@Diane_Miller (Diane Miller) posted a new topic, subject "The last Cedar Waxwing of the year + Repost". It read:

   The last Cedar Waxwing of the year2500×2190 1.09 MB
    
    I've gotten behind with holidays and events – time to move on. I've visited this tree several times as the birds slowly picked the berries. This is from the last outing, December 15. They like to “pose” with the berries before swallowing them, and sometimes they toss them in the air and catch them again. It's a matter of luck in a burst to get a clean shot of it, but occasionally I do.
    
    ###  Specific Feedback Requested
    
    All comments welcome!
    
    ###  Technical Details
    
    Is this a composite: No  
    Canon R5, 600mm f/4 + 2X, 1200mm, f/8, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec, red dot sight to find the bird. Minor LR adjustments and some BG cloning in PS to remove some small distractions.
    
    ######

So @Keith_Flood (Keith Flood) replied

    Spectacular action shot Diane! The berry in mid air or nearly so, is just amazing. The sharpness at 1200mm is excellent. Great composition and colors round out this fine image! On a gear note, how do you like the red dot sight? Small fast action birds are really tough for me to get a good frame on.

Then @Dennis_Plank (Dennis Plank) said

    The last and probably your best in this series, Diane. Excellent action, great foreground/background and your usual superb image quality.

Then @Diane_Miller (Diane Miller) said

    Thanks guys! @Keith_Flood, the red dot is indispensable (for me) to achieve fairly quick aim with such a narrow field of view and shallow DOF, where the subject may also be almost invisibly OOF. But it only works (for me) with the stability of a tripod with a gimbal head, due to the time lag getting my eye from the dot sight to the viewfinder. Once the subject is centered with the dot, the view needs to be steady till I get on it with the viewfinder and focus and do the final composition. And with these birds, that needs to be fast. I don't lock the head, though – no time for that. I have to rely on the lens being very well balanced and steadied with good leverage. My left hand is well forward on the lens or on an extra long tripod foot adapter.
    
    I need to talk to RRS about a design I have to provide better leverage for fine control in situations like this. I had a prototype made by a local engineer but lost it in the Tubbs Fire. I've also wondered how a fluid-damped video head would work with a long lens. Need to ask a few questions of a friend in the industry, but I think I'm about to find out.
    
    And looking at the image after posting, I see some tweaks I could make – I'll post a rework asap.

So @David_Leroy (David Leroy) replied

    Another dandy image Diane. You caught that berry and waiting Waxwing just right. And sharp on the berry.
    
    Red Dot! Who knew. Something else I have learned from you. Thks.

After which, @Dennis_Plank (Dennis Plank) added

    Diane_Miller:
    
    > I've also wondered how a fluid-damped video head would work with a long lens.
    
    Hi Diane. I have a friend in our local camera club who uses a fluid damped video lens (and not a very expensive one) and swears by it. I tend to just leave a bit of friction on my gimbal and like you put my left hand on the lens to help dampen vibration.

After which, @Diane_Miller (Diane Miller) added

    @Dennis_Plank, I've tried some drag but it's not very smooth, and becomes less so with lighter lenses like the Canon 100-500. Would you mind finding out which one he uses and if he would recommend any other ones to consider?
    
    @David_Leroy, thanks back! I've talked about the red dot elsewhere here (no idea where), but the one I have and really like is the Olympus EE-1. There are quite a few of them for rifles but this one fits right onto the flash mount.

Then @Dennis_Plank (Dennis Plank) said

    @Diane_Miller I just sent him a note. He's usually pretty responsive.
    
    By the way, I was just looking on B&H and found out Gitzo has come out with a combination Gimbal with fluid cartridges for damping. Is that what you're thinking about? Looks interesting, if a bit pricey.

To which @Keith_Bauer (Keith Bauer) replied

    Wonderful moment in time! I enjoy the environment surrounding the waxwing as well.
    
    For me, the image is pretty bright. I looked at it in PS and made a couple of adjustments via one luminosity mask, a custom vignette and a tiny bit of selective burning. Here's the result for comparison.
    
    _49A1475-Edit-copy-21900×1664 693 KB

Then @Mark_Seaver (Mark Seaver) said

    Diane, this is a great action shot, with the wide open beak and berry about to disappear. The colors are nicely inviting as well.

So @David_Schoen (David Schoen) replied

    Perfect DOF to isolate the action. Keith's adjustment really helped the exposure and contrast.  
    Nice work…

So @Diane_Miller (Diane Miller) replied

    Good suggestion from @Keith_Bauer about the tonalities. I have been wanting to play with this more and finally found the time. I expanded the canvas slightly and removed some of the distractions close to the edges. Then I had some fun with partial opacity cloning simplifying some distracting elements, and basically playing painter.
    
    _49A1475-Edit-Edit2500×2347 1.04 MB

After which, @Hans_Overduin (Hans Overduin) added

    Excellent moment and action captured, Diane ! The repost is indeed a bit better imo. Fine image ! Cheers, Hans

After which, @Mike_Friel (Mike Friel) added

    To my eye your final version is a major improvement. The uncluttered border area and the cloning of the berries near to its target berry draw the eye in more immediately to this classic action point.


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