Snow Bunting


Posted by Chris Fagyal on Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:21 pm

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Taken up in Grand Marais, MN last weekend. These guys were EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and dark. This made getting decent pictures difficult as even with flash as main light I wasn't getting any decent exposure speeds. Maybe I was just doing something wrong. Advice for future would be appreciated. As for the picture, this guy landed near this patch of grass in the picture and seemed very content with the spot. I parked myself next to the curb about 15 feet away and then slowly crawled on my stomach across the gravel and got to within 8 feet or less. He never left and some of his friends even came in for a look. Was a special time for me as this was the first trip i'd ever seen Snow Buntings in my life. Too bad this is the only image that is sharp out of 80 or so I tried to take.

Canon Eos10D + 400mm f/5.6 + 550ex. 1/30th sec @ f/6.3 ISO 200
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by Karen S on Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:22 pm
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Beautiful little bird Chris....Nice shot.
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by Anthony Medici on Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:28 pm
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This is quite nice. Too bad more didn't come out. :(
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by Bill Whala on Thu Oct 23, 2003 7:06 pm
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What a little cutie. I'm glad you at least got this one. This is very nice. :)
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by Brian L. Zwiebel on Thu Oct 23, 2003 7:11 pm
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Hi Chris,

I'm not surprised that most were soft. 1/30th of a second is a very slow shutter speed. Camera shake, subject movement or both can really hurt you at that speed.

For more SS I would shoot wide open instead of stopping down and with digital why not bump up the ISO a little more. I know, trade offs with noise as you go higher.

Also, when using flash as main light you can purposefully under expose the image by a stop or more and use the flash to light the bird. Gaining yet more valuable SS.

All of that said, this is a very nice image. I like the front on view here. The only thing I would do is crop just a smidge from the bottom.

Well Done!

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by Alan Murphy on Thu Oct 23, 2003 10:27 pm
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Chris. Great low angle for a bunting. Looks a little grainy, but considering the condictions, this is great. Looks a little oversharpened.
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by Penney Goodwin on Thu Oct 23, 2003 10:28 pm
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Very sweet! Looks like you were doing a belly crawl. :)
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by Mike Wilson on Fri Oct 24, 2003 3:21 am
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Nice closeup and low angle to get the bg OOF.
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by Matt Cox on Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:51 am
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Chris, despite the challenges you faced, this is a very nice photo -- tack sharp with good exposure, composition, and background. The comment about bumping up your ISO with digital in this situation is right-on and something I'm still having trouble getting used to. This also doesn't look like a flash as main-light shot, given the exposure seen in the background. Maybe you should post more of your setup (exposure mode, flash compensation, etc.) to let people try to help you with the setup.
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by E.J. Peiker on Fri Oct 24, 2003 9:42 am
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I think Brian hit the nail on the head. The 10D is probalby the cleanest ISO 400 camera currently available and you give up very little by going to 400 while gaining a full stop and getting many more sharp photos under these circumstances. That said, this is a very nice photo and I'm glad you got a sharp one :)
 

by Bill Keown on Fri Oct 24, 2003 1:48 pm
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This is very nice. Too bad more did not come out but I often times only end up with one as I am sure a lot do.

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by Chris Fagyal on Fri Oct 24, 2003 3:36 pm
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Matt,

Actually I probably had flash set at fill flash still accidentally. I think the biggest thing I need to remember here is to change flash to be the main light, and then underexpose a bit more to bump up the shutter speed. I tried a few at ISO400 but they were part of the blurred images by chance and thus I had nothing to measure with in terms of noise. I have several ideas for next time im in this challenging situation. Thanks guys :)
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by Ken Newcombe on Fri Oct 24, 2003 7:29 pm
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Chris,

Certainly nice and close. To bad you needed full flash. Sometimes setting the camera on the camera bag or beanbag lets you get away with 1/30 if you are on the ground and pressing on the camera and lens. Still a nice shot.
 

by Jim Neiger on Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:09 pm
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Cool bird. Nice capture. Way to go Chris.
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by NDCheryl on Sun Oct 26, 2003 1:22 am
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Great shot. I love the low angle.
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by Neilef28 on Tue Mar 02, 2010 4:14 pm
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Impressive shot of this great looking species
 

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