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Feedback on Nikon D-70s Field Shots

gretzkyrh4 Jan 14, 2007 02:29 PM

I recently returned from my first field trip since purchasing my Nikon D-70s and was hoping to get some feedback on a few images taken. In all cases, a Tamron 70-300mm Di LD Macro Lens was used in conjunction with a Sunpak QF30 flash. All shots were taken in manual mode and no tripod was used. This is my first D-SLR (purchased December 2006) and all pictures are unedited unless otherwise noted. Any constructive comments that may help me improve as a photographer would be greatly appreciated.

The following photos were taken in Panama between December 29, 2006 and January 7, 2007:

Red Eyed Tree Frog:

Focal Length: 185mm
F-stop: f/22
Exposure time: 1/60s

Cane Toad:

Focal Length: 300mm
F-stop: f/22
Exposure itme: 1/60s

Centrolene ilex:

Focal Length: 300mm
F-stop: f/14
Exposure time: 1/60s

Green Iguana: (cropped)

Focal Length: 280mm
F-stop: f/5.6
Exposure time: 1/500s

Green Iguana 2:

Focal Length: 300mm
F-stop: f/5.6
Exposure time: 1/500s

Tungara Frog:

Focal Length: 300mm
F-stop: f/22
Exposure time: 1/500s

Once again any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Other than a few practice shots taken before the trip, this is really my first attempt with this camera, so any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Chris

Replies (6)

erik w Jan 14, 2007 04:04 PM

Chris:

in general your shots are good - a little post processing would make some of them very good. All are technically sound, sharpness and focus is something that it seems many kingsnake.com photographers are lax about. I think a little levels/curves/saturation adjustment and a touch of sharpening would improve ALL of them, I have not seen too many digital images that would not benefit from judicious use of those four adjustments.

Aside from that, a couple are underexposed, but can be corrected with levels and curves. The poor red-eyed treefrog has lost his fingertip, which is a shame, and it might be more interesting if it was placed in the frame diagonally. The ilex is a great capture, but the big green leaf is distracting..either a clone tool or the blur function can fix that. Good job controlling the background, the DoF is great in most of the images - I want to see a little more of that ilex though!!!

Hope this is what you wanted, I don't mean to rip them to shreds - they are certainly a head and shoulder above most of the photographs here on KS (lets open a sweaterbox rack and shoot straight down!)
-----
Erik Williams

fattailed geckos, western hognoses, and a bunch of postage stamps.
Contact me
www.chicagoherp.org
Chicago Herpetological Society

gretzkyrh4 Jan 15, 2007 10:09 AM

thanks for the feedback. The only post processing software I have at this point is the nikon software that came with the camera, but I have not had a chance to really start playing with it yet. I'll definitely start playing around with it to see if I can improve the images a little bit.

Chris

chrish Jan 15, 2007 11:32 AM

Chris,

Just in case you are looking for software for photo editing, Photoshop is the king of course, but there are a variety of interesting other options, including some that are free.

I have recently been playing with a free piece of software called GIMP. It does almost everything the $700 version of Photoshop does, but for $700 less! The layout takes some getting used to, but it is the second best program if you really want to get into and tweak your images. You can download windows (or linux) versions of GIMP from their website (just search for GIMP in google).
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

chrish Jan 15, 2007 11:27 AM

Chris,

Sounds like you had a good trip. Panama is an amazing place for seeing herps.

In general your shots are pretty good. I hope you don't mind if I am a little brutal in my remarks, but for me at least, that is how I improve.

I am going to look at your photos the way that I look at my own and give the sort of comments that I make on my own photos. Please don't take offense, I only want to give you some ideas that may help you improve. If you don't like my suggestions, feel free to ignore them. Photography is part technical and part artistic, so you have to capture what you want the way you want to.

Most of the problems aren't exposure issues but rather composition issues. Here are a few specific comments.

This first shot loses some visual appeal because of the strained look on the frog. Treefrogs with their big eyes and appealing faces are generally better photographed looking towards the subject, and in more relaxed pose. The empty space to the right of the frog could be cropped out and probably some of the tree trunk.

This cane toad is one of your best shots. I think I might have composed it without so much empty space on the right. You should make sure you don't always put your subject dead center in the frame.
I also think this shot might be improved by being a little lower. If you take pictures closer to the critter's level, you get more personality to the photo.

First of all, I am jealous of this find. I was really hoping to find some Centrolenid frogs when I was in Panama, but didn't find any.
As for the photo, I think the main issue is the position of the frog in the frame. I would like to see less of the black on the right.
Also, the key part of this image is the frog's eye. They are really amazing and you should make sure that is where the image is at its sharpest focus. It appears the image is focused on the front foot instead.
Also, with frogs with incredible eyes like this, it generally is better if they are looking more towards the camera. This other photo from your photobucket site really captures that better (although this image would improve from being cropped a little to get the frogs eyes out of the dead center).

This Iguana shot is good, but appears to be slightly oversaturated with color. It gives the photo "punch", but it doesn't look realistic.
Again you have cropped to put the subject (the eye) dead center in the frame. Try moving it to one of the "third" corners (search for the "rule of thirds" in google to learn about this compositional rule).

This uncropped iguana shot again appears to be oversaturated. Also this shot shows one of the dangers of shooting up into trees (a problem I often have with bird photos I shoot). The bright sky causes specular highlights which are distracting bright spots in the background of the image. They tend to take the observer's eye away from your subject. You could crop out some of them, but they are a constant problem when shooting up towards the sky.

This Tungara Frog shot is nice. I think the lighting is a bit harsh (too much dark background). You could lessen this by using some sort of diffuser on your flash to spread the light more evenly. For an on camera flash, you can make them out of any white plastic (like a milk jug) or even putting a loose tissue over the flash. Search online for homemade flash diffusers for some ideas.
Again, try to experiment with placing the subject (eye) off center a little.
One last comment about this photo is that Physalaemus are pretty terrestrial frogs, in my experience. Therefore placing it up on a leaf looks a bit odd (like photographing a toad in a tree).

With many of your shots, you don't have the eye as sharp as it could be. Whenever you photograph a critter, the eye is the key. If the eye is in focus, the shot looks good, if it isn't, it won't.
It looks like you could use a little unsharp masking of your photos. Nikon sharpens their jpgs a little more than Canon, Sony, or Pentax, but generally they need a little more sharpening during processing.

BTW - looking at your photobucket site, I can tell you saw some neat stuff and got some good photos.

Thanks for posting, and feel free to ignore any of my suggestions you don't like!

Chris

-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

gretzkyrh4 Jan 15, 2007 04:55 PM

Chris

Thanks for all the suggestions they are greatly appreciated. I definitely need a great deal of work with the camera still, but will continue to post for improvement. As for the tungara shot, I agree its cheesy to place him on a leaf, but after about 15 minutes of trying to get him to stay still on the ground I was just happy he stayed still on the low leaf.

Once spring comes around in arizona again I will begin to post some of those pictures as well.

Thanks again
Chris

harlanm Jan 20, 2007 09:52 PM

Love the ilex shot! beautiful. (that RETF needs a cricket :P )
-----
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