Owl doing Angel of the North!

[mikep]

Hi

Just for fun - this owl seems to be doing the Angel of the North!


Owl - Angel of the North impression by mikep_eos, on Flickr

All the best, Mike.

[Stan]

Re: Owl doing Angel of the North!

like the pose Mike

Just for fun

you know its a bit soft then

Stan

[mikep]

Re: Owl doing Angel of the North!

Hi Stan, thanks for replying.

TBH, I'm getting quite a few 'soft' shots, but also getting some that are spot on, so not sure what the difference is yet! It's probably user-error! I was trying out using M mode at ICBP, so that's most likely the reason, as I was trying different things!

I'm thinking that this lens is best suited to between F8-11, as I've been getting lovely shots in this range! When money and SWMBO allows, I'd love to upgrade to some better glass, but that's isn't a priority (apparently!).

All the best, Mike.

[George Bear]

Re: Owl doing Angel of the North!

Mike – the following is a general comment (not aimed at you) -- I try and do a post mortem on images to try and ascertain what went right or what went wrong. In my case I put soft images down to a number of factors ... the AF not having locked on to a moving target (need to tweak tracking speed), camera shake (I need to refine my holding technique, or keep out of cross winds, or attempt to use a support ... never sure when IS is a friend and when it isn’t, shutter speed not appropriate, know thy subject) ... etc. It’s especially a problem with grab shots when I for one just haven’t the time to prepare etc.

Still nice pose ... I can see the EXIF from this laptop ... what was the shutter speed?

[mikep]

Re: Owl doing Angel of the North!

Hi George

Thanks for the comments - all taken on board, no worries! I have been taking most shots hand-held, even up to 300mm, and with birds in flight I have IS OFF. Up till now, I've used Tv mode to have a higher shutter speed, so lots of my shots are at lower f numbers. Therein lies some of the problem I think!

EXIF - 1/1000, @85mm, f4. I have found that at f4 I am getting soft shots, but as detailed above, good shots between f8-11 (and higher). I am trying to use M mode more and use higher f number to allow greater DoF. This allows me to set a reasonable shutter speed for the subject. I've been playing around with setting (ISO etc.) to gauge what works or not, so I'm checking the bad shots as much as the good ones to see what works and what doesn't!

Many thanks. All the best, Mike.

[Stan]

Re: Owl doing Angel of the North!

Hi Mike
Your shutter speed is sufficient and f4 should have been alright ( a heck of a lot of my birds in flight are at f4 but that my be better on an L lens rather than yours). I think the problem may be that the bird is flying straight towards you and the focus struggles to keep up with the rapidly changing distance between you and the bird - I usually shoot a burst of about 3 shots, more chance of one being sharp

Stan

[mikep]

Re: Owl doing Angel of the North!

Hi Stan

You might have something there, as although I was in multiple shot mode, I was only shooting single shots at a time! I'll practice next time I'm out and about and see what happens!

I agree it's more likely to be a focus issue, and as I said earlier, I'm getting other shots that a good, so I think it's probably my technique that needs a bit more effort!

Many thanks. All the best, Mike.