Pine Siskin

Gallery: AvianPosted August 27, 2012144 views14 comments

A very common bird in our back yard most years and quite cooperative (you almost have to shoo them away to fill feeders). However, it's one that I have a difficult time portraying in a complimentary way. I liked the way this image came out despite the odd bg color provided by the garage roof.

7D, 300 mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, hand held, f7/1, 1/400, iso 400, Av mode with no compensation. Processed in CS5. Cropped to 8.7 MP. Cleaned some messy seed debris from the beak (they're sloppy eaters). Taken at 9:54 am in filtered sun on August 24th.

Your comments and criticisms are most welcome.

Thanks for looking,

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 27, 2012 at 11:20 PM

This is a beauty! Great pose, very fine detail, interesting branch - and the roof top isn't so bad - it actually compliments the reds in the branch.
If the BG really bugs you, you could drop out the whole BG with a program like Nik's "Re-mask" and stick in one of a colour found in nature! (lol!)
Nice!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on August 28, 2012 at 12:33 AM

They are fun birds to have around and I wish they showed up in our yard once in a while here in Phoenix (only once in 18 years).

The BG color may be unusual but it works with the siskin.

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

Comment posted by Greg Oakley on August 28, 2012 at 2:54 AM

Nice detail in this Dennis,
Cheers, Greg

Registered on June 12, 2012, 115 Posts, 266 Comments

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on August 28, 2012 at 9:31 AM

Wow! Love these little birds. Wish I had more of them around here.
Nice job focusing on the eye and wonderful sharpness and detail all around.
The BG doesn't bother me a bit.
Nicely done.

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on August 28, 2012 at 1:44 PM

Very nice, Dennis. I think the BG color works well with the perch and the bird. Excellent sharpness, and a classic Siskin perch.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on August 28, 2012 at 5:23 PM

Very interesting shot with that background color, I like the perch, pose and feather detail, nice job in getting this.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 28, 2012 at 6:02 PM

Very nice looking siskin, excellent pose and sharpness. Looks like it could be a high desert setting.

Sweet One Dennis

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by David Williams on August 28, 2012 at 8:34 PM

Definitely a different bg, Dennis, but I like it as well. Very good detail and a nice perch.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on August 29, 2012 at 7:20 AM

Great pose and head turn Dennis

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

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on August 29, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Excellent, Dennis. I like the background, and the perfect pose.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on August 29, 2012 at 5:12 PM

sweet shot with great detail, unusual BG eded interesting level for the spectators........

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on August 29, 2012 at 8:54 PM

Gorgeous Dennis. One of my favorite little birds beautifully captured.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on August 29, 2012 at 9:35 PM

Great pose and I like the background colour. I'd be tempted to disguise the broken off branch tip.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 31, 2012 at 6:20 PM

The "odd" BG color works for me Dennis, I'm right at home

Techs look excellent, pin sharp

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