Loten's Sunbird

I found this male Loten’s Sunbird in my garden feeding on nectar from double orange hibiscus(Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) flower. I photographed it using Canon EOS 5D Mark III using Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM combined with Canon EF 1.4x III Extender. All the photos were shot handheld at 1/640th of second shutter speed at f/4.0 aperture. Bird was in close proximity and as it was quite familiar with my presence gave me a great pose. If I had used smaller aperture I would have got the flower in the foreground and the bird also in full focus. But I also would have got the cluttered branches the background. I used the largest aperture available with my lens & TC combo (f/4.0) as the hibiscus plant was quite overcrowded with branches and I wanted to throw all those other branches in the background out of focus. Large telephoto range I had also helped me to get the background blur I wanted.

Loten's Sunbird

The Loten’s Sunbird or otherwise known as Long-billed Sunbird, Cinnyris lotenius is one of a group of very small sunbird which feed largely on nectar. Sunbirds will also take insects, especially when feeding young and Loten’s Sunbird is possibly more insectivorous than other sunbird species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Long bill separates this from the more common Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus). The wings are browner and the maroon breast band is visible on the male under good lighting. The call is distinctive and they are also very active often bobbing their head while foraging. Loten’s Sunbird is found only in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The main region is along the Western Ghats and into the southern peninsula. There are scattered records from central India and into the northern Eastern Ghats near Orissa. Race hindustanicus is found in India while the nominate race is found in Sri Lanka.

Loten's Sunbird

The song of the male is a long repeated wue-wue-wue… with the last notes accelerated. The males may sing from the tops of bare trees or telegraph wires. Loten’s Sunbird is a resident breeder that is locally common in forest and cultivation in south India and Sri Lanka. Two eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. The bag of webs, bark and caterpillar frass. Salim Ali notes that the species is exceptional among Indian sunbirds in not having cobwebs on the exterior. Loten’s Sunbirds are small, only 12-13 cm long. They have long down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. The bill lengths vary across populations with long bills found in Sri Lanka.

Loten's Sunbird

The adult male is mainly glossy purple with a grey-brown belly. It is similar to Purple Sunbird, but is larger, has a longer sickle-shaped bill, and a different belly colour. The eclipse male has yellow-grey upperparts, darker than Purple Sunbird, and a yellow breast with a blue central streak extending to the belly. The female has yellow-grey upperparts and yellowish underparts, but lacks Purple’s faint supercilium. The call is a buzzy zwick zwick.

Full Frame Image showing Crop Factor

I have covered the topic of cropping in my earlier blog here. Today I want to talk on Crop factor. The film SLR camera manufacturers when shifting to digital, found it was quite expensive to produce sensor which was the size of the 35 mm film. What they resorted was to produce a smaller sensor than the 35mm film size. Advanced Photo System (APS) was at that a film format which was 24mm wide and they adapted that name and called it APS-C sensors. C stands for “Classic” format of APS film which was 25.1 × 16.7 mm with an aspect ratio of 3:2 Most DSLRs on the market have nominally APS-C-sized image sensors, smaller than the standard 36 × 24 mm (35 mm) film frame. For example, many Canon DSLRs use an APS-C sensor that measures 22.2 mm × 14.8 mm. The result is that the image sensor captures image data from a smaller area than a 35 mm film SLR camera would, effectively cropping out the corners and sides that would be captured by the 36 mm × 24 mm full-size film frame.

5D Mark III 1.6x Crop

The terms crop factor and focal length multiplier is used to help 35 mm film format SLR photographers understand how their existing ranges of lenses would perform on these APS-C cameras which had sensors smaller than the 35 mm film format, but often utilized existing 35 mm film format SLR lens mounts. Using an focal length multiplier of 1.6, for example, a photographer might say that a 50 mm lens on his DSLR “acts like” its focal length has been multiplied by 1.6, by which he means that it has the same field of view as a 80 mm lens on the film camera that he is more familiar with. Of course, the actual focal length of a photographic lens is fixed by its optical construction, and does not change with the format of the sensor that is put behind it.

Common Kingfisher

For most DSLR cameras, crop factor varies from 1.3–2.0.

• 2.0X — Four Thirds system
• 1.7X — Sigma DP1, Sigma DP2, Sigma SD15, Sigma SD14, Sigma SD10, Sigma SD9, Canon EOS DCS 3
• 1.6X — Canon EOS 7D, 500D (T1i/X3), 550D (T2i/X4), 600D (T3i/X5), 60D, 50D, 1000D, 1100D, 40D, 400D, 30D, 450D, 20Da, 350D, 20D, 300D, 10D, D60, D30
• 1.54X — Pentax K20D, Pentax K-7, Pentax K-5
• 1.53X — Pentax *istD, Pentax *istDs, Pentax *istDs2, Pentax *istDL, Pentax *istDL2, Pentax K100D, Pentax K100D Super, Pentax K10D, Pentax K200D
• 1.52X — Sigma SD1, Sigma SD1 Merrill, Sigma DP1 Merrill, Sigma DP2 Merrill, all Nikon DSLR cameras except the full-frame D3, D3s, D3x, D4, D700, and D800; all Fuji, Sony (except for the full-frame Alpha 850, Alpha 900), newer Pentax DSLRs (K-m, K-x and K-r), and Konica Minolta DSLR cameras.
• 1.3X — Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, 1D Mark III, 1D Mark II (and Mark II N), Kodak DCS 460, DCS 560, DCS 660, DCS 760, Leica M8, M8.2

Purple Moorhen

In a cropped camera like Canon EOS 7D for example a 28 mm lens delivers a moderately wide-angle field of view on a 35 mm format full-frame camera, but on a camera with a 1.6 crop factor, an image made with the same lens will have the same field of view that a full-frame camera would make with a 45 mm lens (28 × 1.6 = 44.8). This narrowing of the field of view is a disadvantage to photographers when a wide field of view is desired. Ultra-wide lens designs become merely wide; wide-angle lenses become ‘normal’. However, the crop factor can be an advantage to photographers when a narrow field of view is desired. It allows photographers with long-focal-length lenses to fill the frame more easily when the subject is far away. A 300 mm lens on a camera with a 1.6 crop factor delivers images with the same field of view that a 35 mm film format camera would require a 480 mm long focus lens to capture.

Purple Heron

Compared to the full-frame format (size equivalent to 35mm film), APS-C sensors offer some advantages and disadvantages. SLRs with APS-C sensors are considerably cheaper than full-frame cameras. They are also lighter and smaller. Apart from these differences, there are two other important factors. The first is image quality. Theoretically, a larger sensor produces a better image, i.e. one with more detail and less noise. In practice, the difference may not be obvious and may depend on the use of a high quality lens and on the photographer’s skill. The other difference is the smaller field of view. Let me take my Canon EOS 5D mark III and Canon EOS 7D and compare the result. 5D mark III has full frame sensor (size equivalent to 35mm film) and 7D has 1.6 crop factor(size 1.6 times smaller than 35mm film). The smaller APS-C sensor of 7D effectively minimizes the field of view by about 1.6, so that a 300mm lens has the same field of view as a 450mm lens on a 35mm. It is important to note that there is no magnification benefit, only a smaller field of view.

Purple Heron

Let us try another experiment. If I use crop on my 5D mark III picture by a factor of 1.6 what will be the resultant effect? Is it better than 7D or bad? The only way we can test is to find out the total amount of pixels the resultant picture produces. 5D Mark III produces an image 5760 x 3840 = 22118400 or 22 Mega Pixels. If I crop that by 1.6, I get 3600 x 2400 = 8640000 or 8 Mega pixel image. This is almost the size I used to get on my older Canon EOS 40D camera. 7D on the other hand even with its smaller sensor produces 5184 x 3456 = 17915904 or 18 mega pixel photo, so effectively the cropped sensor of 7D is able to produce larger mega pixel photo than 5D mark III. I want to clarify here that I am in no way telling more mega pixel is better. In fact if canon produce a full frame sensor out of 7D’s pixel pitch, it will be around 18 X 1.6 X 1.6 = 46 mega pixels. Please also note that as they cram more and more mega pixels into a sensor the quality of the photo starts dropping and noise increases after a certain amount of mega pixels. We are still not sure what that figure is. But these calculation prove us that 7D is a better camera for a bird photographer as it produces larger mega pixel photo than cropping equivalent amount on 5D mark III. You will be able to get a better crop of the bird on 7D than on 5D mark III except the quality of picture from 5D mark III will be far superior than that from that from 7D.

I thank my good friend Shiva Shankar for lending me his 7D to test while he was testing my 5D Mark III for bird photography. He was also the inspiration behind this article.

Landscape Crop

Photographic world is clearly divided into two groups, one who crop their photos and the other who claim crop is crap. I always try and frame as much as possible while I shoot. Sometimes I can make shots look really good by cropping. I was taught to always try to get the composition I wanted in camera to eliminate the need for cropping, either in the darkroom or on the PC. I used to make a conscious effort to get the picture exactly the way I envision the final print. Unfortunately digital era with gazillion megapixel camera allowed me the liberty of cropping as I want. One thing to keep in mind, that it is you, who is creating the picture. Whether you change the story or not, it is up to you. You can change it or not, to suit your own purpose. The photograph has just started its life when you take the picture.

“There is no better time to crop a bad composition than just before you press the shutter release.” – Bryan Peterson

Many photographers throughout photography’s history seem to be against cropping. Henri Cartier-Bresson believed in composing his photographs in the viewfinder, not in the darkroom. He showcased this belief by having nearly all his photographs printed only at full-frame and completely free of any cropping or other darkroom manipulation. Similarly there are also other great photographers who created their masterpieces only after cropping their originals. Let us see some examples of great cropped photos from history.

Che Guevara Original

Che Guevara Cropped

Guerrillero Heroico by Alberto Korda – The cropped photograph of Che Guevara is one of the most recognizable photos on planet earth. The original photo had Guevara framed alone between an anonymous person and a palm tree. The picture, with the intruding material cropped out, became Guevara’s most famous portrait. Although the original is still a strong photograph, unlikely it would have become the icon it is without the crop.

Picasso Original

Picasso Cropped

Pablo Picasso by Arnold Newman – Arnold Newman was a strong believer in doing whatever worked to improve his photographs. This obviously included cropping out about 65% of this very famous portrait. The resultant picture looks entirely different from the original but is very powerful. Final cropped portrait of Picasso, taken in France in 1954, shows only the artist in close-up, holding his hand to his brow.

Igor Stravinsky Original

Igor Stravinsky Cropped

Igor Stravinsky by Arnold Newman – Perhaps his most celebrated image is a 1946 portrait of the composer Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky, his expression deeply serious, is confined to the bottom left corner of the picture, cropped to his head and shoulders, an elbow resting on the piano, his hand supporting his head. The rest of the photograph is taken up by the raised lid of a large grand piano, strategically silhouetted against a blank wall, which is divided off-center into a gray and white rectangle. The lid forms the reversed shape of a leaning, abstract musical note. In this case, less is way more. This unusual but extremely effective crop has transformed an ordinary looking picture into a masterpiece.

“There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that’s impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants”. – Arnold Newman

“I crop for the benefit of the pictures. The world just does not fit conveniently into the format of a 35mm camera.” – W. Eugene Smith.

Landscape Crop

So what are the different types of crops? Here are few examples. I photographed this Common Kingfisher in a field near Gurupur River. Just to illustrate the crops I have cropped the pictures into variety of crops. First one above is the commonest crop which is the Landscape format. Landscape format refers to rectangular pictures which have the long side horizontal (and so the shorter side vertical) – as is common in a picture of a landscape. You can notice the hint of water at one edge and the bird is position in the rules of thirds which allows a pleasing balanced composition.

Subject in Center

In this photo I have composed the bird in the center using the same landscape format, as you can see it is much boring as compared to the first photo, it is because bird is bang in the center and the small patch of water which gave a significant meaning to the picture and a balance is lost. It is always a better idea to compose your picture so that your subject is on one side of the picture than in the center. In composition this is considered as rule of thirds, golden mean rule etc.

Portrait Crop

Portrait Format refers to rectangular pictures where the short side is horizontal and the longer edge vertical – as is traditional with pictures of faces – portraits. It is 90 ° to the Landscape crop. Even here center placement of the subject does not look nice.

Square Crop

Square Crop has 1:1 ratio and it is a simple and uncomplicated one that is particularly useful for symmetrical images, especially where there is a central point of interest (of course there’s no rules on this – unsymmetrical images can also work nicely too). Medium format cameras, toy cameras like the Holga and Diana, and smartphone apps like Instagram are making the square format more popular than ever in the digital age. Here in our Kingfisher photo, I placed subject right at the center and it looks better than the centrally placed bird in landscape format.

Panoramic Crop

Panoramic crop is a horizontally wide format with shorter height. By cropping the height we emphasize more on the width. It can produce a very nice effect in a wide landscape shot by chopping off the boring elements like a bland sky.

Vertical Crop

Vertical crop format is a 90° rotation of panoramic format. It is useful when you want to emphasize tall trees, tall buildings and long roads etc. This crop has a narrow strip of vertical element and shorter width.

Here are a few reasons why you may want to crop:

• You want to improve on the composition
• There are many extraneous elements which are not needed to be there in the picture
• Many viewfinders don’t show the 100% frame so you may need to do some fine tuning of the frame.
• You’ll need to crop for some ‘standard’ print sizes.
• You may simply not have enough zoom power so to get the shot you had in mind, you need to crop.

It’s important to make a note about limits of cropping. While cropping can help improve your overall photograph, if the original was taken with a low mega pixel camera, don’t expect to lop off 3/4th of the image and still have a great quality (resolution wise) left. Cropping can gain you some great end results when used wisely. It can help make a dramatic panorama print out of an average standard photograph. And it can give you freedom to experiment with different ratios to see what you can pull out of a cluttered photograph. Be creative, try to experiment. Cropping is an easy tool to use in a computer and can help shape your photographs in a new light.

In my next blog I will talk on another type of cropping which is done by Camera manufacturers – The Cropping Factor.