Kingbird in Montana

Posted by jimhayes on Mon Aug 25, 2003 10:54 am

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I was coming out or a NWR in Montant late in the afternoon on a hot day and saw this Kingbird ahead. I movedd the car to the side and shot out the window with a D100 with a Nikon 80-400mm VR at f8 hand held. I got only one frame and he was gone. I did no diddling in PS
Jim Hayes

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by Wil Hershberger on Mon Aug 25, 2003 12:16 pm

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I see that noone is posting on this so here is my two cents...
Well, the image is over exposed and the bird is small and dead center. I think that the image is a little soft maybe because it was hand held. Too bad that you did get more time with the bird. Grab shots are tough.

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by E.J. Peiker on Mon Aug 25, 2003 12:45 pm

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This is a tough lighting situation. To get a good photo in a situation like this, where the background is sun drenched while the bird is in shade, you have to expose for the background which is probably at least two stops less than the exposure here and then light up the bird with flash. That way the bird receives the flash lighting and the background does not and as a result, both are properly exposed. The faster shutter from the two stop faster exposure would also take care of the camera shake blur. You do need a flash unit powerful enough (probably need a Fresnel Lens like a Better Beamer) to throw enough light on the subject.

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Last edited by E.J. Peiker on Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Juli Wilcox on Mon Aug 25, 2003 7:55 pm

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Hi Jim---What I like about the photo is the strong sense of bird in habitat; however, the overexposure has blown the important details. I have to agree with the other assessments and suggestions as being right on the mark.

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by Anthony Medici on Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:00 pm

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Jim, this is the way I started. Shooting out windows with an 80-400 VR. Except I was using the D1 at the time. I still tend to shoot like this if I need to ID a bird I've never seen before.

Tony

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by Greg Downing on Tue Aug 26, 2003 1:22 pm

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I agree with E.J. but would also add that moving the bird out of the center of the frame can make for a more pleasing composition. Stick around here and your skills will improve greatly! We are glad to help!