Black Phoebe

Gallery: AvianPosted January 16, 2010150 views19 comments

Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)

Place: Sweetwater, Tucson, AZ, USA
Date: January 9, 2010
Equipment: Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (2x), G1325, RRS BH-55, Sidekick
ISO 400, aperture priority spot metered, 1/800th sec @ f/5.6, natural light no fill flash
Raw, PS CS3, Mac G4, 67% of frame

Last week I made the 100 mile trip to Tucson to try for the leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher that's been cooperating for local and visiting photographers, but not for me. But I did manage this Black Phoebe at the same location while waiting in vain.

Sweetwater is another urban waste water recharge facility – older and smaller than the Gilbert Water Ranch with more mature trees. There's a shallow concrete "stream" near the start of the trails where I saw lots of birds landing, so I sat down to get some shots. Every other photographer I saw there stayed standing and ignored this opportunity!

As always: honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Please view the larger image before critiquing if possible.

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on January 16, 2010 at 6:46 PM

Rich,

I like this nice simple composition and the great feather detail. This one has to be seen large to fully appreciate. Nice job holding details in the bright areas. Bummer about the Flycatcher, but glad you took the opportunity to photograph this Phoebe.

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 16, 2010 at 7:00 PM

Rich,

When I first viewed this image it took my breath away. I adore the dark water in the background and the wonderful ripples there. I love the rock the bird is perched on, the textures combined with the white & tan straitions in it seem to echo the lines in the water behind the bird and add an interesting graphical element. Your exposure of the bird is terrific and the fine details are too. Excellent processing as usual.

This is an amazing & appealing image as posted and I wish I had one like it in my files.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 16, 2010 at 7:06 PM

This is terrific Rich. The combination of the unusual and appealing perch, beautiful water and handsome bird can't be beat. Your composition, which makes the most of the perch and the bird's pose is perfect for me. An image that's just fun to look at - really top notch.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 16, 2010 at 7:20 PM

Now I know where the name comes from. . . that background water sure is sweet!

Something about his looks a little off, perhaps it's just the angle of the water behind the bird. Other than that though, the detail is great the perch is nice and the exposure is perfect.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Gaurav Manglik on January 16, 2010 at 8:30 PM

juat as Luke said - something about the light seems off. On seeing the image, I first thought that flash has been used. The details are nice but the larger version seems a bit oversharp to me.

This all might be just my eye playing games with me. The bg, perch and angle are awesome.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on January 16, 2010 at 8:44 PM

I never seem to catch what I think I'm gonna catch but am ususlly pleasantly surprised. I love the face, detail and water dof

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 16, 2010 at 9:43 PM

Wonderful shot Richard, I had just the opposite luck of you, I was trying to get this Phoebe on the rock and never could. The background and detail really make this shot for me, well done.

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 16, 2010 at 10:05 PM

Spectacularly nice image, Richard. I love the colors here, especially how the background matches the subject so well. Can't find any nits. Very fine image.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 16, 2010 at 11:19 PM

Sorry you didn't catch the Vermilion, but this one makes up for it in my opinion. I like the angle of the bird and the head turn and the eye is wonderful. The blur of the water in the bg is just perfect.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on January 16, 2010 at 11:53 PM

Richard, I like the pose and composition. A very nice photo of an interesting bird.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 17, 2010 at 12:59 AM

Impressive composition with a cool perch and background; wouldn't mean a thing if you hadn't nailed the Phoebe as well though.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on January 17, 2010 at 3:21 AM

Great detail and light Richard. What I find interesting is your your mention of "the other photographers". I've been photographing birds for more than 25 years in Australia and the only time I've ever seen another photographer was when I've gone out with them. We're still pretty thin on the ground here.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 17, 2010 at 8:45 AM

Rich, a very nice pose, great water textures, and very nice detail. I like the comp as is but might also experiment with a vertical comp if it were mine.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 17, 2010 at 9:42 AM

Richard: This is really nice. Head turn, bg, exposure, catchlight. All work very well together. I'd work to burn the rock down, especially near the bottom as the brightness really grabs my attention. Other than that, I like it all, composition included.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on January 17, 2010 at 9:59 AM

When I was there at this same spot there were 4 Vermilion Flycatchers including the leucistic female. I also saw (probably) this same Black Phoebe. I didn't get any shots of the Phoebe as that's something I have at home, but maybe I should've. (I think I got around 1000 shots of VF's though.) I like the environment that this bird is surrounded by, and your usual flawless techs.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Wilson on January 17, 2010 at 11:59 AM

This is really excellent Rich, the background ripples really keep your eyes moving around the image. The bright spot on the rock is a little distracting but an easy fix if so inclined. A really nice image!

Registered on May 17, 2006, 70 Posts, 1166 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on January 17, 2010 at 2:18 PM

I love the pretty rock perch and the gorgeous bird that never lets me get close. Nice details. I love the water background. The lighting looks really good to me.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Dubois on January 17, 2010 at 2:53 PM

This image grabs me too Richard: it's beautiful. I do agree with some other comments about the sharpening. The phoebe looks quite a bit sharper than the rock it's sitting on.

Registered on February 22, 2005, 129 Posts, 4739 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on January 17, 2010 at 7:34 PM

I really like the way that you have composed this Richard. Superb job on the exposure. That background color really compliments the Phoebe well.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments