Phainopepla

Gallery: AvianPosted January 4, 2010151 views12 comments

Hi everybody and a Very Happy New Year to you all

I am posting after quite some time but have been following all the wonderful images here.

Here is a Phainopepla - a first for me - that I recently shot in Joshua Tree National Park in California.

Comments and Critique welcome. Larger image attached.

Camera Model Canon EOS 40D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/60
Av( Aperture Value ) 8.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +1/3
ISO Speed 100
Lens EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Focal Length 300.0 mm
Flash Off
Handheld

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on January 4, 2010 at 12:17 PM

A fine habitat short of this species Gaurav and welcome back ! A touch more room on top would have been ideal.
The light in the eye is great.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 4, 2010 at 12:22 PM

You sure must have a steady hand at this exposure time, Gaurav: the image looks great. Nice detail, fine pose. The bird even has his crest up.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on January 4, 2010 at 1:21 PM

Beautiful. Love the dof and crisp clean eye. Ive not heard of this bird.

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 4, 2010 at 2:28 PM

He's a beauty, love that eye.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 4, 2010 at 2:29 PM

A a great shot of a great bird. One I have never seen. I love the habitat, the colors, and the sharpness of the birds head and eye. I bit more room at the top would make this better IMO.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 4, 2010 at 2:41 PM

Very nice shot of the desert specialty. I wish I could find one here in AZ that perched low enough for a clean side view like this.

FYI Ken - this is a female - the males are glossy black with white wing patches that show in flight.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Gaurav Manglik on January 4, 2010 at 4:08 PM

Thanks all. As Richard pointed out - this is indeed a female. I couldn't see a male despite sticking around for some time.

I had to climb a couple of rocky ledges to get eye-level shot here - not somewhere I could get my tripod in.

Best Regards
Gaurav

Registered on December 2, 2005, 191 Posts, 2126 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pullen on January 4, 2010 at 6:18 PM

No nits from me, looks good. Ron

Registered on December 18, 2005, 74 Posts, 1413 Comments

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on January 4, 2010 at 8:39 PM

Wonderful image of an interesting bird, I don't believe I have ever seen one. Nice details and good eye contact. Well done.

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 5, 2010 at 12:22 AM

Superb image Gaurav, makes it even sweeter when it's your first photo of the species (I hope no one asks me to even pronounce it!). Great job scrambling into position to get the side view. Very sharp, especially that red eye.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 5, 2010 at 6:59 AM

Gaurav,

Good to see you posting again.

This is a really nice image of this bird, I love the habitat included and how you handled the exposure. A little more room at the top would have made this even better imo.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 5, 2010 at 2:29 PM

Wow, just an excellent shot, I have been trying to get a shot of one of these and just can not get close as yet. Wonderful tones and clarity, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments