Black Phoebe

Gallery: AvianPosted July 13, 201292 views8 comments

Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans)
Place: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ
Date: July 10, 2012, 6:49 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E III (2x), G1325, RRS BH-55, Sidekick
ISO 400, aperture priority matrix metered, 1/800th sec @ f/8
Raw, PS CS3, Mac, 51% of frame
No set up, not baited, no cloning, no noise reduction

Wow – my second time out to shoot this month! I went back to the Arboretum, where my revious post of a Cooper's Hawk was made July 6, to chase a reported rarity. I filled my time waiting for the rarity (a No Show) observing the Black Phoebe adults bringing food to their nestlings. More details at my blog.

Its okay if you don’t care for the nasty man-made concrete setting here. I’d prefer something more natural myself but I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity.

And that’s a female Mexican Amberwing dragonfly in case anyone was wondering.
As always: honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Please view the larger image before critiquing if possible.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 13, 2012 at 5:10 PM

The harder light & shadow works well Rich, adds some drama IMO.
The light DF prey stands out nicely, it's a great pose & comp too..

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

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on July 13, 2012 at 6:19 PM

You can forgive a less than perfect BG when you have such nice action taking place. I love the pose and everything looks nice and sharp where it should be. I could wish for just a little more light just behind the eye, but overall it's a fine shot.

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 13, 2012 at 9:06 PM

The cool prey makes this shot for me, nice job handling the tough light.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on July 13, 2012 at 9:28 PM

Love the colorful catch Richard, excellent work.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on July 14, 2012 at 8:10 AM

Love the bird and dragonfly Rich. As you say, the perch is not the greatest. Good to see you are getting out a "bit" more. Cheers.

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

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on July 14, 2012 at 11:57 AM

I really like the colors in this image and your composition - particularly with the phoebe looking back. The DF is a big bonus.The perch isn't ideal, but it fills up the entire frame and sets up the phoebe nicely. So it doesn't look too offensive.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on July 14, 2012 at 2:19 PM

Great catch in difficult lighting! I would love to see one of these, let alone catch it with such a beautiful insect!

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on July 14, 2012 at 7:48 PM

love the prey, Rich (and it looks pretty big for a phoebe--neat!). perch isn't ideal, but is fairly uniform and not that bad a setting. for as low as the sun was and only 1.5 hrs after sunrise it looks like the light was already getting difficult. wish you'd gotten a shot at the VABU--I've only seen that bird a couple times and was stunned at how attractive it is--that is one species that the field guides don't come close to doing justice.

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