Another Bluebird

Gallery: AvianPosted June 21, 201595 views6 comments

I was thinking that I was probably done with these, but it seems I'm in search of the perfect Bluebird portrait. I don't think this is quite it, but I loved what the hazy late evening light did on this one. I wasn't after the Bluebirds, so I'd positioned myself almost perpendicular to their perch. I was luck enough that the male perched fairly close to the near end and kept it mostly in focus. The female wasn't so cooperative and I have a series of images with an oof perch in front of her. I'll probably be posting more as I've changed out the perch again and they are most cooperative while feeding nestlings.

7Dii 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, Jobu Gimbal on RRS legs, f/8, 1/500, iso 1250, aperture priority, pattern metering, no compensation. Processing in LR5 & CS6. Cropped to 14.4MP. Taken June 17th at 8:04 PM under very light clouds. The light was pretty much on the bird's back here.

Comments and critiques are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Peter J. Morrissey on June 21, 2015 at 6:50 PM

Hi Dennis

The Bluebirds are working for you, nice color and detail.

Peter

Registered on July 3, 2011, 188 Posts, 969 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Taylor on June 21, 2015 at 7:41 PM

Beautiful photo, I really like the background you have.

Registered on May 28, 2015, 22 Posts, 26 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 21, 2015 at 10:47 PM

Dennis:

Looks like a nice pose and nice background. The image looks quite dark to me. Checking the histogram, there were no values much beyond about 180. I added a levels adjustment layer, a TK Midtones adjustment and a bit of vibrance (again through a mask). See if you think this helps.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 22, 2015 at 12:02 AM

Thanks, Keith. In this case, I was trying to keep the cloudy, late evening feel, so I didn't try to brighten the image. I did add just a bit of vibrance, but kept it deliberately low because Iliked the muted tones of the original when I opened the file.

crying

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

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on June 23, 2015 at 11:03 AM

Hi Dennis,

I would have to agree with Keith's assessment. Limiting the dynamic range in an image doesn't accomplish the effect you are trying to achieve.

"The light was pretty much on the bird's back here." yet I see rim lighting coming from under the Bluebird that is brighter than the back. Is there something bouncing light back into the scene? It's a real eye puzzle for me.

All of that being said, I find it to be an enjoyable image.

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 23, 2015 at 10:11 PM

Hello Dennis, Keith pretty much summed it up for me as well. That was my first thought and I really like everything else.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments