Black-throated Sparrow

Gallery: AvianPosted April 29, 201073 views8 comments

Canon 7D, 500mm + 1.4x TC, monopod

1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 400

Crop from horizontal to vertical = 44% of original (8 of 18 MP)

I set out this morning for Black-chinned Sparrows and ended up with this Black-throated Sparrow. I'll take it.

I love the luminous green bg here--not exactly what I associate with this desert sparrow. I think the side-lighting is interesting too, especially the textures it reveals in the head and nape. The blacks are a little black and the whites are a little white, but not too bad. I suppose it might be preferable to clone out the extraneous branches, but I still like it as is.

Comments and critiques appreciated. Please view larger version if possible.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 29, 2010 at 2:49 PM

Cute little bird in a nice pose.
Must have been some very harsh light, as there are blown whites here and lack of detail in the blacks. I bet you couimprove these with some work in CS.
I'd personally clone out the entire oof branch behind the bird, to focus on him and the nice perch.

sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 29, 2010 at 5:09 PM

I too like the green background (how did you manage that, by the way?). But the blown whites are a serious issue for me. Perhaps you could try a double conversion in ACR, with one reducing exposure to rescue any highlight texture, and the second conversion adding exposure to see if there's any detail in the blacks.

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on April 29, 2010 at 5:10 PM

Nice shot, I agree OOF branches can go. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on April 29, 2010 at 8:15 PM

So darn cute all puffy like that. Nits noted I too vote for removing the branches. I think it will strengthen the impact.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 29, 2010 at 11:28 PM

Nice image,, Brian. the somewhat harsh light is evocative of the desert, though that green bg tries to contradict it. What is it anyhow?

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 29, 2010 at 11:33 PM

thanks for the comments all, I think I was a little sloppy with the processing on this. an extra 10-15 points on the shadow and highlight sliders makes a big difference, though I don't have the original here on my laptop for a repost.

the bg was either a mormon tea of a fresh-leaved shrub live-oak. they were both very vibrant and I can't remember which one this is against. This was taken near the upper limits of the BTSP elevational range, probably around 6500ft, in pinyon-juniper/mixed Great Basin desertscrub.

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

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on April 30, 2010 at 9:37 AM

Nice overall composition, Brian. I'm okay with the background twig. Just a little work on the blacks and whites to balance out the exposure. I think it's all there still.... just needs a little attention.

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on April 30, 2010 at 1:59 PM

Interesting post Brian as I had just seen my first black throated sparrow out in the desert just the other day and had to look it up to see what it was. I like the head turn into the light. A little work as others have suggested and this is a keeper. I was also wondering if a horizontal crop vs vertical might work better since there is so much space and oof branches above the bird. Or keep the vertical and crop to just below the top right oof branch. That background really helps bring out the bird.

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