Signs of Improvement?

I made several refinements to my Bird in Flight technique today.  I used a shorter lens - 135mm, moved back for a larger target area and stopped down more to get more depth of focus. I placed the camera outdoors in the freezing temperatures of late December.  I moved the feeder in an attempt to make the flight path more predictable. 

Increased depth of focus increased the number of sharp images, but the news wasn't entirely good.  The 135mm lens increased the background area.  Stopping the lens down made the background sharper.  As a result, the bokeh on today's images isn't as good as the results from the 400mm lens. The image below is a good example, the backgrould is mottled and distrating. 

I used a remote to fire the camera today.  I was able to trigger the camera remotely.  As a result, I wasn't able to chimp and make adjustments to my camera position and focus as easily.  The flight path is still too short and random for consistent focus.

I awarded this image 6 points

10 Point Bird Photo Scoring Checklist	Point	Comment
Is there adequate detail.  Noise? Focus? Is the body sharp?	1/2	Noise Reduction destroyed some detail
Is the exposure good? Has motion been arrested?  Are the wings sharp	1
Does lighting enhance the image?	1	Backlighted
Is the bird in an interesting pose? Are the wings spread?	1
Did I make good use of the frame? Is the frame free of distractions?	1/2	It's head is too high in the frame
Does color enhance the image?
Does the background contribute to the image?  Color?  Depth?
Is this bird a good subject?  Young and beautiful?  Ugly, ragged and missing feathers?  In mating plumage - sexy?	1
Does the bird look alive and engaged?  Eye sharp? Catchlight?	1/2	Cannot see eyes
Is the bird doing something interesting?  Is it interacting with a mate, offspring, friends, enemies or the environment?	1	Looks active

I awarded this image 6 1/2 points.

 

10 Point Bird Photo Scoring Checklist	Point	Comment
Is there adequate detail.  Noise? Focus? Is the body sharp?	1
Is the exposure good? Has motion been arrested?  Are the wings sharp	1
Does lighting enhance the image?	1	Backlighted
Is the bird in an interesting pose? Are the wings spread?	1
Did I make good use of the frame? Is the frame free of distractions?
Does color enhance the image?
Does the background contribute to the image?  Color?  Depth?		I like the blue
Is this bird a good subject?  Young and beautiful?  Ugly, ragged and missing feathers?  In mating plumage - sexy?	1
Does the bird look alive and engaged?  Eye sharp? Catchlight?	1/2	No catchlight
Is the bird doing something interesting?  Is it interacting with a mate, offspring, friends, enemies or the environment?	1	Looks active

 I definitely need to help the birds maintain a consistent flight path to the feeder.  I also need to fire the camera before the bird enters the target area to compensate for the birds speed and my slow reactions.

In a future session, I plan to put up a branch that is higher than the feeder.   If I can convice the birds to start there flight to the feeder from this perch, I should be able to increase the number of images that are in focus.

Window Glass and Bokeh

My bird feeders are set up so that I can enjoy them from my kitchen window.  As long as I don't make sudden movements, the birds ignore my presence.   I'm content to work there. I can leave my camera set up while I'm doing other things and return when the right birds are present.  The birds are undisturbed and I'm cozy in the warmth of the house.

If I were asked about photographing behind glass, I would have recommended against it.  The glass at the zoo is a problem because it is dirty and has reflections that are difficult to control. I would have been concerned that the glass would cause a slight color shift.  

My attempts to photograph birds in flight were bad enough that the window glass was the least of my problems.  Spraying and Praying didn't help much.  Half the time, I didn't even have a bird in the frame.  When the bird was present, it was usually out of focus.   When the bird was in focus, the wings were in the wrong position.  

If you read the photography forums,  you will find that sharpness can become an obsession.   Photographers will pay thousands of dollars for a difference in sharpness that can only be observed under heavy magnification.  Regardless of the lens sharpness, dozens of other things need to be correct before the expensive lens produces the sharpest possible image.

Digital photography actually forgives some problems that made cheap lenses inferior to the expensive ones.  Photoshop can correct color shifts.  It can remove lens distortions and vignetted corners.  Canon's DO technology was criticized for having less contrast - this is no problem with Photoshop. With this in mind, today's test is intended to show how little difference a window makes when Photoshop is used.

I used my 400mm lens in today's tests.  I used Live View to focus the lens.  My camera was on a tirpod and I used a 10 second delay to allow vibrations to settle before my exposure.  I used ISO 100 for less noise and f 8 to get the best possible resolution from the lens.  The only difference in the tests is that the window in front of the lens is open or closed.

 

In this highly magnified sample you can see that the shot taken through the window lacks contrast.  I found that when I used contrast and brightness controls in Photoshop, I could make them look very similar.  There was less color shift than I expected.  Resolution suffered, but it was close.

Much to my surprise, the unfocused portions of the image didn't fare as well.  Look at all the extra detail in the image on the left.  The bokeh is horrible compared to the image on the right.  The window added detail that didn't exist.

Even though the open window produced better results,  it isn't the complete answer.  As I watched live view as the camera counted down, I could sharpness come and go. Heat for the house was escaping and caused distortion.  My results would have been even better if I and the camera had been outside in the cold.

Peanut Delight

A block of Peanut Delight in the suet feeder resulted in a regular supply of sparrows, starlings and woodpeckers.  The natural light was good.  A bright sun backlit the outstretched wings as birds waited for an open space in the feeder.

 I used a 400mm lens on a Canon 5D Mark II.  My ISO was 640.  The shutter speed 1/2500 and aperture was f5.6.  Winter trees are in the background of these photos.  .

I scored this image - 6

10 Point Bird Photo Scoring Checklist	Point	Comment
Is there adequate detail.  Noise? Focus? Is the body sharp?	1/2	The image could be sharper.  The feathers lack detail.
Is the exposure good? Has motion been arrested?  Are the wings sharp	1	Motion mostly stopped
Does lighting enhance the image?	1	The wings are back-lit.
Is the bird in an interesting pose? Are the wings spread?	1	Yes
Did I make good use of the frame? Is the frame free of distractions?	1/2	The suet block on the right is distracting.   The sparrow head in in the middle of the frame - very close to the top.
Does color enhance the image?
Does the background contribute to the image?  Color?  Depth?	1/2	The background adds color to the image without being distracting.
Is this bird a good subject?  Young and beautiful?  Ugly, ragged and missing feathers?  In mating plumage - sexy?	1/2	The sparrow looks strong and healthy.
Does the bird look alive and engaged?  Eye sharp? Catchlight?	1/2	The eye is pretty sharp but it lacks a good catchlight.
Is the bird doing something interesting?  Is it interacting with a mate, offspring, friends, enemies or the environment?	1/2	The flying sparrow is about to land.

 

 

 
 

It's hard to get a good shot of a bird flying directly toward the camera.  

I moved the feeder three times during this session.  I was trying to put it in a place that is on the same plane as the perch that the bird left before arrival.  I had some success.  What I really need is a perch that is a couple of yards from the feeder and several feet higher.  If I can get a bird to fly along this specific path, I will keep the bird the same distance away from the have a better change to have the bird in focus when I take the photo.