American Pipit

Gallery: AvianPosted November 28, 2010132 views15 comments

American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)

Place: Scottsdale, AZ
Date: November 13, 2010
Equipment: Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (2x), monopod from car
Exposure: ISO 400, aperture priority matrix metered, 1/1250th @ f/8, -1/3rd ev compensation
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac G4, crop: 35% of full frame

Pipits can be difficult subjects to get within camera range as they are found on the ground in open barren areas or out in the distance of muddy places. So for this image taken from my car window along a dirt road at a sod farm it was necessary to crop a lot more than I typically do.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Please view larger image for critical assessment.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on November 28, 2010 at 10:54 AM

Love the mud on raised for Rich. Great colors all working well together. This a great example of how getting a shot tack sharp can pay off a bit. If you have to crop in like this to get the comp you want, then you best get the subject tack sharp. Detail in feathers hold up well it tack sharp, while any softness if magnified greatly. This looks really good for 35% because the bird is tack. Well done on a tough subject.

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

Comment posted by Ian Mason on November 28, 2010 at 10:58 AM

I love the raised foot and the colour palette. I suppose that with such a crop, loss of detail is inevitable, and it maybe shows a little around the eye in the larger version. Having said that, if you hadn't told us, I'm not so sure I would have noticed!

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on November 28, 2010 at 11:01 AM

Beautiful! I like the warm brownish-red tones in the background. It's a great compliment to the subtle beauty of the Pipit.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Giorgio Gregori on November 28, 2010 at 12:51 PM

Excellent image. I really like the color tones. The raised foot gives dynamism to the pose . The subject is positioned to the union of the two diagonals formed by the ground .
Giorgio

Registered on November 16, 2007, 87 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 28, 2010 at 2:57 PM

Love the earthy tones throughout and the low angle - never got to photograph any during the fall migration this time around.

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on November 28, 2010 at 4:25 PM

Rich,

I love how well the colors of the setting accent the subtle colors of this species. Lovely pose, light and comp. I think this image must have been very sharp straight out of the camera to suffer so little loss of detail with this sized crop percentage. Great low angle and that raised foot adds interest. Very appealing image as posted.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on November 28, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Love the earthy colors Rich and the pipit stands out very well against them. What Ron B said regarding sharpness. Very nice.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on November 28, 2010 at 6:36 PM

Love it, Richard. I especially like the setting BG colours for this bird.

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 28, 2010 at 11:21 PM

Great pose, Richard, and I love the dof in this one. You have plenty of detail for web posting.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on November 29, 2010 at 6:04 AM

Great effort to get the low perspective Richard. Love the mid-stride capture and the brown hues.

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on November 29, 2010 at 8:58 AM

love the colors and raised foot here, Rich. detail has held up well. I think I could go for a little more room in front.

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

Comment posted by Monica Siri on November 29, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Richard,
I love the pose with the raised foot and the complementary colors of the mud.
Very appealing image.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on November 29, 2010 at 10:36 PM

An excellent photo of this species, I like the raised foot.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on November 30, 2010 at 10:49 AM

Beautiful colors in both the background and in the bird. Lovely composition.
May

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on November 30, 2010 at 10:51 AM

Nice one Rich, I like how you still have detail on such a small crop and the angles of the dirt background bring the image some balance, well done.

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