Blue-winged Warbler


Posted by Craig Lipski on Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:03 pm

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Blue-winged Warbler

I'm not sure I love this - this guy only hung around for a few minutes, all during less than even light.  Still, not an every day warbler for me, so I'm happy.

Similar to other shots I've taken in these conditions, I feel totally clueless re: color balance - if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I'd appreciate any input.

5D IV
500 4.0 L IS
f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 1600
Eval -1
Natural light

Comments and suggestions welcome

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by david fletcher on Wed Sep 14, 2022 3:30 am
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Super setting and perch Craig. Sometimes, you have to take what's on show.. This will do nicely!
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by Karl Egressy on Wed Sep 14, 2022 4:44 am
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Lovely imgae.
 

by Axel Hildebrandt on Wed Sep 14, 2022 7:37 am
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I like the alert pose and eye contact. I might raise the shadows and midtones a little.
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by Gene Gwin on Wed Sep 14, 2022 8:28 am
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Craig, I'm probably different than most in regard to white balance. I rarely use auto white balance, especially during difficult lighting conditions. Some say that they can fix a white balance problem in post. Yes, they can, but I'm convinced that it will not look as good as a photo that is correct out of the camera. Two things I see with this image: 1. If you used auto-iso, that mode will not work with this type of image because of the shadows. Based on the light, you almost have to be in full manual to be sure that the exposure is correct on the bird, and not worry about the background. 2. Properly used fill flash would probably have solved your lighting problem. Flash can be difficult. There's no other way to learn how to use it except to use it. That's my 2 cents. I'm sure others have different techniques that would also work, and I would like to hear them so that we can all improve our photography skills.
 

by Craig Lipski on Wed Sep 14, 2022 10:25 am
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Gene Gwin wrote:Craig, I'm probably different than most in regard to white balance.  I rarely use auto white balance, especially during difficult lighting conditions.  Some say that they can fix a white balance problem in post.  Yes, they can, but I'm convinced that it will not look as good as a photo that is correct out of the camera.  Two things I see with this image:  1.  If you used auto-iso, that mode will not work with this type of image because of the shadows.  Based on the light, you almost have to be in full manual to be sure that the exposure is correct on the bird, and not worry about the background.   2.  Properly used fill flash would probably have solved your lighting problem.  Flash can be difficult.  There's no other way to learn how to use it except to use it.  That's my 2 cents.  I'm sure others have different techniques that would also work, and I would like to hear them so that we can all improve our photography skills.

In this case, knowing there was significant cropping coming, my exposure concern was the hot spots on the vine - if those were blown, the pic was trash, so I would have shot at this exposure regardless of metering method (I think; if I’m missing something basic here, please fill me in

Fill would be a possibility - I haven’t played a/ that in years - since digital processing is so flexible.  This drip is a “busy” setting, and if I was shooting fill I’d miss a huge % of opportunities due to blown foreground twigs, leaves, vines, etc. We’ve worked to remove a lot of that, but it’s still an issue - we don’t want just a bunch of bare sticks around the drip. 

As for WB, this area has a grape leaf canopy that provides heavy shade with dappled glaringly bright spots, (depending on the angle and strength of the sunlight - on a bright, cloudy day it’s awesome).  I could play with the in-camera WB settings, but with such varied light, I’m not sure where to start - in this case, shade I guess?

None of PS’s drop-down options look right to me - in tough (for me) cases, I’ll try those as starting points.  One thing I read, (but haven’t tried yet,) is to look at the scene in Live View and scroll through WB options ‘til I find one that’s the closest match, but with the changing angles of light and intermittent clouds of varying densities as well as sunny spots, totally shaded spots, dappled spots, etc, I’d spend more time staring AT my camera than through it. 

Thanks for the input, I’ll definitely revisit this. If I missed your point, feel free to correct me!
 

by Gene Gwin on Wed Sep 14, 2022 11:04 am
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Craig,
The correct purpose of fill flash is to "fill in" the shadows. Filling in the shadows allows more detail, especially in darker birds and under a canopy where there's no direct sunlight. Also, if the light is harsh, fill flash helps a lot. The old saying that fill flash is correct when no one knows that you're using flash is what should be strived for. There are some tricks to helping with blown out areas in post, and maybe we can get together when you're down south and talk about it.
 

by peter makuch on Wed Sep 14, 2022 3:51 pm
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a good one taken here and I like the angle as-well.
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Wed Sep 14, 2022 4:48 pm
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I am not skilled at making quick changes on the spot with fast-moving birds, so I tend to use PS and Topaz for corrections. I often find PS shadow/highlight can be very useful -did you try that one?
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by Carol Clarke on Wed Sep 14, 2022 4:52 pm
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Lovely perch - almost like its on a swing. Once again, when clicked on the beautiful detail is clearly visible, making this a great late light image, Craig.

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by Craig Lipski on Thu Sep 15, 2022 1:50 am
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Cynthia Crawford wrote:I am not skilled at making quick changes on the spot with fast-moving birds, so I tend to use PS  and Topaz for corrections. I often find PS shadow/highlight can be very useful -did you try that one?
I’ve been so enamored w/ ACR’s localized adjustment tools that I’ve pretty much forgotten PS’s Shadow/Highlights - I’ll have to revisit them!
 

by Craig Lipski on Thu Sep 15, 2022 1:52 am
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Carol Clarke wrote:Lovely perch - almost like its on a swing.  Once again, when clicked on the beautiful detail is clearly visible, making this a great late light image, Craig.

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Thank you, Carol. We refer to that particular vine as “the Swing”, lol. 
 

by Carol Clarke on Thu Sep 15, 2022 6:03 am
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Craig Lipski wrote:
Carol Clarke wrote:Lovely perch - almost like its on a swing.  Once again, when clicked on the beautiful detail is clearly visible, making this a great late light image, Craig.

Carol.
Thank you, Carol. We refer to that particular vine as “the Swing”, lol. 

:)   We're on the same wavelength then, Craig.

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by paul fletcher on Thu Sep 15, 2022 7:23 pm
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Fine image, Craig, with a great perch. Certainly, not a Warbler species that we see photographed during Fall migration,as a rule- great find.
 

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