LANDING PATTERN

[davidb]

I know this image could be sharper but I like the pattern created by these gulls as they prepare to touchdown.

Camera: Canon 1DX
Lenses: Canon 100-400mm, f4.5-5.6, mk I + 1.4x extender
Focal length: 560mm
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/640 @ f8.0

Even with a fl of 560 I still had to dig this out of the total photograph.

[Rose]

Hi David - I like the pattern too. You've cropped it into a square but I wonder if a landscape format wouldn't be better, to give the front gull more room to fly into ? The horizon is also not straight, which bothers me slightly.
Where was this taken ? You'll have plenty of opportunities for more of this when we go to Sevenoaks

[davidb]

Thanks Rose.

I hadn't noticed the tilt as I was more concerned with the crop which as you say should have given the bottom gull more space. Although having said that they are coming into land so how much space do they need?

The shot was taken yesterday at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Centre in Barnes. As usual the captive birds seemed to be in short supply. It's a little early for the insects and amphibians to show themselves which just left the birds. The photograph was taken from the Headley Hide on the West Route. It seemed like hundreds of birds including Grey Heron, Cormorant and various gull species had gathered on an island east of the hide and were constantly switching position. The island was a little beyond the range of my lens even with the extender on and I had to really dig out any hopeful shots.

I've uploaded to CCC Flickr group a panoramic of the island (check under RBolitho - don't ask!). I haven't cropped it so you can see the joins. It seems I also missed a bit off to the far right!

OK. I've revisited the shot, added a little more space to the right, straightened the horizon and put the column of birds and bottom one on the thirds. It's still not sharp though!

[Rose]

I like the second version - the composition is much more balanced and very pleasing

[Mike Farley]

I like the second version - the composition is much more balanced and very pleasing

+1

David, similarly to Rose and yourself, I like the pattern the birds are making. Unlike Rose, I am not convinced that the original image was out of kilter and I suspect that the sloping horizon is more due to the angle to the shoreline at which you were shooting rather the angle at which you were holding the camera. Take a look at the fence in the background where the slats appear to be more or less vertical in the first shot, but not in the second.

A couple of things do trouble me about the shot. Firstly, the birds are not especially sharp, doubtless due to the amount of cropping required to get any kind of shot at all, especially on full frame. It would be interesting to see the whole image to see what you were working with. Then there is the background, which is quite intrusive unfortunately. At least the seagulls are not positioned over any of the divisions between the different parts and are contained within an area of similar tone. Possibly applying a bit of gaussian blur might help the birds stand out a bit more.

[davidb]

OK, Mike, here's the original. No processing other than reducing the size in order to upload.

You'll note that it does need straightening so I think the second image was correct in that respect. As for the right hand crop, I suppose I do prefer the first version otherwise I wouldn't have posted it in the first place.

And yes, it is unsharp. If I could take it again and get the focus right I would but it's highly unlikely I'll get the opportunity. A sharp image might have made it into a competition but not this one unfortunately.

But I still like the extracted shot.

[davidb]

I do have some luck digging out images.

Take this example of a Redshank (also taken at Barnes yesterday):
Canon 1DX with 100-400mm + 1.4x extension
ISO: 250
Exposure: 1/640, f8.0
Focal length: 560mm

[Mike Farley]

I do have some luck digging out images.

I reckon that the Landing Pattern image comprises less than 20% of the original frame. You have converted your 18 MP 1DX into a 3 MP camera! That's not too bad for the web, but you would stuggle to produce anything much bigger than 7x5 for a print.

You'll note that it does need straightening so I think the second image was correct in that respect. As for the right hand crop, I suppose I do prefer the first version otherwise I wouldn't have posted it in the first place.

And yes, it is unsharp. If I could take it again and get the focus right I would but it's highly unlikely I'll get the opportunity. A sharp image might have made it into a competition but not this one unfortunately.

I can now see that the full frame shot is not straight, but I think that the correction is a tad overdone in the second version. You would have got away with it without that fence.

As you say, shame that the AF did lock on correctly. Even a 1DX has its limits, I suppose, especially when the subject is that small in the frame.

But I still like the extracted shot.

That's the most important thing.

[davidb]

As you say, shame that the AF did lock on correctly. Even a 1DX has its limits, I suppose, especially when the subject is that small in the frame.

I do use spot focus. But in the case of the long lens it might have been useful to use one of the other options particularly at such extreme lengths. A greater cover of the scene might have given better results - I think I might try that at Sevenoaks!

You have converted your 18 MP 1DX into a 3 MP camera!

I'd have been better off with my iPhone5's camera