Snow Bunting & repost

Gallery: AvianPosted January 29, 2011200 views17 comments

Roadrunner in the morning, Snow Bunting in the afternoon; makes for a nice combo IMO. This Snow Bunting has been around since December, but seems to go AWOL at times. There hadn't been any reports on it for several days, so I wasn't expecting it when I went down to Quivira NWR yesterday afternoon. The problem with where this bird hangs out is that the light is wrong in the afternoon/evening. This image was taken right at sunset, so I tried some on camera flash to lighten up the front side. I went back this morning for better light, and the bird wasn't there, despite multiple attempts to locate over a couple hours. 7D, f/8, ISO 400, 1/200, 409mm, on camera flash, cropped to vertical, taken just before it left a deposit.

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 29, 2011 at 3:42 PM

Rob,

I think the flash worked very well for this image, I can see plenty of detail in the bird's plumage and importantly this doesn't have a "flashed" look. Additionally I love the golden light on the rock and how it touches some parts of the bird. Lovely pose, sharpness and eye contact. Since you mentioned this was cropped to vertical I might be tempted to leave a little more space on the right side of the frame.

I keep looking for the Snow Buntings here, so far no luck.

This image is very appealing to me as posted.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 29, 2011 at 4:47 PM

I too like this image. Could not have told this was flashed if you had not stated it, which is great. Good use of flash. The golden light on the left face of the rock adds a ton to this image IMO. The sharpness is good and I like the overall comp, but I agree with Mia that just a bit more room on the right, say to complete the fall off of the rock face would make this great image even better. Well done.

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 29, 2011 at 4:47 PM

Rob, the bird is gorgeous, great detail and pose. The flash was a good call! the perch and the OOF rocks under it are a bit problematic. If this were mine, I think I would crop just under the tail feathers and darken and slightly desaturate the perch selectively. But that's just me. I see other's feel differently. I agree that more room on the right would be helpful.

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

Comment posted by Marc Dubuc on January 29, 2011 at 5:38 PM

Very nice capture Rob!

Registered on January 4, 2011, 59 Posts, 229 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 29, 2011 at 6:44 PM

Sweet photo Rob, excellent usage of fill flash.

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by Larry Reitz on January 29, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Super image, Rob. It looks like he is sitting on top of the world and you got him in the alpenglow.

Registered on September 7, 2007, 32 Posts, 335 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 29, 2011 at 8:50 PM

Terrific! Wonderful detail. Nice color. Strong composition.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on January 29, 2011 at 11:40 PM

Nice capture - I personally would prefer more room though.

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

Comment posted by Michael Twaddell on January 30, 2011 at 12:10 AM

Excellent image! Perfect use of fill flash!

Registered on August 16, 2007, 199 Posts, 2132 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 30, 2011 at 12:47 AM

Great contrast between the cool background color and those nice warm highlights. Flash worked very well here, in fact I wouldn't have guessed. The foreground rock is unfortunate in that it hides a bit of the tail and is slightly obtrusive. DGSB - "darn good snow bunting"!

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on January 30, 2011 at 6:09 AM

Great use of fill flash Rob, plenty of detail in the larger image. I'd be tempted to give it a little more room.

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Rob Graham on January 30, 2011 at 9:36 AM

Thanks everybody for the comments and feedback. I'm attaching a horizontal crop which allows the bird more room in front, and darkened the rocks slightly. It also brings in some of the background glow, which I like. To keep a vertical crop, I would have to add more canvas. I wouldn't mind doing that in this case, but if I were to enter this into a competition, that kind of addition probably wouldn't be allowed. I'm curious which you prefer, the vertical or horizontal. Thanks again.

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on January 30, 2011 at 11:11 AM

This is a beauty Rob and the repost is even stronger. Good use of the tools at your disposal. Wonderful work!

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Andy Shepherd on January 30, 2011 at 11:44 AM

Your on camera flash has worked very well, giving good detail throughout the bunting, but what I like most about this image, is the rim of gorgeous light running down the back of the bird, it makes for a super shot, Rob.

Andy...

Registered on September 24, 2006, 123 Posts, 1254 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 30, 2011 at 5:54 PM

Rob, sharpness and detail are super and I love the golden light on the rock and the buntings back and wing edge. The foreground rock isn't an issue for me but I do think the original was too tight on the right and prefer your repost.

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 31, 2011 at 12:24 PM

Nice job in difficult lighting conditions, I happen to like the repost seeing more of that nice background in front of the bird, well done.

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

Comment posted by David Williams on January 31, 2011 at 6:02 PM

Love the interesting lighting on this one, Rob. I also prefer more room on the right in the second one.

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