DescentBB

The rest of the set can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14884524@N ... 112440622/

My wife and I were out working on the hedges, which had gotten rather out of hand. I was sawing off a stubborn branch while she was trimming back a hedge that was threating to overshadow her Iris. Suddenly my wife shouts \"Oh no!\". I said, \"wasps?\" She answered \"It's a nest!\". Well, we had dealt with wasps in the hedges before. So I put down the saw and said, \"Don't worry, I'll deal with the wasps. And my wife, still horrified said, \"No, its a BIRD nest!\"

Turns out a pair of doves had made their nest in our hedge. We hadn't noticed any unusual bird activity, and the nest was hidden deep inside the bush, so we had no idea it was there. My wife was terrified that she had trimmed the poor babies' tails off. But, no fear. It was a close shave, she had trimmed right up to the edge of the nest, but the babies were fine. They just sat there as if having their home exposed by an electric trimmer happened to them every day.

I figured I was a perfect opportunity to take some pictures. The nest was now only an inch or so inside the hedge and if the babies had handled the giant trimmers of doom, they certainly weren't going to be disturbed by a few snapshots from my new fz28.

If you look through the entire set, you'll see that mama came back to the babies shortly and they are still growing in our front yard quite contented.

The first photo was over saturated with green, so I used Gimp to tone down the green a bit. Hopefully I didn't twist it too far towards magenta. Also, I had a nasty time trying to figure out how to properly expose a picture where the subject is in shadow with dapples of bright sunshine. I ended up holding a bucket lid between the babies and the sun so they were more completely in shadow to minimize the effect.

I'm still new at the photography game, so any advice on how to improve my picture taking/processing would be much appreciated.

......... what where u doing in my back yard LOL

we have 2 just like that sitting in are tree.

Grate Pix though

Kilarin wrote:The first photo was over saturated with green, so I used Gimp to tone down the green a bit. Hopefully I didn't twist it too far towards magenta. Also, I had a nasty time trying to figure out how to properly expose a picture where the subject is in shadow with dapples of bright sunshine. I ended up holding a bucket lid between the babies and the sun so they were more completely in shadow to minimize the effect.

I'm still new at the photography game, so any advice on how to improve my picture taking/processing would be much appreciated.

Looking good.

In general, shoot in RAW format and post-process the images w/ the software that came w/ the camera -- allows for better control over white balance, tone/gamma curves, and esp. noise reduction * sharpening (plus a lot more). As for proper exposure, most cameras will try to average the picture to 18% grey. For a heavily backlit scene the use of fill flash would be best. In this case you could have set a positive exposure compensation (around +1Ev probably) and check how that comes out. Although the feathers of the chicks look quite intriguing w/ the gimp tweak

I'd avoid using flash on baby birds, it's just a respect thing for me. Adding +1 or +2 exposure would help. I use Adobe Lightroom and PS3 for editing my RAW files. I also shoot in AV mode.

Thank you for the kind words folks!

Grendel wrote:In general, shoot in RAW format and post-process the images w/ the software that came w/ the camera

Ah, I've been avoiding RAW. Intimidated by it. BUT, if I'm going to learn, I've got to TRY. I'll try taking some RAW shots and see what I can do with them. Thanks for the advice!

Grendel wrote: In this case you could have set a positive exposure compensation (around +1Ev probably) and check how that comes out.

I was afraid of bumping up the exposure because the dapples of sunlight were already coming out saturated. I'm finding partial shadows a real challenge.

CDN_Merlin wrote:I'd avoid using flash on baby birds, it's just a respect thing for me

I agree. That's why I only tried two shots with flash, in bright daylight, and not right up next to the birds, (the fz28 has a really nice zoom). BUT, even that made me nervous about upsetting them. So I don't think I'll be using flash around them again.

CDN_Merlin wrote: I also shoot in AV mode.

I've got the equivalent on my fz28. I've been using the very nice for dummies AI (Auto Intelligent) mode. It figures out everything for you. But I'm already starting to find its limitation. So I'm moving over to P mode (programmable) a good part of the time now, where I can control the aperture and shutter speed manually if I wish. I've used aperture priority several times when I was trying to modify the depth of field. I'll try it some more. Thanks!

The nice thing about digital photography is you can just switch over to more complicated things and TRY them all you want. You get immediate feedback from the results, and you don't have developing fees on all the mistakes.

Quack quack quack! Very cute.

Octopus wrote:Quack quack quack! Very cute.

When did doves start qucking

LOL. Doves coo, not quack.

Your photos are great in my experience, even though my experience is a little limited. I use a Nikon F3 SLR film camera myself.

Shooting with sun behind is always difficult; fill flash would be your best option, or just shoot the picture and burn the sun so it's less intense. If you had an SLR camera, I'd say get a lens hood, but a Panasonic Lumix (if that's the make it is) doesn't have a way for a lens hood to fit.

If you really want to get into photography, buy an SLR camera. The Nikon D60 is an excellent choice for beginners, and is less than $600. The Nikon D40 is only a little older, and just as good. If you want to dive right in, get a Nikon D80.

Octopus wrote:Quack quack quack! Very cute.

Thanks, I think?

When did doves start qucking

I was wondering that myself.

Zantor wrote:Your photos are great in my experience

Thank you, you are very kind!

Zantor wrote:I use a Nikon F3 SLR film camera myself.

Shiny! I could never learn on film because it was expensive and SLOW. I really need immediate feedback. By the time I got back pictures, I couldn't remember what I had done to mess them up. With digital, you can usually tell immediately if the exposure or depth of field or framing is wrong, and you can examine the results up close the same day you took the pics. The more I learn about photography the more I admire people who learned to do it the old fashioned way.

Zantor wrote:but a Panasonic Lumix (if that's the make it is) doesn't have a way for a lens hood to fit.

It's a Panasonic Lumix Fz28, but the FZ28 is fitted to take filters and attachments, it came with a lens hood. I just haven't been using it. I thought the primary purpose of a lens hood was to prevent flares, which I haven't been experiencing. I guess I need to put that thing on and do some experimenting.

Zantor wrote:If you really want to get into photography, buy an SLR camera.

I needed cheaper! The FZ28 is running under $270 right now, which is just incredible for the amount of camera you get. Someday I may need to upgrade to a real DSLR, but I've got a LOT to learn on a bridge camera before I upgrade!

Thanks for the advice!