Female Painted Bunting

Gallery: AvianPosted September 21, 2011181 views8 comments

If the ID is incorrect, please correct me. Thanks.

Canon EOS REBEL T2i
EF400mm f/5.6L USM
9/16/2011 – 2:28:13 PM
1/500 sec
Aperture priority
f/5.6
ISO 400
Camera on car window
Savannah NWR, Georgia
Raw, CS5, 65% of FF

I can see that it's going to be very hard to get images of small birds with decent backgrounds. I do look forward to all the attempts, though.

My evaluation of this image is:

Pros: Perch and bird are clear and sharp, I think; good detail, I think; good pose; good light in the eye.

Cons: Background is busy, not "pretty."

Comments and suggestions are desired and appreciated.

Thank you!

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on September 21, 2011 at 11:47 AM

Barbara, I agree with your Pros, but I happen to like backgrounds which show the environment. IMO there are no major distractions from the bird. The foreground branch to the left of the bird seems to be a bit distracting and it seems that it is in sharper focus than the bird IMO.

I like the image.

Skip

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on September 21, 2011 at 12:20 PM

I believe this is a female Painted Bunting, Barbara. Nice detail in the bird and nice pose. The background is a bit busy.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on September 21, 2011 at 2:25 PM

Nice shot Barbara, the busy BG in front of the bird does not bother me, but the bright area behind it does. If you could tone it down some I think would help the overall photo. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on September 21, 2011 at 5:32 PM

Barbara, I agree with your assessment for the most part. The bird's head is sharp and that is the most important thing. The BG is not my favorite, but if I did anything I would tone done the bright areas.

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on September 21, 2011 at 8:02 PM

Thank you for the comments. Matt, thank you for the correct ID. That's exciting for me!

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 21, 2011 at 9:30 PM

Nice sharp image of the Bunting, Barbara. I think I'd tone down the bright patches. Other than that, the bg is fine.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 22, 2011 at 8:10 AM

Great details seen in the LP Barbara.
I think the natural setting works fine because it makes the birds colors stand out, nice pose.
Well done!

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on September 22, 2011 at 12:06 PM

I agree with your own assessment.

Yes. shooting small birds in habitat is challenging. Too many photographers will label an image "... in habitat" to try to excuse a cluttered sloppy image. You still need a good composition with minimal clutter and distraction and that takes more patience and care when shooting.

Color looks natural; sharpness is fine. Exposure is good. I'd trade some off the top for more space on the left to maintian more traditional proportions. I agree about the distraction of the bright area.

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