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Day 2 - Pigeon House
Day 2 - Pigeon House
Bruce_the_Robert


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Camera: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6G
Location: Earlham Park, Norwich, England
Date: Feb 2, 2007
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/800 s
Galleries: Nature, Rural
Date Uploaded: Feb 2, 2007

Viewed: 366
Comments: 16
Favorites: 0

 Taken this afternoon while playing with my daughter and wife in Earlham Park, Norwich, England. I saw so much to shoot, but my little girl was worn out and acting like it, so we had to cut the visit short.

This is an out-building for Earlham Hall, which you'll see soon enough (it's where I work), and I caught the pigeons landing, which I liked.

One note: Please feel free to be negative or make suggestions; I really need to up my game here!

P.S. I was planning on upping a pic I take each day; is using "old" pics okay if I get in a jam, or is that against the spirit of the thing?

P.S.S. (added after this was here for a little while) Forgot to say what I did; levels; brightness/contrast; curves (just a bit); slight "smart sharpening" (had a fight with the trees and think I lost); a bit of dodge and burn (especially on the pigeons).

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AuthorThread
 02/23/2007 09:53:08 PM
I think you've done a good job on this. The pigeons stand out nicely and the colours of the wood are rich although there are some very dark areas of the structure. Since you asked for suggestions, I'm just learning how to use PS as well, but you could choose to do a selection layer on the clouds and work with levels or curves a bit if you decided it wouldn't interfere with the main subject of pigeons and structure, or you could just dodge and burn on the background layer. You might also want to reduce some of the unnecessary branches at the sides and around the pigeons with some selective cloning. These are all very subjective choices and that's the beauty of it all.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/23/2007 09:32:14 PM
Whoa!!! Awesome colours!!! I love the birds!!!! The skeletal trees make for a nice effect as well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2007 05:39:15 PM
Up your game eh? Nope, not helping you...once you find a subject that is artsy and filled with emotion, you'll just be taking all the ribbons home. your eye is sharp and finish processing is very well done. You manage to keep the quality of light in check on most of what I see here.

Lets consider the width of this crop. Narrow it considerably. The long upwards reaching branch is cropped out, the right-side diagonal is cropped at the half way mark. Drop the top by a quarter of the distance to the peak.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2007 02:36:51 PM
very nice image and colours. i agree with cropping a bit on the right, that would definitely makethe composition more successful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/05/2007 10:25:39 AM
Wow! What a beautiful sky! BEAUTIFUL!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/04/2007 01:18:39 AM
I don't know why you'd have problems at 1/800s, but how zoomed in were you?

The full-size image is definitely blurry; I'd say you did a fine job with the version on this page. My only suggestion is to move the house out of the middle. The trees on the left are more interesting, I'd say, than the stuff on the right, so I'd crop some off the right side.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/03/2007 06:17:36 PM
Hi Rob,

I think a tripod is a must - I see that you've used a fast shutter and ISO 200, but nothing really compares with the stability of a tripod to ensure that it's the lens and not the photographer - GRIN!

I really wish using a tripod wasn't so important - always another thing to carry - but my shots improve 100% when I bother - so I do - (but not always so don't tell - GRIN!)

Lisa
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/03/2007 05:27:39 PM
Love the colors!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/03/2007 05:49:02 AM
Hi all,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, and for the very kind remarks so far; I have problems with sharpening, and I have problems (I think) with my zoom lens.

I've uploaded a full sized jpeg to my personal web site here (warning, this is a 2.8 meg image, very large):

//photography.heverly.org/photography/Special/DSC_2844.JPG

If you take a look and zoom in on the pigeons, there are some sharpness issues; I tried to sharpen with smart sharpen in PS CS2, but had the right with the trees. So, is this one of those "can't be saved" images, or is there a way to process it so that it works?

I have also noticed that my long zoom (70-300) does not seem to focus at infinity. This is extremely frustrated. I have an off-brand AI (manual focus) zoom (28-200) that seems to focus better, which makes it even more frustrating. I'm going to carefully clean my glass and my UV filter and try again with some new shots. Sun is out here today, and I may head back to the part once the Saturday cleaning is done ;)

@JunieMoon; I would love to work together on trying to figure out the zoom (again; in the past, it was my lens of choice). Let's do that (though I doubt I can actually "stop" using my 50mm AI or my 35-80 AF zoom lenses cold turkey, I will concentrate on using the long lens more and paying much more attention to focus there).

/edit/ This was shot at 1/800s; I shouldn't need a tripod at that speed, should I? I really think this may be a lens issue, given the amount of blur when you get in close on the original image. /edit/

Suggestions are very much appreciated as to either sharpening or the lens, and thanks again for stopping by!

Rob

Message edited by author 2007-02-03 05:55:16.
 02/03/2007 04:09:16 AM
I think this photo is SO BEAUTIFUL - the tones are LOVELY and I like what you did.

My only thought was - did you use a tripod? It would help with clarity/sharpness.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 07:26:49 PM
Okay, you may have oversharpened the image a bit. Makes it appear a little rough. I notice you used a zoom lens. You may have needed a slightly longer shutter, like maybe 1/400th or so. The iso could also be adjusted to perhaps 400 which would make the image a bit clearer. I like the sky, but would like a bit less cyan. Anyway, the composition is done well. However, the pigeons do seem a bit lacking in detail. I too am working considerably with a zoom lens about the same as yours, and it is definitely a test of will to get really great images with the zoom. Maybe you and me can just stick to that one lens and see about improving our abilities as we learn what works best for our zooms.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 07:18:12 PM
I like the pigions coming in for the landing, skys nice trees are a little dark but its good i like it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 05:01:41 PM
I like the white pigeons against the dark roof and blue sky
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 04:38:38 PM
great shot .. love the colour in the sky and those dark and just about ominous branches .. i get a sort of alfred hitchcock feel from this image ...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 04:36:20 PM
The lighting might be a little harsh.
While I think the intent is to use pictures you take now, there's no consequence to using an old shot once or twice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 04:26:21 PM
Neat shot, and white pigeons, don't see those often around here. Seems like it could be a bit sharper.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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