Jun 22, 2013 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Birds, Daily Image 2013, Great Blue Heron, Nikon 1 V1, Wildlife
Great Blue Heron A week or so ago, the daily image was a Great Blue Heron. I think it was actually this Great Blue Heron. He seems to hang around the same place in the early evening hours. Yeah, I like herons. This image really shows the beautiful plumage of this bird. Again, the Nikon 1 V1 body (2.7 crop factor) with the 70-300mm lens allowed me to capture this image at 260mm (702mm focal length).
Jun 22, 2013 | IMHO
To crop or not to crop: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or… Sorry, I got carried away.
My view: if you make the click, you have the privilege of finishing the image any way you like. Now, currently, I try to get the image right in the camera and do not crop the master image.
Still, sometimes I crop a copy of the master to one of my favorite print scales. Prior to 2007, I shot slides and never cropped. After converting to digital, I started cropping indiscriminately, but after a while, found too many shortcomings to continue cropping.
Today, it depends mostly upon the destination of the image. If the image will be used in the editorial market, I’ll finish it without cropping. (Photo editors do not like cropped images.) Then, sometimes, I’ll make a copy and crop the image to one of my favorite scales to make a print. I really like 4×5 scale for portraits, both people and animals; sometimes even trees. For many grand landscapes, I like the 9×16, sometimes called HD, scale. And, for aircraft, particularly head on ground shots, the 9×16 scale looks great. An occasional image looks good; square.
Framing the Issue
This question has been around the photography community for many years. Back in the film and slide days, people even cropped slides by putting tape over the edges of a transparency. And, of course, cropping in the darkroom was relatively easy. In the digital world, it’s even easier. Now, it’s sort of a subset of the “do you PhotoShop” question. Although if done well, it’s difficult to tell in the images; the metadata will easily show the reduced file size.
If it’s your image, you can finish it any way you want, right? Well, right.
Still, cropping can have an impact on how you may be able to use that image. You may have heard from a pro; move your feet to get the image right in the camera. That’s easy to say. Most amateurs know that sometimes you cannot move to get the shot you want. Things get in your way; mountains, rivers, vacation with other people, enough time, the right lens, etc. Sometimes, you just didn’t have the vision or foresight to get a different lens or move to a better place and you can’t go back to try again. Vacation is over.
Sometimes you just did not notice distracting elements at the edges of the frame or did notice but could not capture the images without them. Sometimes, you might like a certain scale like 4×5 for portraits of people and animals. And, sometimes, you may really like 9×16 HD scale for landscapes and airplanes. So, do you pitch the image or crop it?
There are several downside impacts of cropping. Photo editors do not like cropped images and most of the time will not accept them, which many times means they will discard your entire submission. Aggressive cropping can reduce image quality. Over time, cropping can make the photographer lazy. Sometimes, it reduces the maximum size of acceptable print quality. And, certainly there are many more.
And, perhaps you are a purest and will not accept a cropped image.
You made the click, finish your image as you will.
Jun 21, 2013 | AF-S 50mm f1.4G, Daily Image 2013, Nikon 1 V1
Twilight Driftwood Yeah, it’s weird light on a weird subject finished weirdly.
Jun 20, 2013 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Birds, Daily Image 2013, Nikon 1 V1, Robins, Wildlife
Robin’s Nest This Robin sure picked an unusual place for a nest. This wreath hangs in a doorway where people come and go. She is persistent though. She comes right back to the nest after people leave the area. The only way to capture the image was from inside the building through the glass alongside the doorway. And, she would fly away if she saw a person through the glass. So, I just held the camera in front of the window as I stood to one side out of sight. Then, I let the Nikon 1 V1 autofocus and fired away. She did not seem to mind.
Jun 19, 2013 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Daily Image 2013, Nikon 1 V1
Pine Cones Had to go up north today and had just enough time to make a click of some pine cones just before sunset.
Jun 18, 2013 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, Airports, Aviation, Cockpit View, Daily Image 2013, Nikon 1 V1
Storm Coming! The God light is always spectacular to see. What you do not see in this image is the thunderstorm just right (north) of the frame. It eventually got to the airport after we left.
Jun 17, 2013 | AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II, Aviation, Daily Image 2013, GA Aircraft, Globe Swift, Nikon 1 V1
The Globe Swift looks fast just sitting on the ramp. This Swift was taking off today just as I was leaving the airport. Luckily I had the Nikon 1 V1 with the 70-200mm f2.8 sitting on the seat next to me. The 70-200mm f2.8 is heavier than the 70-300mm f4.5-5.6, but I was not on a walkabout. You don’t see many Swifts around the airport; none are based at my home base. This bird was from Wisconsin. Hope he returns someday.
Jun 16, 2013 | AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Birds, Daily Image 2013, Nikon 1 V1, Walkabout, Wildlife
Great Blue Heron The Great Blue Herons are fairly common in northern Illinois. The light was fading fast tonight when I finally got to my walkabout. This heron had just a kiss of reflected light since it was tucked away in the corner of the pond. Notice the ISO was at 3200. So, in post, I ran the image through NIK’s Define to reduce the noise.