Northern Mockingbird

Gallery: AvianPosted October 18, 201574 views6 comments

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
Place: Phoenix, AZ
Date: May 27, 2015, 4:06 pm
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/4 hand held
ISO 800, aperture priority matrix meter, 1/500^th second @ f/5.6
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 71% of frame

I keep my 300/4 mounted on a D300 body around the house for opportunistic shots like this recently fledged Northern Mockingbird. I never know how long one of the opportunities will last and being able to grab a camera and immediately start taking photos increases my chances of capturing something interesting. This was taken through the dirty window glass.
Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Sharron Sims on October 18, 2015 at 12:30 PM

This is a nice look at this little guy. Tail feathers are soft, due to DOF, but this is often a trade-off of course. I really like your perch and BG. When I go back to central Texas to visit family I see many mockingbirds but they are often perched on a fence or other man-made object - this natural setting is great.
Sharron

Registered on April 28, 2014, 54 Posts, 166 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 18, 2015 at 12:36 PM

Lovely, Richard. I've never been in mockingbird country during fledge time. The window isn't showing at all and I like the pose and clear view of the eye. The bg has a slightly noisy look to my eye, so I might be tempted to apply a touch of noise reduction to that area.

devil

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on October 18, 2015 at 3:57 PM

Sweet shot of the little squirt. Pleasant perch and background. The dirty window doesn't show, but you might want to wash it, just in case. sad

Just kidding. In a dusty place like Phoenix, it won't stay clean long.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 18, 2015 at 6:07 PM

Wonderful bird, nice perch. A bit of noise - but that's from the "older" camera and shooting through the window. I don't care for the plant on the right to be honest, the colors just stand out too much with everything else being nuetral tones

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 18, 2015 at 11:31 PM

Good shot of this kid, Rich, still showing gape and incomplete fledging of the primaries and tail. Not bad for a window shot. You inspired me to clean mine.

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on October 19, 2015 at 3:10 PM

Nice one Richard, and I wouldn't have been able to guess that the shot was made through glass, let alone dirty glass cool

. Cheers, hans

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