Curve-billed Thrasher

Gallery: AvianPosted December 29, 2013269 views19 comments

Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre)

Place: Water Ranch, Gilbert, AZ
Date: March 17, 2005, 8:53 am
Equipment: Nikon D70, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 plus TC20E (2x), tripod
Exposure: ISO 200, aperture priority matrix metered, 1/400th @ f/11 natural light plus fill
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, modest crop
No bait, no tape, no setup
Edited for correct date and aperture

A typical shot for the Water Ranch, found in my backlog of images from 2005! As with most of my photos I consider the setting to be as important as the subject, and both best seen in softer morning light.

Please view the larger version before commenting if at all possible. Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on December 29, 2013 at 8:12 PM

Nice shot, Richard. I liked the cactus

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on December 29, 2013 at 8:52 PM

Super sharp, good bird and perch, and a nice comp. 5.6 did a good job keeping all in focus. Very nice, Richard! Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 29, 2013 at 9:25 PM

nice, Rich. sweet light, great perch and comp. nice work keeping all of the saguaro in focus--I've found that can be a challenge, especially shooting birds perched up high like this. still not sure if I'll make it down that way this winter or not....

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

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on December 29, 2013 at 9:26 PM

Really nice detail, the composition is wonderful as well with the clusters of spines. I'm impressed this is from so long ago!

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

Comment posted by David Rowe on December 30, 2013 at 4:21 AM

Nothing but compliments, Richard. The juxtaposition of bird and cactus is positively surreal. The somewhat restricted color gamut in the two subjects is very attractive against the pale blue sky.

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on December 30, 2013 at 7:59 AM

This is excellent Rich, I wouldn't change a thing.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 30, 2013 at 2:05 PM

I like the angle with the cactus in the foreground, Richard. I'm surprised you were able to get so much dof with that setup and f5.6-it's crisp front to back. That little head turn is perfect.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 30, 2013 at 2:51 PM

Somehow I managed to mis-read the EXIF on this before I posted it last night:

- the correct date for this is March 17, 2005
- the correct aperture for this is f/11
- there was also some fill flash but probably not enough to even notice

Note that the exposure translates to "Sunny 16" which makes sense as this was two hours and 18 minutes after sunrise for that date according to LunaSolCal app on my iPhone.

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

Comment posted by Matthew Studebaker on December 30, 2013 at 3:28 PM

it's amazing how these birds don't get hurt perching on those cacti. Nice one Richard.

Registered on December 21, 2013, 11 Posts, 82 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 30, 2013 at 4:11 PM

Great perch, he does look a little grumpy, perhaps he got poked upon landing. This is awesome as is, very nice photo Richard.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 30, 2013 at 5:41 PM

Excellent image of this Thrasher Rich. Love the perch/setting & this great light.
All the best in 2014!

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on December 31, 2013 at 12:19 AM

That's an impressive perch Rich

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

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on December 31, 2013 at 10:48 AM

Nice one, Rich. That's an awfully spiny perch.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on December 31, 2013 at 11:17 PM

Nice, Rich. I guess that when you can perch in a place like this you don't have to worry about anyone bothering you.

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

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on January 1, 2014 at 1:35 AM

The detail in both the bird and the perch is excellent and well cast against a beautiful blue background. A fairly simple composition resulting in a superb image. Outstanding capture Rich.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on January 2, 2014 at 10:41 PM

Love the cactus perch, it all works so well together. Wonderful shot.

Ray

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

Comment posted by Basri Akcasoy on January 4, 2014 at 5:21 PM

Impressive with perch...

Registered on February 16, 2012, 118 Posts, 767 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on January 15, 2014 at 3:15 PM

Hello Richard

Sharp and Detailed !

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Ry Birge on October 11, 2017 at 7:28 AM

I like the composition of this pic. nice color and contrast. Keep up the good work!

Registered on September 23, 2017, 118 Posts, 278 Comments