Pyrrhuloxia

Interesting image - almost abstract with the limited palette and hint of vegetation.

Great portrait- This species is really beautiful, and your shot is excellent in every way: awesome colors palette, great details and a magic smooth BG- My best congrats for this, Fabio

Very interesting bird. Looks as if the bird has been lit by red light from the left.

Really an awesome image Sandy. Love the bird, perch, and that super BG. Can you provide some details as to how you made this shot beyond just the techs you provided? Thanks.

A simple but sweet portrait of this beauty Sandy, Good detail where it counts and a complementary background. Nice Work!!!

Ken Archer

Ron, nothing unusual at all. Handheld 500 mm, standing, saw small group of pyrrhu's in tree, approached slowly over 10 minutes and able to get fairly close to several. Stopped down to smooth BG on an overcast early morning (a little too much since the tail and aft section of branch are not in focus) , Straightened very tilted bird in CS, applied Nik de-fine as usual, cloned out small parts of branch to simplify BG.
In general area of water ponds build for wildlife preservation, so trees often are full of birds.
Sandy

what a lovely species! nicely exposed too, although I might be tempted to tone down overall highlights just a tad

Wonderful capture of this amazing bird Sandy. A really nice composition with the nice perch. I agree with Morkel about seeing how toning down the image may look. Nice work.

Really a nice shot Sandy. Interesting background and great subject. I like the even light on the bird. My gut instinct would be to frame this less narrowly but my aesthetic sense is sometimes (often) lacking. Really like it as you've presented it though.

Hello Sandy. Beautiful capture you have here of a very difficult bird to catchout in the open. I really like the clearity and detail in the larger version. Well done.

What a beautiful image Sandy, and you make it sound all so easy; I think I need some tips from you in the art of stealth in field craft ;^) Very pleasing to look at, well done :^)

Interesting colors on the bird. You've presented it well in terms of comp and bg, Sandy. I like the perch, there's just enough green which compliments the bird colors.

Sandy,

Love the background here, the muted palette accentuates the lovely colors in the bird's plumage. I like the pose, the soft light and the exposure.This image conveys a peaceful mood for me that I quite enjoy

Among the best photos of a Pyrrhuloxia I've seen. These silky flycatchers are notoriously difficult to photograph, especially to get any detail in the body; you've done an excellent job. The understated color palette is just wonderful. I guess I have two nits: it looks like you could have dropped to f6.5 and gotten a bit more detail in the tail? And I have a personal aversion to frames... Neither nit takes anything away from what I said: an outstanding shot.

Sandy, that is a beauty! The bg compliments the birds colors great. I don't usually like frames here but I like your special matting

Beautiful image, Sandy! The gray tones in the background go well with the subject. The red highlights are phenomenal. Nice pose and the new leaves provide a nice color contrast. Larger version is very sharp.