blp shabash 430x45
Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

Western Spinebill

Photographed by

Neville Horner on Sun 10th May, 2020 and uploaded on Thu 14th May, 2020 .

Resolution

1800x1200

Viewed

964

40481

Comment

Looking for further advice to improve my techniques, processed in Canon DPP4 with Auto white balance, Neutral picture style and Auto lighting optimiser

Equipment

Canon 5D Mark IV with Canon 100 to 400 f4.5-5.6 L

Location

in our front yard in Bassendean, Western Australia

Keywords

juvenile

This image is not available for download.

Glenn Pure	2020-05-17 18:35:49	Thanks for posting this for critique Neville. The thing that first struck me about the shot is that the bird doesn't pop out very well in the photo. The reasons are that it is in shadow so looks relatively dark and is surrounded by a lot of detailed foliage including some bright, colourful flowers. These are drawing my attention. The head of the bird also looks slightly out of focus. It may be that you aren't using single point focus (I'd recommend switching to this so you can be more confident where the camera will lock focus. You are lucky to have these in your garden. My advice would be to try for a shot with the bird a bit more isolated from its surrounds. As you have them around, I'd recommend scouting for a place in your garden where the setting is 'cleaner', paying attention to the background as well. By observing the bird and the places it likes visiting, it's often possible to find a setting that's going to show off this little one more effectively. Your processing settings look suitable but I personally don't use Auto lighting optimiser: it's best to take control rather than let your software make decisions for you. Hope that helps
Neville Horner	2020-05-19 19:15:25	Many thanks for your critique. It certainly helped. I was amazed to see that you were actually the one that reviewed my photo. I had already looked at the Western Spinebill photos in the gallery and was very impressed with your images. You had shot with the same lens I was using so I was very encouraged. Your shots were crystal sharp. This is my objective. I handheld and use 1/640 and f6.3 with auto iso (in this case 1600) so our settings are not dissimilar. We are also planning on visiting the Dryandra next month now that we are allowed out. You are right when you say the bird does not pop out. It seemed OK on my screen when I am right in front of the centre but when you look at the smaller image on the forum it does not look good. The bird needs to be brighter. A shot with the bird in the sunlight would have been much better. Also agree with your focus comment. I was disappointed as I do use Single Point AF (but not Single Point Spot AF) and in this case my practice paid off and the Single Point was centred on the bird’s eye. The birds head took up all but the top 25% of the focus spot. Looking at the rest of the bird it seems the actual focal point is further back. So I have gone back and re-calibrated by lens micro adjustment. At the telephoto end (where I take most of my shots) this is now -8 now (was -2). I used the same technique (Spyder lenscal, cool morning, tripod mount, cable release, 1/1200, f6.1, manually taking the lens out of focus between shots) so not sure why the difference). It seems better now but I am waiting for some similar bird photos to check. Up until now the lack of clear focus has been very frustrating. Hopefully I will now have nailed it. I accept your comments with regards to a bird isolated shot but this is not my preferred style. I like to see a bird in amongst its normal surroundings. Western Spinebills are a little shy and rarely stand out in the open. Point taken about Auto lighting optimiser. And yes we are lucky. We have a family of Western Spinebills who have taken over a dense Grevillea shrub that I planted some years back so I will get more opportunities.
Glenn Pure	2020-05-20 10:46:34	Happy to help Neville. I also like birds in natural settings but it's always a trade-off between drawing attention to the bird without losing it in its surrounds. Consequently, these shots are harder to pull off successfully but if you look through our gallery of images (of any species) you'll find some fine examples of where this has been done successfully. Yes, having the bird in sunlight would have helped in this situation but don't restrict yourself. In fact, I much prefer to photograph on days when it's cloudy as the light is much softer and forgiving. Harsh shadows and strong highlights go away in this type of light. There's no reason you can't get super sharp shots with the 100-400 lens, particularly on the 5D Mk4. Your settings look fine. It's just a matter of scouting a location that the birds frequent that will provide a suitable setting and background. Then apply the Georgina Steytler approach of 'spray and pray'. Take lots of shots as some are bound to work out.

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	167/283 in Critique Gallery
	5/14 by Neville Horner
	30/45 of Western Spinebill
	1969/3583 of Honeyeaters and Chats
	18748/34378 Overall
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