Snow Bunting

Gallery: AvianPosted January 19, 2011228 views29 comments

Although common, I have had a difficult time getting a good image of one.
D90, 300f4, iso320, 1/400, f9, natural light
For me, it has been hard to get detail in the head. The head is sharpened selectively. Although oversharpened, I liked it this way. Larger version included.
Your comments and critiques are valued and appreciated.

Comments

29 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 19, 2011 at 1:02 PM

Really nice Dan. Love the subdued light and the nice perch with snow. Bird is sharp and has great detail. I don't know this species, so I can't comment on how the head looks with the sharpening you discribe relative to a "natural" look.

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

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on January 19, 2011 at 1:04 PM

Simple and beautiful Dan

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Geoffrey Baker on January 19, 2011 at 1:54 PM

One of the best Snow Bunting shots I've seen, excellent work.

Geoff.

Registered on August 20, 2010, 192 Posts, 980 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 19, 2011 at 2:17 PM

I like the overall detail on the larger version along with the composition, does not appear over sharpened to my eyes (no halo's), excellent shot, well done.

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on January 19, 2011 at 3:09 PM

A delightful image - I especially like the pose, head-turn and plmauge detail. Exposure and crisp presentation are spot-on.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 19, 2011 at 3:26 PM

Nice, Dan. For my taste, the head does seem a bit oversharpened. I like the composition and bg.

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

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on January 19, 2011 at 4:49 PM

Dan this is way beyond good! It is indeed fabulous. Wish it was mine.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on January 19, 2011 at 5:06 PM

Looks prmio to me. Nice clean image, good comp, detail and pose.
I had that lens, and although some use it very well I had a tough time with focus on small objects.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 19, 2011 at 5:31 PM

Nice to see this Snow Bunting off the ground, and I like the composition. But the sharpening is too overdone and detracts from the image for me,.

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

Comment posted by Dan Moore on January 19, 2011 at 6:11 PM

Dan,
A WOW shot for me.

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on January 19, 2011 at 6:36 PM

Love it Dan - particularly the setting and comp.

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 19, 2011 at 7:22 PM

Simply a lovely image Dan. I too would back off on the sharpening a bit and I suspect you'd have a stellar photo that is still plenty sharp.

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

Comment posted by dan elster on January 19, 2011 at 7:25 PM

I'm not sure if I've ever seen such a nice snow bunting image. Love the setting.

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 19, 2011 at 8:16 PM

You've done an excellent job here Dan. If the head's over-sharp, it's only very slightly.
Beautiful bird!

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 19, 2011 at 9:00 PM

Beautiful pose, setting light and eye contact. Love the snow on the branches. The head does appear slightly over sharpened, I'd back off a small amount there. I like how this looks high key, but conveys a softer mood than high key.

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 19, 2011 at 10:33 PM

The thing that grabs me with this image is the birds pose. Love the backside view against the high key background. Details looks great. Your sharpening looks just fine to me

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

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on January 19, 2011 at 10:39 PM

Hi Dan

A great capture of this flighty bird. Love the natural perch, with the Hi key B.G.. with my weak eyes, i love sharp captures

Albert Darmo. Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 19, 2011 at 10:49 PM

Gorgeous image!
Doesn't look over-sharpened to me.
Great perch, head-turn, eye, detail, and love the bits of snow.
The tiniest nit, since it is perfect otherwi, IMO:
I'd suggest cleaning up the one stray pine needle on the center left border, and cleaning up the area to the left of the lower branch where it intersects the border. Now? perfect!
Sandy

Sandy

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

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on January 19, 2011 at 10:58 PM

Very appealing image Dan, would look great matted, framed, and hanging on a wall.

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 19, 2011 at 11:35 PM

A lovely capture and comp. If it were mine, I'd back the sharpening off just a hair, especially on the head. These little guys sure look different in non-breeding plumage.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on January 20, 2011 at 12:54 AM

Beautiful

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on January 20, 2011 at 3:00 AM

Lovely shot, Dan ! Exquisite composition and very fine detail. I like it very much.

Mauro

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

Comment posted by David Williams on January 20, 2011 at 10:11 AM

I'd love to have this one, Dan. The only place I see them is on the ground, and far from me. Well done!

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Fabrizio Moglia on January 20, 2011 at 4:37 PM

Beautiful picture of this Snow Bunting. Some of them arrived also in northern Italy and it's not easy take a good picture to this never quite bird !

Ciao, fabrizio.

Registered on January 18, 2011, 5 Posts, 28 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 20, 2011 at 5:37 PM

Excellent Photo Dan, Nice Work

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on January 20, 2011 at 11:32 PM

This may be my favorite image I have seen in a while. Beautiful bird, perfectly sharp. Great perch, snow and white background. Well done for me in every respect. Your luck on this one certainly changed.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on January 21, 2011 at 9:17 AM

Your images are among my favorites to view and this one is no exception. Excellent! Sharon