The XMEN Clan Forums

It was warm! It actually went above freezing today and the sun came out! I'll put a few here that didn't make the cut for TPF.

"ALTA PETIT"


Also... this is why you don't try macro shots on a penguin:

(This is just before he bit the lens.)

"Lion's Breath"

I was trying to capture his breath when the roared... but this was the best I got.

"You can't see me!"


"I'm invisible!"


"My tail, don't touch!"



These didn't make it to TPF mostly because I find "sleepy time" photos to be a little boring.

"Cat Nap Times Three"


"I'm so lonely!"


"I wish this guy with the camera would stop being so noisy."


This one was a little soft... and I think I over saturated it:


And the mexican wolves:

Some very nice captures, BR. Your technique has come a very long way in a short time.

The macro shot of the penguin can work, but you need a bit more DOF and you need to set your focal point on the eye.

Some of these seem a tad soft. For example, the image that says, "I'm so lonely" shows a 1.6 second shutter at ISO 100. Even if you're on a tripod that's a tad long on your shutter for an animal. The slightest movement causes you to lose sharpness. I'd go for bumping the ISO and trying to get a shutter at least around 1/320 or so.

Thanks for the comment Porsche.

The penguin macro was a bit of an accident. He was about 10' away and just kept coming closer until he ran into my knee and just stopped. With the always 20/20 hindsight, I should have manually adjusted the focus to his eye. The only problem was that he kept trying to bite the camera, so I had to keep an eye on him while I took the picture.

As far as shutter speed, my goal was to get something I could print BIG (20"x30"), so I really wanted to keep the noise down. I really have to get NoiseNinja or something. Also, I can't remember if I applied any sharpening to these.

Even if you bump the ISO to, say, 400, you shouldn't have much noise on your camera --- PROVIDED that it is exposed properly. Dim or dark areas will show the noise a lot worse than brighter areas.

Programs such as Elements or the equivalent have some noise-reducing capability too. While not as good as Noise Ninja, it'll help considerably.