Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2011-12-05/Featured content

Featured content

This week's Signpost is for the birds!

This edition covers content promoted from 27 November to 3 December 2011.
A male Orange-bellied Parrot
A female Orange-bellied Parrot
A male and female Orange-bellied Parrot. Only 35 to 50 specimens of the species exist in the wild today. JJ Harrison, who took these new featured pictures, gives us a little background and a few hints below.

The Signpost welcomes back JJ Harrison, previously interviewed in August. Four of JJ's pictures were promoted this week, and he shares a little of what it takes to shoot featured pictures.

"Lighting, position, exposure and composition are a few things that are worth considering when out and about with a camera. Where the light at any given time is and how best to approach a subject are important considerations. Getting to your subject’s horizontal level usually looks better, and can also help to throw the background out of focus. As far as exposure goes, I recommend checking the exposure/histogram every few shots and adjusting the exposure compensation if needed. I use fill flash a lot, particularly in bright sunlight, and I adjust the flash exposure compensation as necessary. I often use aperture priority (Av) mode, except for birds in flight or when I use flashes and other techniques where manual exposure (M) is better."