House Finch

Gallery: AvianPosted December 4, 2011128 views11 comments

House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus)

Place: Gilbert Water Ranch, AZ, USA
Date: November 10, 2011 7:46 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (2x), G1325, RRS BH-55, Sidekick
Exposure: ISO 400, Aperture priority spot metered, 1/2500th, F/5.6, -2/3 ev compensation
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac G4, 77% of frame

This was a typical unplanned, unbaited, non setup shot for me, taken when the finch landed nearby. I framed the image without moving the tripod and depressed the assignable function button I have set to switch to spot metering because of the potentially misleading bright background. I’ve cropped to get the subject out of the center.

I like the profile, the lack of bright colors, the background and detail in the subject. I’d prefer the out of focus twig wasn’t there.

To get maximum impact before commenting please view the larger version. Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on December 4, 2011 at 4:02 PM

I really like the light as well and the nice yellow in the bg. I'm thinking I would remove the oof branch

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Alan Murphy on December 4, 2011 at 5:15 PM

Nice light and graduated BG.

Registered on December 3, 2003, 192 Posts, 739 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on December 4, 2011 at 5:43 PM

Well executed 0 I like how the BG colors are split nicely by the bird

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 4, 2011 at 7:07 PM

I like the light on the finch and the background colors. IQ looks great as I always expect from you. I'm not particularly bothered by the OOF twig.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 4, 2011 at 7:21 PM

I like the BG shift of color in your BG bottom & RT that frames the bird Rich.
Nice details, light, and bit of catch-light also.
Some expert cloning would take care of the OOF twig you mention, but I understand your position on the matter.
Well done.

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 4, 2011 at 10:13 PM

love the angle of the light and the colors in this, Rich. oof branch is a non-issue for me. I might consider a little more room on the left for the composition, just to move the bird a hair farther from the center.

I don't think I have a one-button option for spot-metering on my Canon--wish I did (and better make sure).

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on December 5, 2011 at 11:42 AM

I like the pose, soft light and background, I might of gone with a vertical crop but this works well as presented, these House Finch's can be a fun bird to photograph, way to go.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 5, 2011 at 4:07 PM

Love the warm light Rich. Great perch and BG too. Nice.

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

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on December 5, 2011 at 5:40 PM

Excellent comp, Rich. The side lighting makes for a good choice. The bird looks a bit soft, but may just be the processing.