Lazuli Bunting

Gallery: AvianPosted June 5, 2010252 views25 comments

Just got back from a camping/photo trip to the remote, rugged and splendidly beautiful San Rafael Swell region of central Utah where we found a few of these buntings along the river bottom. This was my first opportunity with the species and I was delighted to get quite a few images I like.

Larger version provided

7D, 1/1600, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, shot from pickup window on 6/4/10, cropped to 73% of original image, slight exposure adjustment in ACR, cloned out a couple of green shoot tips poking up from bottom of frame, sharpened (my usual routine reduced by 1/3), no additional adjustments/processing, natural light

Comments/critique appreciated

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Mark Jenkins on June 5, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Ron, to me the BG, lighting, DOF, feather detail, perch, head turn, corneal reflex all just about perfect. A really good shot.

Registered on April 20, 2008, 307 Posts, 604 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on June 5, 2010 at 1:03 PM

Terrific. Great detail; a nice setting and perch; natural color; a good catchlight in the eye.

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

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on June 5, 2010 at 1:03 PM

Great job, Ron! Superb details, beutiful BG.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on June 5, 2010 at 1:31 PM

Ron,
beautiful bird, pose, setting and background. Congrats!

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by denise ippolito on June 5, 2010 at 1:39 PM

Excellent pose and perch. Fantastic sharp details.

Registered on December 17, 2009, 202 Posts, 1529 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on June 5, 2010 at 2:23 PM

See what happens when you get out of that red truck?

This is a real winner, Ron. I like the pose that shows the side view so well.

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

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on June 5, 2010 at 3:27 PM

Perfect in every way possible Ron. I love it !

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

Comment posted by Ronnie Gaubert on June 5, 2010 at 5:52 PM

Hi Ron,
Perfect in every way, congrats.
Thanks for posting,
Ronnie G.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 810 Posts, 3495 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on June 5, 2010 at 5:55 PM

Another impeccable image, Ron.
Well Done!
Neil

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on June 5, 2010 at 6:29 PM

Super pose and neat perch, tack sharp as well. Seems as though the trip was really productive Ron, Congrats.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on June 5, 2010 at 7:06 PM

gorgeous bird, and a gorgeous image, Ron. comp, lighting, detail, perch, pose, are all flawless. well done.

Hope you took along a wide-angle, too--the Swell is an amazing place.

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 5, 2010 at 7:06 PM

Doesn't get much better. Beautiful bird, pose, perch and BG. Very nice.

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

Comment posted by David Chauvin on June 5, 2010 at 8:21 PM

Sweet shot in every respect!

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on June 5, 2010 at 8:38 PM

Just about perfect.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on June 5, 2010 at 9:17 PM

Great job on this Ron, the larger image was a pleasure to view, detail, perch, colors, catch light and background are come together for this, well done.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 5, 2010 at 9:56 PM

Clean comp and a great BG, nice colors and bit of catchlight there..
Very good detail and DOF as well.
Have a great weekend Ron

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on June 6, 2010 at 12:29 AM

Just beautiful Ron - great perch, comp and background

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on June 6, 2010 at 12:36 AM

Just wanted to chime in to say what a truly wonderful avian photo this is. Great bird, great photo!!! Sounds like you enjoyed the region as well, doesn't get much better than that.

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

Comment posted by May Haga on June 6, 2010 at 9:17 AM

This is gorgeous Ron. Beautiful setting for a well captured bird.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on June 6, 2010 at 10:12 AM

Wonderful image, Ron. No nits from me. Even the composition is perfect.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 6, 2010 at 12:07 PM

Really nice comp pose and perch. Great detail in the face as well yet at f8 I would have thought the front wing area would be sharper?

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

Comment posted by Joe Vincent on June 6, 2010 at 7:49 PM

Just terrific Ron!!! Excellent work!!

Registered on August 16, 2005, 69 Posts, 792 Comments

Comment posted by Satie Sharma on June 7, 2010 at 1:17 PM

Beautiful shot, Ron. Love the colors, detail, pose and setting. Great looking bird too.

Registered on November 11, 2003, 189 Posts, 5335 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Bowers on June 7, 2010 at 1:48 PM

Superb Lazuli ! Well done.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 9 Posts, 18 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on June 8, 2010 at 4:12 PM

Sorry I missed this - insanely sharp with great color balance and really nice DOF. It's a great coincidence that f/8 (which tends to be sharpest for big lenses) also provides the best DOF on bird images.

- Luke

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