Goldfinches

[StuartRae]

I had a couple of goldfinches in the garden yesterday, feeding on the seeds of the sow-thistle plants (see post in Themes).

I didn't have time to change lenses, so had to use the 70-200 which was on the camera. It was also a bit breezy, so not great photos, but they're such handsome little birds I thought I'd share them with you.
By the time I'd found the 300mm,1.4x, tripod, remote release, elephant gun, etc. they'd gone.

Regards,

Stuart

 

[Andrew Stannard]

Handsome birds indeed Stuart - and nice to have them in your own garden. Are they frequent enough for you to plan some more shots?

I seem to see more goldfinches around now than I used to, perhaps their numbers are on the up!

 

[StuartRae]

Hi Andy,

I think they live in the neighbour's garden and occasionally hop over the fence into my 'nature reserve'.
This is the first time for several years I've seen goldfinches in the garden, so perhaps they are making a comeback. I've not seen a pied wagtail for ages though.

Regards,

Stuart

 

[Asher Kelman]

Stuart,

Hummingsbirds only visit us when I have a 50mm lens attached!

I love your Goldfinch pictures! sharpening might help! I hope it comes back to visit when you have the 300mm lens ready!

Asher

 

[StuartRae]

Stuart,

Hummingsbirds only visit us when I have a 50mm lens attached!

I love your Goldfinch pictures! sharpening might help! I hope it comes back to visit when you have the 300mm lens ready!

Asher

Asher, thanks for the comments. As for sharpening, I've been criticised for over-doing it so often that I rarely bother these days, just a 1px deblur with Focus Magic. This image could do with a bit of USM though. Depends which pair of glasses I'm wearing

Regards,

Stuart

 

[Asher Kelman]

Asher, thanks for the comments. As for sharpening, I've been criticised for over-doing it so often that I rarely bother these days, just a 1px deblur with Focus Magic. This image could do with a bit of USM though. Depends which pair of glasses I'm wearing

Stuart,

In such cases, I sharpen one layer then mask out the edges by 50% or so and that seems to remove the artificiality that can creep in! Do you use Bart's blurring step before the sharpening?

Asher

 

[StuartRae]

Hi Asher,

Thanks for the advice. For USM I use the Focal Blade plugin which allows selective sharpening of edges and surfaces.

Regards,

Stuart