Friday 10 February 2012

Nuthatch photograph: Comparison to one by Steve Young

I shall compare my chosen image with one produced by Steve Young.

Below is Steve's image



f/5.6; ISO 200; 1/100 second; Taken using Nikon D2X; Sigma 300 - 800 mm lens (at 750 mm)


The image below is mine.



f/5.5; ISO 400; 1/80 second; focal length 142mm

So how do they compare?
Composition: Thee cropping of my image mirrors Steve's. His image is superior in that the bird is on a natural tree trunk scenario compared to my man made feeder. My image has the advantage of the bird having a peanut in its beak.
Focusing: without comapring both images in the same media (computer or large print) it is dissficult to be sure, but I think Steve's focusibng on the eye is more accurate than mine.
Background: Steve's is a uniform green whilst mine shows other trees in the background. i believe the fact that these branches are parallel to the bird enhance the image; possibly the brightness at the centre bottom detracts. I see no problem with my photo in this area.
Lighting: Steve's photo is obviously taken in bright sunlight which enhance the colours of the bird. Mine was taken in duller light, and additionally the bird is in a duller winter plummage. For me this is no problem. I want to take photos representing the truth - this was early winter, the bird was immature with imperfect colouring - hey it was gorgeous!!
Cropping: I obviously don't know how much steve's image was cropped or enhanced, but mine was quite severly cropped. This will limit its ability to be printed in a large format, and ideally the focus of the shot would have been narrower to make the bird larger.

Conclusion: Steve's image is probably technically superior; however my image compares favourably and will remain a favourite of mine.




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