[Widowmaker]

I have been trying to get good shot of this Jay since I got my digiscoping setup but he always sits very very high in a tree and usually on an overcast day. Even though its overcast the sky in the background is very bright. What metering should I be using when framing the subject as shown below or is there some trick to keep the bright sky from overtaking the subject? I included the original, unedited image and one that I worked on a bit. I tried doing an auto levels manuever but it made the subject way to dark so I deleted the bright sky, adjusted the levels of the subject and then added my own sky back in. It not great but at least not as overpowering as the white background. Any suggestions on getting better results with such a bright backgound would be appreciated. This one was with spot metering, with the spot being in the middle of the subject.

Hahaha.. the background is so bright it looks like its not even there.

[pete schofield]

Hi Widowmaker
What set up are you using, and what metering?

I.E.- spot, matrix, centre weighted.

Pete

[Widowmaker]

Originally posted by golfnut
Hi Widowmaker
What set up are you using, and what metering?

I.E.- spot, matrix, centre weighted.

Pete

This particular shot was spot metering with the spot being right on the subject. Using CP4500 and ETX-90.

[Tannin]

I've not had a great deal of success in similar situations. At present, I'm uing spot metering and varying the exact framing just enough to include various percentages of bird and sky, so as to get a range of exposures. I'm not sure that there is a right answer, as few of those pictures work really well.

I'm still experimenting. Anyone with tips, please sing out.

[stevo]

Hi Tannin

Try shooting at a different time of day when the sun is in a different position,or move yourself around so that the light on the bird is coming from a different angle.

Regards Steve.

[pete schofield]

Widowmaker
Spot metering sounds ok, personally I prefer centre weighted.

Things to try as mentioned above try a different time of day also try bracketing. It sounds from your thread above that the Jay is a regualer visitor. So I would try again and bracket starting at +- 1/3 steps and increase as neccassary.

Give it a go it's good practice.

Pete

[IanF]

I only use spot metering myself. Obviously these are difficult conditions in which to take a shot. I think your solution is perhaps the most satisfactory.

I would use spot metering and try to take the exposure reading fron the mid-tones ie. the pink of the neck/back. The black areas and especially the white will throw the metering off. Pete has the right idea with bracketing the exposure - use the +/- EV compensation taking at least one shot at every 0.3 adjustment. I use this regularly as the subject often is against a light background and it really makes a difference. To use this feature just hold down the FUNC button and rotate the knurled knob behind it either left or right. The adjustment shows up on the LCD both visually and in numbers.

I should think though that you'll still need to play around with the image, but maybe less so.

[Widowmaker]

Thanks for the suggestions. This bird comes around every day but usually gets in the top center of the highest tree. I usually hear him and when I do see him its when hes flying away .
Im going to give the bracketing a shot.

[Adey Baker]

I'm not sure that bracketing the exposure is a good idea if you are having problems with known over or under-exposure - i.e. if your 'correct' exposure is already over-exposed then bracketing will give you another shot even more over-exposed.

If it's easily accessible, try the exposure over-ride facility which is usually marked +/- (it is on my camera but I'm not certain of the layout on the 4500). You can see on the screen if your shot is too light - just keep dialling in more " - " until it's about right.