Guillimot Pigeons in Action

[Brownbear]

I have posted below some new action shots of Guillemot pigeons, as shot in camera raw but sharpened after downsizing with a mask.

Manual SS 3200 F 6.7 matrix metering auto iso (800 on average) Exp comp -.3

They are a bit underexposed so I could avoid blowing the water and the white bits on the bird. I really like photographing these birds but when I expose to the right the white bits and the water are overexposed... (past photos)


Image 1



Image 2



Image 3




Image 4




Thank you.

PS The first photo was shot a little earlier in a different spot on the water.

[Steve S]

They are a bit underexposed so I could avoid blowing the water and the white bits on the bird.

Right off the bat, this should be telling you something........................................



















Conditions are not right, for the best possible photo.

Conditions 'are' right, when the exposure of the bird and the water are closest together, giving you a great exposure of each.

It's up to you as a photographer, to figure out what the best conditions are. It might be early morning, or late evening, or a cloudy day, or even at night, or a shaded area, or a different area........................what ever the answer is, you should be searching for it, instead of taking a bad exposure.(unless all you are after is capturing the moment)

[FlyingSquirrel]

They are a bit underexposed so I could avoid blowing the water and the white bits on the bird.

While I basically agree with Steve's points, I have a question which comes at this from another angle: How are you judging your exposures when you are taking them, and how are you determining if the highlights are blown? The answer to that will have a HUGE impact on how well (or poorly) you make your exposures and if you will indeed get the best possible exposure, or not...

Since I have not been reading all of your threads lately, if there was any discussion of this already, I obviously missed it. But assuming there has not been any specific discussion about it, I will make the following points:

- You should generally be judging your exposures overall by the histogram on your camera's lcd screen (and definitely NOT by the image preview)

- You should realize that most camera histograms and highlight warnings ("blinkies") tend to show clipping at an exposure where, on the computer in LR, you would see there is not such clipping.

- Hence you should do some test exposures with bracketing, on various subjects, and compare the lcd histogram and warnings with the data on your pc. You will probably see that your camera's dynamic range is greater than what the lcd histogram indicates. On my 7D, I have about 1 to 1.5 stops of plus exposure past the blinkies before I actually get blown highlights

[Brownbear]

Steve,

Thank you for the feed back... Yes, I am trying to capture a moment but having challenges doing it well. Usually I expose to the right but then the water is blown and the white bits on the wings.. So this time around I exposed in the middle with the idea that it would be a better approach. The histograms are in the middle.

I usually photograph them in the morning, so next time around I will try the afternoon.

Matt,

Thank you for some great advice.. I am judging my histogram as you recommend, and adjusting with exp comp based on the histogram. These birds are really cute and I'm trying to capture them in action but finding the exposure very challenging..

Here are my edits from LR...

Basic edits (Exposure +.2 to +.36), increase Whites and Blacks, vibrancy, clarity(all just a little bit) - - - decrease highlights, a gentle reverse S curve and auto wb (Which seems to have made the black birds brown (which they are if the sun is shining on them) the water lighter and less blue then true to life. And you can see what happens to the water when I edit.














Any advice on how to get the exposure just right and feedback on my edits would be appreciated. Thank you.

[davidedric]

Christina,

A further thought. I think you edit in Lightroom? The only blue tones in the image seem to be in the water. So if you go to the colour panel and use the Targeted Adjustment Tool I think you'll be able to play around quite a lot with the water. If you haven't tried I think it is worth a go.

Dave

[Brownbear]

Hi Dave,

Here are my new edits increasing the blues, also applied to the bird because it seemed to make the colour more true to life, ie; blacker than brown








With my usual reverse curve, which I think looks better than the preset?




With the preset medium contrast curve

[Brownbear]

Hi Steve,

Could you please explain this statement in greater detail? I think you are saying that when the colour of the water is closest to the bird... late in the day when both the water and bird are dark or another time say when the bird and the water are both lit by the sun?

I just wish to clarify this so I'm clear on what conditions I am looking for. Thank you.


Conditions 'are' right, when the exposure of the bird and the water are closest together, giving you a great exposure of each.

[Steve S]

Hi Steve,

Could you please explain this statement in greater detail? I think you are saying that when the colour of the water is closest to the bird... late in the day when both the water and bird are dark or another time say when the bird and the water are both lit by the sun?

I just wish to clarify this so I'm clear on what conditions I am looking for. Thank you.


Conditions 'are' right, when the exposure of the bird and the water are closest together, giving you a great exposure of each.

Christina, it has nothing to do with the color, but the tonalitly.

When the water is brighter than the bird..............if you expose for the bird, the water is over exposed. If you expose for the water, the bird is under exposed. The closer the exposure is , the beter the photo.(if you expose it right)

You don't have to have a perfect exposure, but something you can work with. For example you don't want to blow anything out, or underexpose excessively and create a bunch of noise.


Basically, what it comes down to, if you want the best, you have to identify the best light and only shoot under those conditions.

[Brownbear]

Steve,
Thank you for the clear explanation. Understood and truly helpful. I will work on this.