Bird in the city...

[risingphoenix]

Another shot from my photo walk around NYC this past weekend...would love some C&C



and if any bird lovers out there know what kind of bird this is that would be a plus lol Thanks!

[ScoutR]

Beautiful shot Mike. It looks like a sparrow to me, although I'm not sure which type of sparrow. This is so nice and detailed and feathery without being oversharp or harsh. I love the background, and because the shot is so great, I would forgive the cut off tail.

Wendy

[risingphoenix]

Thanks Wendy!!! and thank you for forgiving my cut off tail

Yeah that was my first thought that it was a sparrow but I'm not a big bird nut so I didn't want to label it as such lol. I will have to look when I get home, but I have several shots of this "sparrow" maybe I have one with the tail not cut off...honestly that is really bothering me lol.

[Fit]

Great capture. Looks like a juvenile sparrow.

[ScoutR]

Thanks Wendy!!! and thank you for forgiving my cut off tail

Yeah that was my first thought that it was a sparrow but I'm not a big bird nut so I didn't want to label it as such lol. I will have to look when I get home, but I have several shots of this "sparrow" maybe I have one with the tail not cut off...honestly that is really bothering me lol.

You should really not let it bother you too much. This shot has so much going for it that a cut off tail is minor. Besides the things mentioned earlier, the expression is wonderful, and that makes it more than a documentary shot to me. He looks so thoughful and wise and a little sad. Now whether or not birds have those emotions I really don't know, but if I saw a person with that look, I would think he or she had just lost a loved one. Oh Oh, I think maybe I have had too much coffee, but I'm just saying don't fret about the tail, unless the other shot you pick has these same qualities

Wendy

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Mike,

I love the tones in the bird and the background. As Wendy said the expression is priceless but I must admit I don’t see this little fellow as sad – more inquisitive (check that coffee Wendy).

May I ask what focus setting you have your camera set to?

The reason I ask is that if you look at the marble block the bird is perched on you will notice the sharpest area in the image is in fact this side of his left leg. That means the eye (sitting between both legs), which you should aim to be sharp, is not quiet there. You may have thought you were focusing on the eye but the focus setting may be ‘closest to the camera subject priority’ meaning the body of the bird is closer than the eye and that is what the camera focused on. I would suggest changing to Single Area Focus mode (Single Servo in Nikon) and then you choose what part of the image you want to focus on.

[risingphoenix]

Thanks again for your thoughtful words Wendy.

As a growing and hopefully maturing photographer having someone "get" a photo is one of the most rewarding experiences. What you mentioned in your response is the exact thing that made me capture the bird in the first place...and the choice to post this one out of the several I grabbed was because it conveyed those exact emotions as you mentioned above...and to me, like you said, the emotions were more important than the clipped tail.

Thank you again for your thoughts they truly made my day and gave me hope that I am headed down the right path

[risingphoenix]

Wow Pete...

You picked up on something that I noticed in a lot of the photos that I took that day, and that was that my focusing on some of my shots was just a little off. I haven't had the chance yet to go back and look on my Canon exactly what I had it set to...but I do believe you hit on the exact problem.

I also had the AF set with multiple possible areas to focus on, I'm sorry I don't know the exact term...but as a graphical reference in your head on my camera display there is a box with a bunch on lil lines...those lines each represent a possible focal point on the camera and I can add and subtract these lines as I see fit. This effectively changes where the camera can or is forced to focus...I believe I had ALL these lines active on my photo walk out of my own ignorance as to how this function actually could affect a photo...NOW I KNOW...lol.

Something tells me we are talking about the same thing...sorry for my ignorance on actual terminology..but I am glad my eye is getting better and that we both saw the same thing.

-Mike

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Mike,

Yes, the focusing may be a little off and maybe it was avoidable this time, but even when you're on top of things, events usually conspire, by a twitch or whatever, to thwart a 100% perfect bird shot - well they do for me

The thing that bugs me more than the tail crop is the nearest foot disappearing out the bottom of frame.

Never-the-less I would be well pleased to have taken this myself - it is still sharper than many of mine are - I don't usually get this close to 'the little ones'.

Definitely a picture to be proud of, even with a couple of minor problems - and they are minor compared to what can 'go wrong'

Cheers,

[BongoBob]

This is absolutely gorgeous - I love the colors.

[risingphoenix]

@Dave...thank you for your comments. Shooting birds is definitely a challenge and I truly thankful for this shot I grabbed. I was able to get so close because it was a cocky city bird...they aren't scared of nuttin

@Nick - Thank you!

So glad you guys are enjoying this photo..made my day

[risingphoenix]

Just for fun...another shot of the same bird. I still think the focus is off and I definitely like the first one better. But at least he has his whole tail

[ScoutR]

This is very nice too, I like this almost as well as the first, actually I think I like this one better, but I still like the expression better in the first one although this is good too and I like the caption. Definitely well shot great colours and nice background. I'd be very happy if my focus was off this much.
Keep shootin' those city birds - they like you

Wendy

[Peter Ryan]

Another nice shot Mike. I agree you can see the focus point again on the marble but a good shot. I think this is a little darker than the first and if lightened just a tad with the shadow/highlight command (or Fill light in RAW) I think would be very good. You really do not want to lighten the background.

[risingphoenix]

Thanks guys!

Maybe I'll try that Peter and see what the result is. Thanks for the encouragement guys!

[maloufn]

Another shot from my photo walk around NYC this past weekend...would love some C&C



and if any bird lovers out there know what kind of bird this is that would be a plus lol Thanks!

Great detail. I am adding ashot for C&C Thanks

Nasseem