for use on the web. I use 800px as my longest dimension and 72dpi. To resize, select Image-> Image Size, set the size options and resample method and click OK.
5. Duplicate the layer. Select Layer-> Duplicate Layer. The default name of the new layer will be "Background copy" which is fine.
6. Return to the "Background" layer. Choose Window-> Layers and click on "Background" layer so that is the editable layer.
7. Enlarge the canvas. Select Image-> Canvas Size. This is where you set the amount of white canvas for the drop shadow and frame. 10-15% is generally acceptable. I set an actual pixel value on mine so that each side is equal, whereas with a %, the sides will be more than the top/bottom for a landscape format photo. For the purposes of this I used 880 x 680. Enter your values and click OK.
8. Select the white canvas area and delete it. Using the Magic Wand tool, set it to a tolerance of 5 and enable contiguous. Click in the white extended area of the canvas to select it. Then press the delete key to delete the white "fill" in the extended area. You will not see a noticeable change but, it did delete it!
9. Set the selection. Click off of the image with the Magic Wand tool to "Set the Selection". The selected area will no longer be selected.
10 Return to the "Background Copy" layer. Choose Window-> Layers and click on "Background Copy" layer so that is the editable layer.
11. Set the layer style. Select Layer-> Layer Style-> Drop Shadow. Blend Mode: Multiply, Opacity 75%, Set the angle to your desired angle, I use 60. Now adjust the distance, spread and size sliders to achieve the desired effect, in this case, I used 6:6:6. Click OK
12. Flatten the image. Select Layer-> Flatten Image.
13. Duplicate the layer. (Same as step 5.)
14. Select the entire canvas. Select Select-> All or type CTRL-A. This selects the entire canvas.
15. Delete the contents of the "Background" layer. Press the delete key.
16. Add the frame. Select Edit-> Stroke. Set the stroke color and width. I used black and 15px. Set Location to "Inside" Click OK.
17. Add curvature and shadow to the frame. Select Layer-> Layer Style-> Drop Shadow. Use the same settings for this drop shadow as you did in the previous shadow on the image itself. Set "Use global light" to ensure your shadows are at the same angle. IN this case we used 60. The shadow settings were 6:6:6. Now click on Bevel and Emboss under Styles. Set to: Inner bevel, Chiesel Hard, 200%, Up, 6, 6. Leave shading settings alone. Click OK.

There you go! You can set the selection (Click off the image), flatten the image and stop recording the action (click the stop button in the actions window). You are done! You can customize this to work with other image sizes, change the dimensions of the canvas, stroke, shadows etc.

[nitsch]

Excellent shot! What a fantastic bird, your patience certainly paid off. :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

Beautifull! What a great looking bird :)

That "Stellar" was quite a fella :)

[Paul A]

Beautiful bird, good capture.

[skade]

Thanks for the detailed info on framing! I will give it a go.. but im really blonde when it comes to PS lol im sure I can do it with all that info tho! Thanks again!

[Titus213]

AJ - thanks for the photo and the detailed instructions. The presentation is great.

[HJMinard]

Excellent shot of a beautiful bird!

[sparker1]

Beautiful shot, AJ. I have to tell you, they have landed on my picnic table 3 feet from me when I was eating chips. They prefer Sun chips, if they are available. LOL

[AJ Montgomery]

Thank you all! I appreciate the comments and feedback. I will definitely be getting out the peanuts and luring them in! I love these birds and hope the opportunity to get this again!

Have fun with the frames and shadows and feel free to PM me for more details and assistance.