American Goldfinch

Gallery: AvianPosted August 13, 201589 views6 comments

Juvenile American Goldfinch in one of our apple trees that's showing evidence of our long dry spell (long for Western Washington, that is). There's something about the rich but subdued colors of the juvenile's plumage that I like even more than that of the flamboyant male.

7Dii, 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, Jobu Gimbal on RRS legs, f/7.1, 1/400, iso 640, aperture priority, pattern metering, no compensation. Processed in LR5 & CS6. I removed some oof branches and cropped this to 14.4MP. I wish I'd given myself a bit more dof for the perch and leaf. Taken this morning at 7:45 am with filtered sun.

I really appreciate all the comments on the Red-tailed Hawk post, and look forward to your input on this image.

Thanks,

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 13, 2015 at 9:24 PM

We may get some thunder showers tomorrow, we sure need some rain again..

The dead/dry leaf tells the 'dry spell' story, and works well as an element of your comp IMO.

Would've been hard to get that leaf in at this angle Dennis, at any aperture..

Sharp details and you managed the sun on its its breast well, this juvie looks great to me devil

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on August 14, 2015 at 3:07 AM

Nice colors in the image, and the light was working in your favour ! Agree on the plumage ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on August 14, 2015 at 10:26 AM

Hey Dennis,
Excellent composition with all the elements perfectly placed against that lovely background. I think your DOF is just fine with good detail in the subject and the perch were it needs to be. The sun light adds much interest to the BG and the perch but is too bright IMO in three spots on the left side of the breast feathers and under the beak.
I agree with your opinion about the subdued colors of the juvenile's plumage and you have portrayed that opinion nicely in this image.
Well done . . . devil

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

Comment posted by David Schoen on August 14, 2015 at 2:19 PM

The color range is real nice here Dennis although I agree with Mike about the highlights under the chin. I haven't seen too many Goldfinches here at my place this year but it did rain last night.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 14, 2015 at 9:57 PM

Dennis, I completely agree with your self critique. The only thing I might change if it were mine is a bit more DOF for the perch. Nice image still. Lots of things to like here...sharpness, exposure, comp, BG, etc.