What’s Up?
This is the blog post that I had planned for yesterday (until the two crane colts disappeared). I have given up looking for them. I’m thinking bobcat …
I did not do anything on my Saturday morning visit to the lake. Sunset was dark and grey, so I did not even think about going down. I did my bursts and my swim in the afternoon. In total, I spent about eight hours working on the Canon R5 Camera User’s e-Guide yesterday. Huge thanks to J Marr Miller for his thoughtful review (and follow-ups), and to Bruce Dudek. After exchanging several long e-mails yesterday we were able to spend 30 minutes on phone ironing out several sticky points that have to do with the Q-Button and the various Screen info. settings options. To say that we each learned a lot would be an understatement.
I will be working very hard on the R5 guide again on Sunday. My Sony Alpha a1 is supposed to be here on Monday or Tuesday so I have to get started on another guide. Yikes!
Speaking of Sunday, today is Sunday 7 March 2021. The forecast is for partly cloudy turning sunny early with a brisk wind from the north. I will surely head down to the lake for a look-see.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great day.
This blog post took a bit more than an hour to prepare and makes seventy-six days in a row with a new one. Please remember to use the links!
|
|
This image was created on 3 March 2021 at my down-by-the-lake sunset spot. As usual when working there, I used the Induro GIT 304L/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body). ISO 2500. The settings were determined by past experience.Multi-metering +2.3 stops in Shutter Priority (S) mode: 1/2500 sec. at f/8. As expected, RawDigger showed this to be a huge over-exposure with more than 7,500,000 over-exposed pixels. AWB at 6:22pm with some haze on the western horizon. . Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed just fine. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1A: The original image capture as seen in Photo Mechanic |
Whaddya Think?
I have been trying to train myself to keep shooting even when a bird flies through or right by the setting sun, knowing full well that with my set-up — S mode + 2 1/3 stops, the images made when the bird is set against the super-bright parts of the background will be mega-over-exposed. So why push the shutter button? Photography is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. (Thanks, Forrest!)
I am pretty sure that most folks would delete this image without a second thought …
Do understand that when the bird is set against a richly colored portion of the sky, the exposure with that same set-up will be very close to perfect.
On Being Different?
Only Bob Eastman and I liked the o-o-f Cattle Egret image with the sharp flower foreground. (You have good taste, Bob!) I will re-visit that image here at some point. But my point there, and here again, with today’s featured image, is that it can never hurt to try to create images that are simply or starkly different. Different is good. Different opens eyes. Yes, learning to make sharp, well-exposed images of birds is a first step. But by striving for something different, you may be able to get to some very special places. Or not.
|
|
This image was created on 3 March 2021 at my down-by-the-lake sunset spot. As usual when working there, I used the Induro GIT 304L/Levered-clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 2.0x Teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body). ISO 2500. The settings were determined by past experience.Multi-metering +2.3 stops in Shutter Priority (S) mode: 1/2500 sec. at f/8. As expected, RawDigger showed this to be a huge over-exposure with more than 7,500,000 over-exposed pixels. AWB at 6:22pm with some haze on the western horizon. . Wide/AF-C was active at the moment of exposure and performed just fine. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #1: Boat-tailed Grackle flying near the sun |
Red, Yellow, Wide, Clean, and Dramatic …
On a lark, I converted the image in Capture One. Needless to say, many of the sliders wound up in places they had never been before.
Like It or Hate It? Why?
Please leave a comment and let us know whether you like this image, hate it, or somewhere in between. And as always, do let us know why you feel the way you do.
Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors.
I like it. Can you blacken the grasses a bit more so they really show up? My first thought was that they balance the bird. Then I read you are saying the same.
Hi, Artie. I like it. I never would have noticed the grass if it hadn’t been pointed out. Rightly of wrongly I always worry about blinding myself by following a bird flying into the sun using a telephoto lens, to say nothing of crying the sensor.
Are you worried about crying after frying the sensor???
I think the danger of sensor damage would require more than the fraction of second involved when panning …
with love, a
You seem to have both extremes here.
That’s why I’d try a mix of both : the top of the second with the bottom of the first.
And see if it does work or not, or if I can do something in that path, or not.
Thanks for sharing.
Love what you were able to do with it. You found the good chocolate….
Thanks, Warren. I am glad that I did not get the gooey raspberry one ….
with love, a
I prefer the darker and sharper silhouette!
Hey Layton, You misunderstood. I only showed Image #1 A to show what the raw file looked like and to show what could be done with it.
with love, a
ps: do you ever go to Stick Marsh for spoonbills?
Only just spotted the grasses lower right, but to me that just shows how overpowering the white, over-exposed sky is. Personally I would crop most of it out! Otherwise, great silhouette!
Hi Maggi, Check out the original to see that I did crop most of the blasting white out but wanted to leave some to be — you guessed it, different!
with love, a
Beautiful. Especially like the color and the grasses in the lower right corner. Also enjoyed yesterday’s comments on writing.
Thanks, Cliff. I love the the grasses balance the composition so well.
with love,
a
ps: did you see Ralph Fletcher’s two comments on The Writing Process? Small world for sure.
Typo in fourth paragraph. Change “kind” to “wind”. Always look forward to your posts. Have a great Sunday.
Cheers,
George
Fixed with thanks and love, a
I like it because it reminds me of many moons ago when a Sea Eagle flew into the rising sun and nearly blew my brains out. To this day that sharp silhouette is one of my most memorable images. (Almost literally burned into my brain). Memories!
Been on that boat, done that! Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan (if my spelling is correct…)
with love, artie