Walked past my front door this morning to find this bird on my front walk. Took this through the glass of my front door!

Originally Posted by Mitchell Walked past my front door this morning to find this bird on my front walk. Took this through the glass of my front door!

Don't you just love it when they come to you. Good capture but just a tad over exposed.

Harry, I don't know how you do it with these birds. They are truly an exposure challenge. Although shooting through my front door glass against my dark green lawn didn't help me. Plus I had just gotten out of bed!


mitch

Originally Posted by Harryb Don't you just love it when they come to you. Good capture but just a tad over exposed.

I was browsing and Shay Stephens posted this:


"3) In overcast light, place the white card facing up to the sky, aim the camera at the center at about a 45 degree angle, and spot meter (or partial meter) off the paper. Adjust the exposure in manual mode until the meter reads 1.7EV to 2EV*. With a gray card, change that to 0EV. The exposure should be a lot closer to ideal without having to rely on the camera to decide the exposure. "


I was wondering if using spot metering and locking exposure on a white bird with +2 or so would give me a better chance of getting the proper exposure for swans ( and someday egrets) ?

I know I have lifted the quote and am taking it out of context but just wonder if it would work?


Shay.

In retrospect, this was the perfect opportunity to spot meter. I just didn't think about it in my rush to take the shot. I suspect the surroundings would have been quit dark, but I would have been able to recover them. Unfortunately, once the bird was blown with my matrix metering, there is very little I can do.


mitch

Originally Posted by Mitchell In retrospect, this was the perfect opportunity to spot meter. I just didn't think about it in my rush to take the shot. I suspect the surroundings would have been quit dark, but I would have been able to recover them. Unfortunately, once the bird was blown with my matrix metering, there is very little I can do. mitch

Hey Mitch,

When I shoot I usually use matrix metering. However you can't just rely on the metering mode, you also have to make EV adjustments. I will usually shoot in Aperture Priority with Matrix metering. When I'm shooting a white bird I will usually start out with an EV adjustment of -2/3rds (-0.7). I will take test shot (situation permitting of course) and check the histogram and blown highlights indicator for "blinkies". In very bright light I have gone to
-1.7 and -2.0.

It is pretty cool that he was in your yard. I know it can be exciting when things like that happen. I walked out my front door one morning and there was a doe standing half on my porch eating the rodadendrons (sp?). We scared the crap out of each other and she ran off.

The thing is, I live in the city.... where did she come from.