show me your best are you looking at me shots

Lame-Duck wrote in post #18904718
Very nice shot of the black bear, Paul.

Thank you kindly LD.

Boreal cat.

Lame-Duck wrote in post #18898403
Allison, your issue with sharpness is one that I think many of us deal with. In any series of shots like you describe, I get some that are simple not acceptable, some that are OK, but not great, and some (usually not very many) that I'm really happy with. Even when shooting with a solid tripod, and a shutter release cable, I still get a number of shots that I'm not satisfied with. Then all of a sudden, I get a nice sharp image that I'm happy with, and don't have any idea why. The camera itself can often times miss sharp focus. I know in these cases, it's not my fault (at least I don't think so).
Now a days, I hand hold my camera most of the time, and realize that many human variables come in to play. I love to shoot birds in flight (BIF), but admittedly have a low percentages of keepers. My old age has a lot to do with that, but I accept it, and love the challenge.

Just remember that everyone here gets lousy images along with their good ones. None of us want to post or brag about our bad ones, so you only get to see the good ones (as it should be). When I looked at the picture of your buck, I saw a nice sharp image, and had no idea how many others you were not happy with. Forget the "SharpnessEnvy, and just keep on snapping photos, while trying to improve your game. Post the good ones, and toss the not so good one in the cyber garbage can like we all do. The great photographers here on this forum will improve your game, simply because we all strive to meet their standards. They set the bar, and it drives us to improve.

And by the way, thank you for all you do to educate young people. What grade level and subject(s) do you teach?

Hi Mike,

Thanks for all the very helpful advice! I'll just keep at it! It is really inspiring to see the awesome quality of everyone's photos. I am excited to try to improve my captures and it's always a pleasure to see the shots from around the world here. It's been a busy last couple of weeks, so I've been away from my computer and camera more than I'd like! I teach primarily microbiology at the college level. I teach our big introductory microbiology lab for science majors, as well as classes that are microbial in nature but are related to health (immunology, mechanisms of disease, etc). My PhD work was in fisheries, so I taught a lot in fisheries (fish physiology, ecology, etc). Sometimes I occasionally still lend a hand (guest lectures) in that department if they need help. I really want to take some more science-related pictures in the lab this year (i.e., young people doing science), but it's not a easy. There are a lot of restrictions on things like not having students in your pictures unless you have a release, and since I routinely have 72 students in a lab, it can be hard to find time to take pictures, much less get releases. Obviously my first priority is safety and education of students, so that comes before everything else. I wish there were more images showing science in action. In fact, I came across POTN because I was looking for photos of people in labs. Another interesting technical thing is that the lighting in the teaching labs is really a challenge - fluorescent bulbs arranged in arrays that give everything a glare (especially glassware). I started on POTN by looking for a science thread (couldn't find one, come to think of it), and then I got excited about all the other awesome threads. I don't have labs in the summer, but maybe I'll try to put something together once my labs resume in fall. Thanks again for your encouragement! It's very helpful for us newbs

pcs wrote in post #18898579

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I think this is really spectacular. Love the texture on the log and the feathers.

Lame-Duck wrote in post #18899361
Very attractive portrait shot. I like the lighting, and the nice set of horns this guy has.

I agree - the lighting is exceptional!

Ray.Petri wrote in post #18899491

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Really lovely job on this, Ray. Great textures!

misty66 wrote in post #18901239

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I love how personal this portrait is! I know it's hard to get critters at that level in wet environments! Excellent shot!

avondale87 wrote in post #18902168

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Ohhh...I just love this! It's like you can reach out and touch every feather!

roycobb4570 wrote in post #18902670
Here's one from tonight

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forum: Wildlife

Nice rim-lighting around his whiskers!

JBillings wrote in post #18903549
A couple from, February 2019 in Africa!

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I feel like these are in my living room! The sharpness is outstanding.

avondale87 wrote in post #18903699
here's a couple more
The first one was when I approached and mother is being a mother.
Junior nonplussed walks off and mother raises the foot to stamp at me - common 'move back' language
The lamb had been rounded up and ring attached to its tail and mother is still wary from that. Lamb long forgotten

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I love the relationship you captured here.

shalu wrote in post #18904220
Peregrine falcon juvenile

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Tighter crop of the above

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These are just stunning! Fantastic lighting and detail!