Say's Phoebe

Gallery: AvianPosted June 9, 2010119 views10 comments

Olympus E-3, 300mm x 2.0TC, handheld
f7.1, 1/250, ISO640

Maclaren River, Denali Highway. The background is a small lake under overcast skies. I think this is the female; she had just swapped places with the male. You can see the shape of the eggs she was incubating on her chest and abdomen. This is the farthest west SAPH nest anyone knows.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by David Chauvin on June 9, 2010 at 5:13 AM

Nice pose in the soft light, Jim. It appears that the focus is off on the eye and bill. Some of the breast feathers are sharper. I'm kind of a fanatic for the eye being the sharpest part in a tightly framed wildlife image so that's where I always go first.

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on June 9, 2010 at 5:33 AM

A good one, Jim. I'm not sure the eye is soft so much as in shadow with a soft catchlight. The edges look sharp. The tip of the beak does look a little soft, probably from movement. The feather detail is crisp without being crunchy. Al dente, as it were!

A solid photo in soft light, and a great subject!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by denise ippolito on June 9, 2010 at 8:46 AM

Jim, Beautiful pose and BG color. I like the details and would agree that the eye could use another round of sharpening for web presentation. I might run some NR on the BG. Nice looking chest feathers and the color tones look good.

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on June 9, 2010 at 9:46 AM

a nice pose and bg, Jim. the crown and breast look nice and sharp, so I'm not sure why the eye seems less so, but it does to me also--I agree that another round of sharpening around the eye might help.

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 9, 2010 at 11:21 AM

Jim, I likve the pose and head turn you got here. like with my 2x tc, looks like you lost some detail though. I have such a hard time with that combo. but doing it handheld....wow, good results for handheld!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on June 9, 2010 at 11:49 AM

Nice feather detail and perch with an interesting look, way to go.

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

Comment posted by David Sparks on June 9, 2010 at 7:45 PM

Jim:
Wow! seeing the shape of the eggs on chest and abdomen. Seems more important and interesting than a sharp undifferentiated eye to me.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 10, 2010 at 12:16 AM

Gorgeous job on this one, Jim. Wonderful detail and I like the bit of shadow around the eye.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 10, 2010 at 6:30 AM

She's a sweetie and I love the pose.

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

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on June 11, 2010 at 12:11 AM

Nicely captured, Jim. I like the smooth background as well.

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments