The Sentinel

Yes, I know. It's the ubiquitous Tree Swallow. This is the male standing guard atop a bird house/nesting box. The female had gone into the box and the male just stood his ground atop the box. I was able to move to within 10 feet of him and take a series of images. Here are just a few of them.

C&C always appreciated. Thanks for looking.

More great shots of this bird. Way to go EdV!!

gorgeous tree swallow shots. love the sharpness and color vibrance on the feathers. well done.

- hung

Very nice shots. The composition on all of them is really nice and the colour in the wings is wonderful. The whites are quite blown in some of them but it's a difficult bird in difficult lighting. Do you use your histogram to check the results on your camera?

Thanks Don, Hung, and Shirley. I appreciate the feedback.

Shirley, I did notice that the white are blown out a bit. Interestingly, it seems moreso on the posts than in the images before the final image reduction to meet the 800 pixel limit. I am not sure what that is about.

I check the histograms but not when I am shooting. I check after the fact when I might want to correct with levels, etc.

EdV wrote in post #3149663
Thanks Don, Hung, and Shirley. I appreciate the feedback.

Shirley, I did notice that the white are blown out a bit. Interestingly, it seems moreso on the posts than in the images before the final image reduction to meet the 800 pixel limit. I am not sure what that is about.

I check the histograms but not when I am shooting. I check after the fact when I might want to correct with levels, etc.

If you are using PS, try the Shadows/Highlights adjustment tool. It will work wonders on blown highlights (and on underexposed shadows).

Great shots.

Very nice series Ed. Huh, I have more trouble with those irridescent b;ues than with blown whites. Haven't gotten the blues to come out on any of my shots yet. Maybe a cloudy day would help.

Thanks folks. I appreciate the comments.

I tend to have a little problem with the whites and probably should have played with the EC a bit.

For some reason, I have trouble getting the desired effect with shadows and highlights in PS. In this case, should I have selected highlights and darkened? It never seems to turn out the way I think it should.

Again thanks for the comments.

Very nice shots, great colours and BG.

Cheers

The best way to fix whites is to shoot in RAW. But it's even better to use +EC to start with.

Still, it hasn't ruined the pics as it's not very noticeable.

The whites in #2 and maybe most of #3 are recoverable, the other two very doubtful. When you have subjects that you know will stay there or come back regularly it is a good idea to check your histogram on the spot. Tough bird to shoot in sunlight as the whites are about 2/3rds overexposed, but the midtones and darks are fine.

Nice pose in the first two shots, and great background in each!

NickR wrote in post #3152483
Very nice shots, great colours and BG.

Cheers

Thanks Nick. I appreciate the feedback. I do think the blues turned out very well even though the whites are a bit blown.

canonloader wrote in post #3152484
The best way to fix whites is to shoot in RAW. But it's even better to use +EC to start with.

Still, it hasn't ruined the pics as it's not very noticeable.

Thanks Mitch. I haven't gotten around to shooting in RAW but I shoud try it. It's just that there is so much else going on that it is just something else new to put on the back burner for now.

dancad wrote in post #3152994
The whites in #2 and maybe most of #3 are recoverable, the other two very doubtful. When you have subjects that you know will stay there or come back regularly it is a good idea to check your histogram on the spot. Tough bird to shoot in sunlight as the whites are about 2/3rds overexposed, but the midtones and darks are fine.

Nice pose in the first two shots, and great background in each!

Thanks Daniel. If I have time, I may play with the highlights and shadows on #2 and #3 and see if there is anything that "I" can do with them.

gREAT SHOTS Ed. I have more success adjusting the whites during tiff conversion, In my case I am using RSE (raw shooter essentials). I use the "highlight contrast" in combination with "exposure comp" in RSE. It is much more effective and controllable than doing it in PS. In my experience anyway, as I havent had much luck recovering blown whites in PS and having the picture still look natural. Just my 2 cents worth...in Canadian funds of course

OOPS sorry Ed, just seen above post, and read you don't shoot in RAW. sorry dude....

Thanks Trevor. As I said in my PM, I am going to give RAW a try if not today then very soon (like over the weekend).