Sunday, April 23, 2017

A Killdeer... and Photography Tips









The first picture.....

 While on a walk with my kids, we saw a killdeer, but couldn't get close to it. We were on a path that led to a creek/river and the killdeer was farther down and there was no way to get to it... too much brush.I zoomed in as far as I could, but it was a darker area and hard to see. 

I was very disappointed as I wanted to capture the scene, so I took a couple of pictures figuring they wouldn't be any good, but I had to take a couple anyway. 





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TIP:
By the way, if you have a digital camera, TAKE PICTURES!... take a lot of pictures (it's nice not not have to pay for film and developing!) Sometimes you will be surprised what you end up finding and using. Yes, you will throw a lot of them away, but you will learn and improve your skills... and hopefully, you will have a lot of fun too.  :)  
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In editing I cropped the picture to this and it was okay, but originally I rejected it as too hard to see and too blurry. The original picture covered a larger area than this and the killdeer was just barely visible. 










 I lightened the color some and liked the effect more, but still didn't have a use for it, so just left it. Periodically, I went back to it because I have never been able to take a picture of a killdeer before, especially one with the reflection in the water, so I kept trying.















I cropped the same picture down even more to this. I tried cropping the same picture tighter, but the quality reduced more than I wanted.

 I finally settled on cropping it this much. I wanted the bird, the reflection, the ripples and some of the rocks in the picture.

I tried playing with the colors more,but it just didn't look right... not natural, so I only did a little to it.



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 TIP
When working with changing the colors on your pictures, don't overdo it...  it is best if the picture looks natural, not overdone. Do as little as possible... unless you are looking to make some obviously enhanced work. 
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 The second picture:

 When I cropped this picture down from the original, I liked it better than the first one... and you can see the killdeer better. The shadows and reflections on the water are interesting.




Again, I lightened it just a bit and the picture below shows how that turned out.  It worked.








When I copied the picture and then cropped this one tighter, the quality went down, but  it is acceptable. This was part of what I had to learn... not to always reject a picture that is not as clear as I want it to be.

I realized that there is almost a painting type of quality to these photos. I really didn't do a lot to the pictures other than a LOT of cropping and more cropping.

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TIP:
If you have a picture you like and want to play with, you can make a copy of it. To do so(at least in Picasa) you click on the picture. When on the picture, you click on "file", then on "Save a copy". This allows you to play with the picture and make changes while still keeping the original.  Of the 6 pictures here, they all come from only 2 original photos. 
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I hope you are developing your skills as a photographer. Don't be intimidated by not having an expensive camera. Creativity, skill and hard work can overcome some of those issues...  not all, but it is certainly worth working on it no matter what camera you have to use. 

My photography skills continue to develop as I keep working on them... I learn a little here and there and most of all, I really enjoy taking pictures... so much so that I almost always have a camera with me... I just don't want to miss anything. :)  

Do you find these photography tips useful? I hope so...  and periodically, I will share more of them.  Thank you for visiting.


If you are interested, another post in this series is:

Tea.... and Photography Tips????


#photography #PhotographyTips #pictures  #killdeer




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33 comments:

  1. These are good tips! I didn't realize if I saved an image I could continue cropping it. Also, Picasa has been a bit troublesome on my PC; it is working better on my lap top. I love using it but wonder if you or anyone else also use another, and your thoughts.? Zenda

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    1. Thank you so much! I hope the tips can help. That's too bad about Picasa not working well on your PC... glad it works on the laptop. I know there are other options, but this is the one I have used and so far, it has worked for me. I do find that my computer slows WAY down when I am storing too much on it, so I have to move some to an external hard drive for storage.. then it speeds up again. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  2. Wow, great job! I use a photo editing program on my Mac and also PicMonkey. I have learned that spending a few hours playing with various effects is time well spent, there are so many ways to edit photos! I love the final photo, the bird is captivating and the rock and water do look almost like a painting, just beautiful!!

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    1. Thank you so much... I have heard good things about PicMonkey and I know the options on Picasa are more limited than that, but so far it works for me. Thank you for the specific comment on the photo... much appreciated. Thank you for visiting. :)

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  3. Your pics are, indeed, like paintings! Wonderful shots and great advice. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Poppy:)

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    1. Thank you... I think it is funny because at first I rejected these, then later re-evaluated and decided to use them.. and learned to like them after all... even though they weren't as clear as I had wanted. So many variations in photography... and so many things we can continue to learn!

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  4. I have the same problem of not getting close enough but your photos are wonderful.

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    1. I almost didn't even try to take the pictures because I could tell they "wouldn't turn out anyway"!!! It was too far, too dark, too blurry. I'm so glad I did it and was surprised how they turned out. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  5. Very beautiful photos. Sometimes not getting so close is a good thing.

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    1. I am finding that out... it is interesting how we learn some of these lessons! Thank you for visiting. :)

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  6. Your tips are very helpful. And I have to totally agree with you that it was awful back in the old days when we spent a fortune developing lots and lots of mistakes.

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    1. Thank you... I hoped they were. I agree on the money spent on film and developing... and not knowing if a shot would turn out until you got the photos back and by then had forgotten what settings you used, or the conditions. Film does a great job, but I am so thankful for digital cameras! :)

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  7. Great tips on photographs. Love the picture. I will think of these tips next time I am frustrated with my pictures. Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things.
    Hugs,
    Bev

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    1. Thank you so much... photography is such a learning process and for me, there is a lot of individuality to it... and I love that. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  8. Thank you for attending the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty. I shared your post on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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    1. Thank you... your visit and work are so appreciated! :)

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  9. I love the Killdeer...and they are hard to photograph since they blend into the background so well! And they move so fast!!

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    1. So true... I'm so glad I was able to salvage the picture although at first that seemed doubtful. :)

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  10. Thank you... so glad for the party and for your visit. :)

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  11. Love the picture and appreciate the tips! I agree that taking lots of pictures is key. I wish I had more daylight hours to practice with my camera. Thanks so much for sharing. Pinned :)

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    1. Thank you... I agree the daylight hours fly by so fast and with so many activities! Thank you for the comment and for pinning. :)

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  12. Kildeer fascinate me - we used to have several when we lived a bit north of here. Mama did the foot-dragging thing to signal me away from a nest in our yard I hadn't even noticed. The little ones were off and running before they were wet behind the ears!

    Please come sharing your photos at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/04/elvis-sighting-in-israel.html.

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    1. They fascinate me also.... but we rarely see them anywhere. It was a treat. :) Thank you.

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  13. we had one of these in our yards :) So cute!

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    1. Wow, in your yard! That would be amazing to see them more often. :)

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  14. I enjoyed your chipmunk and this post. Chippies are greedy little things they steal all my bird food before the birds can get there. I enjoy photography as well and probably take pictures every day. I love seeing what others do. Enjoying your blog
    Janice

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    1. Thank you ... what a fun comment to read. :) I probably take pictures every day too and it is nice to hear I am not the only one!

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  15. What a lovely scene. So serene. Thanks for sharing on #FridayFrivolity

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    1. Thank you... I sure have enjoyed it... and am so glad I didn't continue to ignore it. :)

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  16. Thanks for the photography tips. It looks like you live in a lovely area. I can see why you keep a camera with you! LOL Take care, Cynthia

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    1. It is a lovely area, but we also work hard to search out those places.. this one was a conservation area.... a little side trip. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  17. I've always said that everyone should take as many photographs as possible. I love your pictures of the Killdeer. In the UK we have a similar looking bird called a plover.

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    1. Lots of pictures is a good idea... and possible with digital cameras... I used to be so careful to frame a shot, knowing it would be costly and wanting to make it count... now, I click, click, click... though I still try to make the shots count. :) I have never seen a plover... I will have to look it up. Thank you for visiting.

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