Spring is headed our way!

[Peggyjom]

[IMG[/IMG]

Camera Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias +2/3 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program Aperture-priority AE
Lens EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM +2.0x

Looking for advice on the exposure, is it over exposed?
Looking back I wish I had changed my apature setting to f8 I think it might have been a tad sharper.
Also how about the white balance, I shoot in auto but I did change it in elements 8 not sure if I got that correct or if I should leave it alone and let the camera choose.
Do any of use the settings for white balance like sunny, cloudy, shade?

[karen_s]

That is one pretty bird. Looks like a Norther Flicker?

Anyway,

Exposure. The subject looks a bit under exposed and the sky a bit over. I hate when that happens. You could try the dodge tool on the bird or maybe sacrifice the sky and bring up the all around exposure.

Aperture. Depends on your lens. (My long lens tends to be sharpest at 7.1ish.) F/8 might have helped a smidge with blurring the background just a bit more.

White balance. Hard to say since it seems a bit under exposed. If it's off, it's not terribly off. And I am lazy and just leave it on auto. I shoot RAW though so it is very easy to edit in PP.

Cameras WB settings. No, I don't use them. The camera does a pretty good job and since I usually only pick one or two out of hundreds, I just fix it in post.

As far as sharpness, just want to add that it might be lacking due to the higher ISO (and maybe underexposure as noise tends to have more of an effect in darker areas). I have found that when shooting birds, I often crop in to the picture quite a bit and the higher ISO's tend to make my photo soft. You might sacrifice a few stops of aperture and lower your ISO and see if that helps.

Edit: I just took another look and it actually looks pretty sharp to me. Maybe viewing it larger is where it looks less sharp to you?

[wpp234]

Hey

This photo is great! Must have been a hard shot to get! I love the expression of the bird and the way it is point his up to sky as though he is looking out. The contrast of the pattern on the birds feathers with the bark on the branches is nice too.

Perhaps use clone stamp tool on photoshop to get rid of some of the branches. This may make the overall composition look simpler and put more of a focus on the bird.

Well done... nice photo!

Will P