Today's Sparrow

[ColytonJohn]

IMG_2019_RAW-01.JPG

We do get other birds, honest, but these little guys are so happy to just sit around waiting for their turn on the feeder making them ideal for practicing technique

Cheers,
John

[tesarver]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Nice capture John

Tom

[the black fox]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Nice John practise makes perfect

[Stan]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Often overlooked and difficult against the sky so well done

Stan

[Paulstw]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Cool shot :) Is it true Sparrows are in decline? RSPB has them at Amber status.

[ColytonJohn]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Thanks for the kind and encouraging comments folks - all appreciated.

I really am trying hard to get decent sharpness with my 'Sparrow Series' and this one, at 1/1000, F/10, ISO-500 all while resting on a waterbutt is probably the best I can expect with this lens at 300mm. It will have lost some IQ when converting from RAW to the compressed jpeg I uploaded but even the original is a long way short of what else I see on here. I know a bad workman blames his tools, and I've probably got at least one foot in that camp, but I do think a quicker, sharper lens with IS on the end of the 7D will make all the difference.

My early attempts against the sky were overexposed but spot metering cured that.

I also hear Sparrows are supposed to be in decline but not here! The railway next to us runs through a cutting and the bushes that line the banks are alive with them and they fly across to my feeders in waves. I shouted at some railway workers a couple of years ago when they started cutting back the bushes: "Oi, there's birds nesting there!". "Oh, sorry" they said and left them alone.

I've never seriously attempted bird photography but am enjoying the challenge. Quite a large selection visit our badly neglected and overgrown garden so will try to vary the species I shoot in future.

Cheers,
John


Cheers,
John

[Paulstw]

Re: Today's Sparrow

John, in my experience, direct upload to the forum totally destroys the true nature of my images. I try to avoid it. Some have their worries about Flickr right enough but I've found it good. The image appears to be displaying pixelation in the graduating sky so maybe the image has been made too small?

At first glance it looks good though. Wasn't until I dipped my head under the pic on my LED screen that I seen what I described.

[ColytonJohn]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Paul, you're right, compressing and uploading as I have been is dumb when I want to maintain the IQ. I have looked briefly at Flickr but never progressed to submitting any images. I will now though

Cheers,
John

[Paulstw]

Re: Today's Sparrow

If going the flickr route try to keep to 800px on the long edge when sharing to the forum as it knocks out the framing on the thread if it's any bigger than that. If you need any help at all just pm me. Be glad to help out :)

[antoeknee]

Re: Today's Sparrow

Apart from the odd 503 issue not had any issues with Flickr. Seems to maintain the quality. As Paul has said I post with 800px on longest side.