Another disappointment

[CindyChris]

I have had digital cameras for years and have been into photography for thirty years. I am capable of taking beautiful, clear photographs, so I don't understand how I managed to do this. Yesterday, my husband and I went to a nearby wildlife refuge and came upon a group of nesting great blue herons. I took 174 photos in the few hours we were there, mostly of the herons but also of lots of other birds and critters. Not one of them turned out. They looked okay on playback, but on the computer they are all blurry. I don't understand what I did wrong. I know I can take nice photos. This is so discouraging. For example, the attached should have been a great photo.


Konica Minolta DiMage A200
Focal length 50.8mm
1/200s
f3.5
ISO: 50

[wulf]

I have to say that it looks like the kind of thing you might get off a camera phone with a cheap lens. How have other pictures taken recently with the same gear come out? Have you done anything comparable in terms of lighting, distance and movement?

Wulf

[Christa]

This may sound like the obvious but the same thing sorta happened to me after a day at the park. I realized when I got home that a whole day's shoot was ruined. I came to discover that there was a smudge on the exterior of my lens.

I couldn't believe I let such a rookie mistake ruin what could've been some great shots.

Also you mentioned that you took 174 pics in a few hours but you failed to mention if you had a tripod or used a natural object such as a tree to keep you steady. Was it a windy day?

It could've been a number of things depsite your photographic ability that caused the shots to be wrong.

That's the good thing about going digital, at least you didn't spend the $$ and wait the time to get rolls developed to receive the disappointment.

[RainPacket]

With 1/200 shutter speed, it's likely that the speed was simply too slow for a fast action shot. Especially if it was hand-held.

If the camera has a manual shooting mode, for shots like that you will probably want to turn the shutter speed to something even smaller -- 1/450, 1/500, or even quicker -- and turn the ISO up to compensate.