An Open Door Lens Sharpness Discussion.

The three images below show the effect of shooting through an open door when the inside temperature is 70 degrees and the outside temperature is 20 degrees.

The first and last photos were taken through regular somewhat dirty window glass immediately before and immediately after the door was opened and closed.  The middle photo was the best of several taken with the door open and only clean air between the camera and hawk.

The open door had some advantages.  The auto-exposure increased from 1/500 to 1/1000.  A slight green color cast is noticeable in the photos taken through the window glass.

After taking a number of photos through my kitchen window,  I decided to risk a shot from outside.  I moved my camera to my unheated sun porch and shot through the open screen door.  As careful as I was, one of the two hawks was spooked and flew away.  Its partner was disturbed but remained long enough for a couple of photos.

The shot on the left was taken through window glass and the shot on the right was taken in the cold air. 

The three photos above are a 300x closeup view of the differences in sharpness in the unsharpened raw files.  The image on the right was taken in 20 degree air - it is the sharpest.  The image on the left was taken in a 70 degree room with ordinary window glass between the camera and hawk.  It isn't as sharp but could be sharpened in Photoshop.  The image in the center was taken through a door that was opened in a 70 degree room.  It is unusable mush.

When I photograph Sandhill Cranes, I usually use my vehicle as a blind.  It is often very cold and I close the windows when I'm not shooting.  These images illustrate why it is better to stay warm with a jacket instead of using the heater in the car. 

I've seen many discussions comparing lens sharpness.  The differences are usually barely perceptible.  The shots above show that even the best lens will produce unacceptable results when the air between the lens and subject is distorted.

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.

I Suck at Birds in Flight Photography

I tried to photograph the birds around my feeder again this weekend.  It didn't go well.  I took lots of exposures, but even Spray and Pray failed again.  I suck at Bird in Flight photography.  I want to change that.

It is easy to lose focus in the heat of the moment.  To paraphrase an often quoted saying " When you're up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember that your objective was to photograph the swamp."  I had plenty of birds flocking around the feeder and I brought home hundreds of photos that were not worth saving.  If Spray and Pray doesn't work, what will?

I made an important decision.  I decided to develop a way to score my BIF photos so I could measure them with a better standard than "this photo sucks".  After much thought, I came up with a ten point checklist to use as a standard.

10 Point BIF Scoring Checklist	Point	Comment
Is there adequate detail.  Noise? Focus? Is the body sharp?
Is the exposure good? Has motion been arrested?  Are the wings sharp
Does lighting enhance the image?
Is the bird in an interesting pose? Are the wings spread?
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?
Is this bird a good subject?  Young and beautiful?  Ugly, ragged and missing feathers?  In mating plumage - sexy?
Does the bird look alive and engaged?  Eye sharp? Catchlight?
Is the bird doing something interesting?  Is it interacting with a mate, offspring, friends, enemies or the environment?

If a photo scores 10 on this scale, it will be a pretty good BIF photo.  If it doesn't, I have some specific things to work on.