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**Isac** · 14-12-2015, 08:19 PM

Both good shots Greg. #2 is good detail as well. ROT is spot on.

**seaslug** · 15-12-2015, 07:15 AM

Originally posted by Isac View Post

Both good shots Greg. #2 is good detail as well. ROT is spot on.

Thanks for the comment Isac. Can't remember what ROT stands for but I take it that it's good whatever!

In fact I'll take whatever I can get as I was starting to wonder what you had to do to get a looker and a comment. I thought these were fairly unique shots of a bird I've not seen anyone else here capture. By last night I had 8 views and two of those were me! Later posts by others had double that.

It's pretty disheartening to make an effort to do something a little more challenging than the stationary bird in the backyard and get little or no support from the group.

It's this, more than anything else that drives people away and to other Forums or media.

**P Plates** · 15-12-2015, 07:57 AM

Give me 24 hours Greg

. I usually only get on the forum in the morning. I really like #1 of these with the rim lighting.

**loose cannon** · 15-12-2015, 08:39 AM

Rot = rule of thirds

Not sure what you mean by lack of support? If you are looking for just a high number of 'nice pic' comments then this forum has the potential to disappoint. Now, not everyone is comfortable giving CC and that's fine but we do encourage members to have a go if and when they feel comfortable. A good photography forum can be so much more than just a place where folks gather to share pics.

But what flows from that is that members must be open and willing to receive CC and understanding of the fact that none of us are experts and are just trying to assist and learn.

Some photography forums have become IMHO more like a facebook page and we are trying hard here to stop that happening. We want this to be a place of learning in a non threatening and friendly manner as well as a place where we just share our images.

I'll offer some CC for these two images...

In both images the bird is too small in frame and lacking detail.

The first is underexposed and as a consequence has lots of noise in the sky. In the second the bird is lost in a messy background.

My advice would be to fire a couple of test frames to set exposure prior to focusing on a bird. I generally shoot a tree top against the sky to give me a guide. An underexposed image is difficult to deal with in PP, especially with birds so getting the exposure spot on is crucial.

With a bird on the ground try and ensure you have a pleasing background and be prepared to wait till the bird moves to achieve that. If the background isn't good then simply don't fire the shutter. That's my approach.

**seaslug** · 15-12-2015, 03:23 PM

Originally posted by loose cannon View Post

Rot = rule of thirds

Not sure what you mean by lack of support? If you are looking for just a high number of 'nice pic' comments then this forum has the potential to disappoint. Now, not everyone is comfortable giving CC and that's fine but we do encourage members to have a go if and when they feel comfortable. A good photography forum can be so much more than just a place where folks gather to share pics.

But what flows from that is that members must be open and willing to receive CC and understanding of the fact that none of us are experts and are just trying to assist and learn.

Some photography forums have become IMHO more like a facebook page and we are trying hard here to stop that happening. We want this to be a place of learning in a non threatening and friendly manner as well as a place where we just share our images.

I'll offer some CC for these two images...

In both images the bird is too small in frame and lacking detail.

The first is underexposed and as a consequence has lots of noise in the sky. In the second the bird is lost in a messy background.

My advice would be to fire a couple of test frames to set exposure prior to focusing on a bird. I generally shoot a tree top against the sky to give me a guide. An underexposed image is difficult to deal with in PP, especially with birds so getting the exposure spot on is crucial.

With a bird on the ground try and ensure you have a pleasing background and be prepared to wait till the bird moves to achieve that. If the background isn't good then simply don't fire the shutter. That's my approach.

Thanks for the serve Mick, I probably deserve it. I am paranoid after all!

However a couple of points in there. My photographs on this or any other Forum including Facebook are not there to just get 'likes'. Nor are they there just to get CC (unless of course I post in 'Pick it to pieces'). I'm very much a show and tell photographer who loves to capture and share moments in time (which will never occur again), some of which are pretty special moments. (You Mick will know about that probably better than most others).

I don't think it unreasonable to get a bit cheesed off when you put up an unusual post that you are really happy with and it essentially gets overlooked in favour of many others which have been posted at a later time. (I'm talking about views here not so much comments). But also it's not unreasonable to acknowledge the post in some way after you've looked at it. Maybe the subject matter can be commented on without doing a critique on the technicalities. Got to remember that you weren't there and maybe it's something you haven't seen before !

In defence of the shots I put up: Skylarks are a beautiful little bird which live in open grassed fields and when the grass is dry they are essentially invisible when on the ground due to their colouring. I've been trying for years to get a decent shot of one. I was pretty excited on this outing when one alighted on a ploughed section of paddock within range to give a bit of contrast to the bird. So for me the background was a real plus! In a perfect world you would do all those things you suggested.. but you wouldn't get much to take home.

You're quite right the bird in flight is a bit underexposed, but you're a better man than me if you can do a test exposure on a dot in the sky. Even checking that exposure outside on a sunny day would be pretty much impossible for me. A tree is just not going to do it in this environment.. even if there was a tree. (Which there isn't in a crop field).

The behaviour of a skylark is this: From somewhere in the field grass the bird will rise rapidly singing a song to it's mate. You hear it rather than see it. It's about halfway between the size of a sparrow and a starling and rises straight up into the sky for about 500 metres. At which point it hovers for a very short time still singing its continuous song. This is the best chance to get a shot of it in flight but there's not much to go on! The bird then stops singing and drops like a stone and if your lucky you'll see where it lands.. but as I said, if it's in the grass it's invisible. I was lucky enough to have one land in the dirt and boy was I happy!

I don't really care that's it's a bit underexposed or has a messy background, it's the best shot I have of a Skylark.. until I get another chance!

**Mark L** · 15-12-2015, 08:24 PM

Thanks for the show and tell photos and sharing moments in time.
Do you think that listening and practicing a bit of advice offered as CC might make your moments in time look even better??

**Phoenix** · 15-12-2015, 08:48 PM

I usually get on once or twice a week..busy busy busy.
I have not seen a skylark before, I don't think, I am always excited when I get a picture of a bird I've not taken before and can appreciate your satisfaction.
I don't mind the muddy background, it doesn't distract from the subject and adds context to your story.

**seaslug** · 15-12-2015, 08:59 PM

Sure Mark, you obviously don't follow any of my threads where I've reposted the picture with the suggestions in place. Thanks for your suggestion I do that and would be happy to try anything you might suggest in the future.

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