2018 Project 52, 1st quarter by Sandy (skitterbug)

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Hi Rudi - I doubt I'll do anything about moving those trees or even being able to alter the area that these blue jays come to.....

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Hi Sandy, I have not said anything about removing trees or branches, but adding a few branches...so you can get more, other, maybe better shooting options...;)
See the videolink what I tried to explain oh so poorly:mad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjYWG5l6Kzw

HTH

Thank you Nandakumar! :)

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Originally Posted by rudi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjYWG5l6Kzw
HTH

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Hi Rudi ~ This video was interesting. And yes, I now understand what you had in mind. I ended up spending an hour watching this video as well as lots more and I'll blame you for that! :D <chuckle> I did gained some ideas but am wondering how I can put them into action in our little backyard space. (thinking....)

Thank you for providing ideas. I appreciate it! :)

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Hi Rudi .... and I'll blame you for that! ...

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Glad I could 'help':D

Week 13 - March is winding down. I'm looking forward to spring's warmer weather and I hope it happens soon! :)

Being mindful of the background behind my "subjects", once again these photos were captured from the second floor window, still using the Mark II and 100-400 lens. The first two are house finches and the last one is a female cardinal. I'm still "wrestling" with the focus system of this camera. I used one focus point this time, steadied the camera using my handy dandy pillow and gave it a try.

#1 - ISO125 - 1/500ss - f/5.6

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...42093849_b.jpg

#2 - ISO125 - 1/500ss - f/5.6

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/784/4...51a28742_b.jpg

#3 - ISO400 - 1/500ss - f/11.0

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4775/...bf6a6af7_b.jpg

They all look OK to me.

Snow always creates difficult exposures so you have nicely managed that scene.

Hi Geoff - I was lucky that the sun wasn't blazing away that day of the snow scene. Thanks for looking and replying! :)

I miss cardinals! Nicely done!

Superb BIS (Bird on snow :)) shot Sandy!

Hi Judith ~ Currently we have two female cardinals and 1 male but I would think the ratio will change. Our landscape isn't big enough to two males! LOL
Thanks for commenting!

Hi Bill - The snow is almost gone now and I hope that is the end of it. :) However, now there aren't any birds at the feeders either!
LOL
Thanks for commenting! :)

Good catch Sandy. The second one being my favourite !
Don't 'wrestle' too much with your focus system, you will get there with practice !

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Originally Posted by rudi

Good catch Sandy. The second one being my favourite !
Don't 'wrestle' too much with your focus system, you will get there with practice !

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Hi Rudi - I appreciate your thoughts and your words of encouragement! Practice is the key! I'll keep at it. :)

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Originally Posted by rudi

Good catch Sandy. The second one being my favourite !
Don't 'wrestle' too much with your focus system, you will get there with practice !

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I agree with Rudi. My favourite is the second one.

I suppose the two finches in the background are a distraction. But the first time I looked at the photo all I saw was the subject finch with a pin sharp image of a seed in its mouth. It's a good photo of the bird in action.

The second photo is also a good illustration of how narrow the DOF was, the roof shingles before and behind your finch are suitably blurred.

Although good, the first image does not seem quite as sharp as in the second one. My recollection is that your 7Dii ISO performance is better than a number of other cameras (such as my 60D). I wonder if increasing the ISO would have helped so that you could have used a slightly narrower aperture and perhaps a faster shutter speed?

Hi Bruce - I agree that the two background birds do add distraction and so decided to give it a crop and I think it improved the pic. And I admit that I stuck it in the mini contest to see how it may fair in the general voting. If I get the chance to try that same spot for a photo capture, I'll increase the ISO a bit and then try the more narrow aperture and faster shutter speed. I'll be curious to see how that turns out. Thanks for the suggestion.

And here's the cropped pic. It would have been better if those two in the back had left the area! <chuckle> I felt it was too much to try and edit them out.

https://i68.tinypic.com/2ik8d3r.jpg

Your bird images are just awesome.....lovely:cool:

Thank you Nandakumar! :)

Love the #3 shot. Looks great. Sharp and in focus. My only suggestion; could you clone away those pine tree branches which are very close to the bird?

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Originally Posted by joebranko

Love the #3 shot. Looks great. Sharp and in focus. My only suggestion; could you clone away those pine tree branches which are very close to the bird?

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Hi Joe ~ I didn't know if it would work out without looking too fake but I think it didn't end up too horrible. Glad you liked the Cardinal photo and I hope this looks even better to you!
Thanks for your suggestions and comments!

#3 - Female Cardinal - branches cloned out


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/821/4...0d05b00c_b.jpg

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Originally Posted by skitterbug

Hi Joe ~ I didn't know if it would work out without looking too fake but I think it didn't end up too horrible. Glad you liked the Cardinal photo and I hope this looks even better to you!
Thanks for your suggestions and comments!

#3 - Female Cardinal - branches cloned out


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/821/4...0d05b00c_b.jpg

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Sandy, your cloning job worked out really well!