Crested Serpent Eagle - BR Hills

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EF 400mm f2.8 L IS USM, EF 1.4xII, ISO 800, f9, 1/60, crop.

I normally don't crop. However, I was using the 2xII TC with the 70-200 f2.8 L IS USM lens and had kept the 1.4xII TC attached to the 400mm f2.8 L IS USM lens. The reason being light was low and I wanted 560mm at f4. The extra stop of light was more important than the focal length.

This is how I calculate amount of crop.
Original dimensions = X * Y pixels
Cropped dimensions= A * B pixels
Amount of crop = [(X*Y)- (A*B)]/(X*Y)
This is the amount that has been cropped or thrown away.

Using this formula, the amount of crop in this image = [(3264*4896)-(2476*3714)]/(3264*4896) = 0.4349 or 43.49%

Frankly speaking till the time I calculated this, I had no idea that I am throwing away about 43% of the image. So when someone says that it is a slight crop it becomes very difficult to imagine the amount of crop.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

A stunner, as usual from Sabyasachi. For a TC at low light and low shutter speed the sharpness is amazing. The details, especially the cobwebs are wonderful, though the whites in the BG seem a bit blown. TFS

regards
Rajan

[Dr. Kalpamoi Kakati]

Nice eye contact.Details are good in spite of low shutter speed.You could have easily increased the shutter speed by widening the aperture.Image is nicely framed between the branches.It would have been better without the bright spot behind the bird.TFS

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Photograph Extraordinary from Shri Sabyasachi.Even white band on underside of the flight feathers look so sharp.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Very nice, Sabyasachi. I don't mind the BG highlights... considering where these birds usually perch, it would be quite difficult to get a highlight-free BG. Very sharp for 1/60. Any EC dialled here? Since it's a crop, I would prefer the bird more to the right (unless you cropped it this way to remove distractions).
Thanks for the crop formula too... will try using it in the future.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

The crop is proportionate from all sides as this is the composition I wanted. The reason for the crop was a small branch entering into the frame from the left side.

I didn't dial any exposure compensation. I knew about the bright spot (sky) in the background. Ideally I would have liked to move a bit to the left so that the spot is hidden behind the bird. However, didn't ask the driver to re-position the vehicle for fear of disturbing it. After this shot it actually flew to another tree. Also, I didn't want the bird to be seen too close to the tree branch on either side. Moving to the side would have resulted in that. Also, it was an overcast sky, and the bright spot in the background was not very bright. On a sunny day, the difference would have been huge.

I had used the 1.4x II TC instead of the 2xII TC thinking that the light was low. With the 1.4xII TC I was getting a focal length of 560mm at f4. And with the 2xII TC I would have got the focal length of 800mm at f5.6. However, in this case I photographed at an narrow aperture of f9. The reason was to capture the details in the bird as well as the texture in the angled branches. I hadn't taken the bean bag along, but was confident that I can pull off a sharp image just by resting the lens on top of the rod on the roof of the jeep.

I often ask people about the amount of crop and I am told that some people feel shy about mentioning it. If so, one can calculate the amount of crop by this formula and then see if the resulting image is sharp or not. That will also be a pointer to your technique.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Bhargava Srivari]

Thanks a ton for the 'amount of crop' formula

I too would prefer the bird positioned just a bit more to the right side of the frame. In any case, this is a brilliant image. Love the details and sharpness. f9 and 1/60- an exemplery example of why narrower apertures help in making detailed images.

tfs