Tree Swallow

Gallery: AvianPosted August 18, 2013150 views14 comments

April 7, 2013 San Joaquin Wildlife Preserve, Irvine, California

The preserve has a number of nesting boxes and this male is one of a pair that repeatedly landed in the vicinity of their box, making it possible for us to get a multitude of shots of them. Unfortunately, it was one of those "early morning, low clouds, California days.

Nikon D800 Nikkor 600mm 1.4TC 850mm 1/1000 f/5.6 White balance auto RAW Wimberly gimbal on a tripod Processed in Lightroom, PS6 and NIK

Comments welcome

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on August 18, 2013 at 4:57 PM

I prefer this type of lighting and I'm glad you pulled the trigger. You were able to pick-up some excellent color and detail and you caught him in a perfect pose

.................................................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on August 18, 2013 at 5:01 PM

Simple, clean and precise. Very very nice! Love that typical swallow wing position.

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on August 18, 2013 at 7:26 PM

That soft light made for a great shot, Patrick. The bird's colors are clearly seen but not over powering as can happen in bright sun. At first I though it was on a utility line of some sort he was perched on then noticed it was green so was veg. Makes a great perch. And did you notice the bird has a USFWS band on the leg? Nice pose from this guy like he just arrived or is getting ready to leave. Composed and exposed nicely.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on August 18, 2013 at 7:43 PM

Beautiful, Patrick.
Very good details.

Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on August 18, 2013 at 10:17 PM

outstanding detail Patrick, awesome colors and lovely pose which shows its beauty, nicely darkened background, simply beauty

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

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 18, 2013 at 11:48 PM

Delightful! Exceptional detail, great pose, bright eye, and simple clean BG

Sandy

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

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on August 18, 2013 at 11:56 PM

Looks pretty near perfect to me. Great detail,great pose. I like the perch and background. Has a painterly feel about it.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on August 19, 2013 at 12:23 AM

Good stuff, Patrick. I like the coloring on this one.

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

Comment posted by keith mitchell on August 19, 2013 at 3:14 AM

Patrick never seen one of these but your image looks spot on! nice colours and very sharp.
I will contact you re Skomer.
Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by Tjie Poo on August 19, 2013 at 4:43 PM

Excellent capture Patrick ! Great details and I love the head turn and wings position. The ring on the leg makes it a bit unnatural, but no big deal.

Registered on December 4, 2012, 51 Posts, 511 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on August 19, 2013 at 5:51 PM

The soft light really worked in your favor here. Great capture, fine techs and a lovely image.

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on August 20, 2013 at 7:53 AM

Excellent detail and beautiful colors, the pose couldn't be better.

Ray

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 21, 2013 at 6:31 PM

Very nice Patrick

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

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on August 25, 2013 at 1:06 PM

Well Done Patrick,

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments