Project 52 by Chuck Schneebeck

[Geoff F]

Both focus and exposure are perfect.

[Teton Chuck]

Geoff, thank you for the feedback. Although it took quite a while for me to get the setup I wanted, and then wait for the critters to arrive, this was a good exercise for me.

[Kathy O]

Great photos -- you have a special talent!

Kathy

[Teton Chuck]

Thank you Kathy. You are very kind.

Chuck

[Goldcoastgolfer]

For my fourth project I have chosen to photograph American Magpies. A tail that makes up more than half their body length distinguishes these members of the crow family. They are typically described as black and white birds, but in the proper light they have distinct blue, green and iridescent colors due to the structure of the feathers. Many of the colors are similar to the colors one might see on a soap bubble. Unlike pigments, these colors only show up under certain lighting conditions.

For this project I built a suet feeder out of an old tree limb and placed it in my yard where the background is entirely snow. In doing so I was trying to place the entire focus on the bird and the feeder. However, I created the problem of trying to get detail from a dark bird against a bright white background. (Very similar to my first post.) Once I had determined the settings for the photos I used my remote to trigger the camera from within my house. These birds are skittish so this approach helped me get relatively close shots.

My goal was to document the richness of color and to show the unique tail of this species. I simply want the observer to feel that magpies are beautiful. These photos were taken under cloudy conditions at mid afternoon. I have not had the opportunity to photograph in unfiltered late afternoon light, but I will give it a try when the sun decides to reappear.

Of course C&C is welcome.

Nikon D90 1/500 sec @ f/10, ISO 320 85MM (80.0-400.0mm f/4.5-5.6)


Nikon D90 1/500 sec @ f/10, ISO 320 85MM (80.0-400.0mm f/4.5-5.6)


Nikon D90 1/400 sec @ f/10, ISO 320 85MM (80.0-400.0mm f/4.5-5.6)
The white on the bill and face of the magpie in the third photo is suet from the feeder.

These look great to me, Chuck. I think you've managed to achieve your goal of showing the rich magpie's rich colours. As Peter mentioned, ours over here are much more boring - just black and white. The way you've processed these though - they'd make a good print framed in someone's house I think.

[Geoff F]

But under the right light even the European Magpie has some interesting bluish tints amongst the black.

Not nearly as colourful as these though.

[Teton Chuck]

Thanks Mal and Geoff, As you pointed out Geoff, many people are surprised to find that quite a few "black" birds have iridescent colors. A good example is the Common Raven which is nearly always described as being black. Take a look at the following photo and notice the variety of colors, although they are subtle. Perhaps similar to the European Magpie.

[Teton Chuck]

Here is a better example of the raven color.

[SpiderBob]

The colors are unusual, lighting seems darn good. But if you don't mind me saying, I would take out the (I suspect) the tree behind it's head, that seems a bit distracting to me anyway.

I will be the first to admit, I thought Ravens were shades of black. Amazing!

[Wendy Stanford]

Hi Chuck, excellent focus and detail on the raven head, I agree with Bob about the tree, otherwise it stands out very well against the background,
The closeup is great for detail, however I prefer the shot of the whole bird, gives perspective

[Teton Chuck]

Hi Bob and Wendy, I must admit that this is the only raven I have seen that has a tree growing out of its head. Good news, I just got my Photoshop Elements software yesterday. I hope to make that tree disappear. Thank you for the input.

Cheers, Chuck

[Bobobird]

Superb bird pics Chuck - superb!

[Teton Chuck]

Bobo, thank you.

chuck

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Hi Bob and Wendy, I must admit that this is the only raven I have seen that has a tree growing out of its head. Good news, I just got my Photoshop Elements software yesterday. I hope to make that tree disappear. Thank you for the input.

Cheers, Chuck

Cloning will work but Elements has layers which probably work better to remove objects you don't want (or maybe it's a combination!). Good luck!

[Teton Chuck]

Thanks Mal, I think I am off to another world. Should be fun.

[Teton Chuck]

This series, my fifth Project 52 posting, was taken in Grand Teton National Park. The conditions were cold (5F) (-15C). There was a strong inversion which caused the cold temperatures, and consequently the fog layer and the frost on the trees and bushes. These photos were taken at about 8:30 AM in good quality early morning light. Clouds developing over the mountains gave me an opportunity to experiment with sky filling most of the frame in contrast to the usual shots where the mountains dominate. The first two photos are the same shot, one in color and the other in black and white.
The third photo is more traditional – less sky and more mountains. I was trying to take advantage of the way the light accentuated the mountains with the frosty vegetation and fog in the foreground.
C & C appreciated.

[FrankMi]

Hi Chuck. I'm late to the party as I've been away for a while but I just had a chance to look through your entire Project 52 posting and I must say that I am very impressed with the compositions and your knowedge of wildlife. Hopefully things will slow down for me over the next week or so and I'll be able to follow your postings more closely. Project 52 has kept many of us hopping, both to improve our own skills and to keep up with what 50+ other Project 52's are doing! You have a very fine set of images and one day I'd love to learn how to get great wildlife shots as well. Meanwhile, thank you for posting yours, I have enjoyed them very much.

[Teton Chuck]

Frank, thank you for the kind words. I don't have the PP skills that you have demonstrated on your project. I hope to become better at PP in the next few weeks.

[Geoff F]

While both of these are good, Chuck; for me, the extra bit of foreground in #2 make it a truly excellent photo.

[Teton Chuck]

Thank you Geoff. In the first two photos I was trying to use the sky as a dominant feature. I think I will continue to try to "leverage" the sky as spring and summer approach. Perhaps I still need to keep some other objects in the foreground.

Thank you for your feedback.

Chuck