A Grassbird Too Close

[Romy Ocon]

It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes one can have too much focal length. ;D

Here's a Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris) that landed very near my vehicle yesterday, while I'm shooting some other birds. I had to cut off the tail in the framing during capture, then cropped it to a head shot in PS.

In case you notice that some of the feathers within the DOF are blurred while the rest are sharp, I was wondering about it too. I even suspected my 40D's sensor, but it turned out ok. Could just be an OOF grass blade in the line of fire, or feather movement due to the strong wind (I suspect the latter).

40D + 500 f4 L IS + Canon 1.4x TC, 700 mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure, Ix! bean bag:




Romy

[Raul Marcelo]

who cares about the blurred feathers? this is such a gorgeous shot!!

[Neon Rosell II]

Wooohaaa! You could even see the difference on the feathers that's covering the ears, if not for it you would be able to see the eardrums. he he he Wonderful shot as always Master Romy.

Cheers,

Neon

[tina mallari]

Mesmerizing photo IDOL Romy !!!! Love the details on this one - every single one

[Bobby Kintanar]

I really can't see anything to be concerned about with this photo sir. As far as I can tell, it's perfect. :-)

[Bob Kaufman]

What OOF feathers? This is perfect!

[Ding Carpio]

May I make a suggestion on how to solve your predicament of too-much-focal length: Let's swap my 400mm to your 500mm! And, because you're a very dear and idolized friend, I'll do you the favor of throwing in a Kenko 1.4X.

But really, sharp-as-a-knife shot. I can see your point re strong wind causing selective blurring. Cropping to a headshot is a good idea.

[Nilo Arribas Jr.]

Ding,

I can give Romy a better deal. In situations like this, the Bigma is I think more flexible in terms of reach ;D ;D ;D

Amazing details Romy!!

balarila said:

May I make a suggestion on how to solve your predicament of too-much-focal length: Let's swap my 400mm to your 500mm! And, because you're a very dear and idolized friend, I'll do you the favor of throwing in a Kenko 1.4X.

But really, sharp-as-a-knife shot. I can see your point re strong wind causing selective blurring. Cropping to a headshot is a good idea.

[Farmer Nestor]

R. Ocon delighting us always.
(borrowed phrase from Canon's ad. "Canon delighting you always" ;D)

[reneripr]