Critique Please

March 24th, 2015


Canon EOS 1100D, Shutter Priority with AI Servo Focus Mode, EF24-105mm f4L, Image Stabiliser On, 1/160 @ f11 Auto ISO @ 100, Evaluative Metering

I took this photo this afternoon & I would like to hear what people think. I have the Pelican in Focus & was panning as it flew by.

The trees are blurry because of that, but I feel that they should probably have been either more blurred or less blurred. To me the amount of blur that I have in the trees is a bit distracting rather than enhancing.

I wondered if anyone had any ideas on what I should have done or what settings I should have used in order to keep the Pelican in focus but to get the trees blurrier (if that is a word!).

Thanks for your thoughts.

Jenny
March 24th, 2015
I like this image a lot. I can see where you are coming from, although I don't see a problem. My solution would be to open up the aperture, say to f5, which would throw the trees a little more out of focus (greater DoF), it would also give you a faster shutter speed to freeze the motion of the pelican. Difficult to say with any certainty as it is difficult to judge how close to the trees the pelican is.
March 24th, 2015
I don't see a problem with the blur either. Choosing your moment during panning and getting the composition perfect is a bigger challenge.
March 24th, 2015
Hi Jenny, I've seen a few 'bird in flight' shots on here, and (imho) I reckon they look better on a clear background/sky (ie no trees) or with very minimal surroundings/cloud (e.g. here http://365project.org/melweir/365/2015-03-21 with a credit to @melweir). The trees seem to draw the eye away from what is otherwise a lovely crisp shot of the bird. Also, I think it could benefit from a crop so you really feature the bird. Just my opinion :)
March 24th, 2015
I agree with @alextheseal that the photo could use a crop, particularly eliminating the upper right and lower left. Then, the main tree doesn't become as much of an issue.
March 24th, 2015
This is one of those shots that are hit or miss. The main thing is that the pelican is in perfect focus! The blur can be easily remedied using a photo editor by cropping, as suggested by others, or even the complete removal of the distracting trees.

March 25th, 2015
I don't mind the trees either. But, if you don't like them, you can always edit them out.
March 25th, 2015
I know panning is quite difficult. For my eye, the bird is just a bit too close to the tree (in the image). They seem to blend in together. If there was more distance to the tree, the bird would stand out more.
March 25th, 2015
Lots of good advice here Jenny. As far as addressing your specific question about making the trees either more or less blurry - it comes down to shutter speed.

For more blurry: Because you are panning, there is camera movement, and hopefully the panning matches the pelican's movement as closely as possible so you could slow your shutter down some and still have your pelican sharp and your trees more blurry due to the motion of the camera. Off the top of my head I think I've seen 1/60s recommended for this type of shot but to be honest I think you will have to play around to see exactly how slow you can go as I'm sure it depends on many things like how far away you are from the subject, how far zoomed in you are, how fast the bird is moving, how steady your hand is etc. But that might be a good starting point?

For less blurry, you need to go the other way i.e. speed up your shutter, so that it eliminates all movement from the panning and freezes everything in time. Again, depending on how fast you are moving the camera and everything else, maybe 1/400s might be a good place to start?

Of course changing your shutter speed will mean needing to change your other settings to compensate. Let me know if you need further advice on that! :)
March 25th, 2015
@aliha @transatlantic99@homeschoolmom @skipt07 @danette @alextheseal @mastermek @sgtpepper Thanks for your feedback everyone. I went back today after work to try again with your tips - the pelicans had already landed. I think they got there early due to a storm hanging around in the area. I will go back in the next couple of days and try again. Jenny
March 25th, 2015
@jennymallett Good luck. Looking forward to seeing the shots :)
March 25th, 2015
Slight slip of the tongue there, @sgtpepper. Hope you don't mind a clarification to avoid confusion - but the wider the aperture, the shallower the Depth of Field (i.e lesser not greater). I know I am teaching my granny to suck eggs, sorry.
March 30th, 2015
Hi. I would crop so that the pellie is in the lower left of shot.
This would cut out the overhanging branch, top right, that draws the eye away rather than acting as a natural frame. My crop would remove the wires from bottom left too---another distraction.
If you are a post-production fan you could enhance feeling of speed with some careful paintwork. I personally prefer something other than clear blue sky in long distance flying shots.
Hope this helps. I am just a photo hack, so...
May 8th, 2015
@sgtpepper @transatlantic99 @mastermek @alextheseal @danette @skipt07 @homeschoolmom @aliha @runestone @tiedmark
I went to the Wetlands today & finally the Pelicans and the weather co-operated. I got a few dud shots but I also managed to get a few good ones. I just need to quicken my reaction time. Some good shots got away because I was too slow to see the birds & too slow to get the camera up to my face. I will keep practicing.

I managed to get the shot without any trees in, all that I had to do was crop some of the sky to enlarge the bird a bit.

Thanks everyone who gave comments & feedback on my first photo, I hope you like this second attempt.



May 8th, 2015
@jennymallett - Well done Jenny! That quick reaction time only comes with practice.
May 8th, 2015
Well done!
May 8th, 2015
@jennymallett Great shot, Jenny.
May 10th, 2015
Great shots - it's so tricky getting them in focus and looking at you. Lovely and clear.
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