Northern Flicker

Printable View

  • 02-13-2009, 02:05 PM
    A.M.D.A.
    Northern Flicker
    Two from a walk this morning. This time I remembered to stop down the f-number as much as possible, still working on my MF-accuracy, Loupey inspires me greatly in this regard. :)
    _____________
    Attachment 64338
    Camera: PENTAX *ist D, handheld
    Lens: PENTAX SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only).
    1/500 second @ F8.0
    ISO 800
    450mm focal length (35mm equivalent)
    Center-weighted metering

    _____________
    Attachment 64339
    Camera: PENTAX *ist D, handheld
    Lens: PENTAX SMC PENTAX-A* 300mm F4 lens (MF-only).
    1/500 second @ F8.0
    ISO 800
    450mm focal length (35mm equivalent)
    Center-weighted metering

    Thanks for looking, any comments are appreciated.
  • 02-13-2009, 02:26 PM
    Ron Kruger
    Re: Northern Flicker
    Well, I'm an old MFer, or at least I've been called that before.
    A method of manual focus I developed years ago still serves me well: I go past sharp focus both ways, watching the degree of focus as I go through, and then come back to settle on what looks best. When I'm dead on, I can see it sort of pop.
    Also, don't focus on the whole bird, or whatever. Concentrate on the eye.
  • 02-13-2009, 04:24 PM
    Pink Dragonfly
    Re: Northern Flicker
    Sharpness looks okay at this magnification, perhaps more so in the top one. What a great piece of wood :) Works very well with the bird. I much prefer the first one, something to do with the posture of the bird? And the white wood looks better there too. Glad to see you are enjoying some blue skies and sunshine :) :)

    Mette
  • 02-14-2009, 06:52 AM
    Loupey
    Re: Northern Flicker
    I love the diagonal "4 peaks" in these shots (reminds me of those Verizon? TV commercials).

    I agree with Ron on the overshoot/undershoot method. Think of it as a sine wave - every time it crosses the x-axis, the subject is in focus and those points are where you shoot. It works the same way with in-flight, moving objects as well.
  • 02-14-2009, 12:50 PM
    A.M.D.A.
    Re: Northern Flicker
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ron Kruger
    Well, I'm an old MFer, or at least I've been called that before.
    A method of manual focus I developed years ago still serves me well: I go past sharp focus both ways, watching the degree of focus as I go through, and then come back to settle on what looks best. When I'm dead on, I can see it sort of pop.
    Also, don't focus on the whole bird, or whatever. Concentrate on the eye.
    Thanks for the advice Ron, I should've mentioned you too, you also produce some very nice images. :thumbsup:

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pink Dragonfly
    Sharpness looks okay at this magnification, perhaps more so in the top one. What a great piece of wood :) Works very well with the bird. I much prefer the first one, something to do with the posture of the bird? And the white wood looks better there too. Glad to see you are enjoying some blue skies and sunshine :) :)

    Mette
    Thanks for the comments, Mette. :) Blue sky didn't last long, only a couple hours. But hopefully it'll come back for this weekend.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Loupey
    I love the diagonal "4 peaks" in these shots (reminds me of those Verizon? TV commercials).

    I agree with Ron on the overshoot/undershoot method. Think of it as a sine wave - every time it crosses the x-axis, the subject is in focus and those points are where you shoot. It works the same way with in-flight, moving objects as well.
    Thanks Loupey. I will keep trying!