Red-winged Blackbird

Gallery: AvianPosted May 20, 2017198 views7 comments

Another from Leonabelle Turnbull this spring. This one posed nicely for me at very close range.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600 C @ 293 mm, hand held, f/8, 1/160, iso 1250, aperture priority, pattern metering. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped from a horizontal original to an 8.7 MP 4x5 vertical (about 10% off the bottom). Taken at 8:00 AM on April 12th. I don't remember the conditions, but judging by the shooting parameters it was probably overcast. I warmed it up a bit in the RAW editor.

Comments and criticisms are most welcome.

Thanks,

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on May 20, 2017 at 11:22 PM

Dennis, I love everything about this. He is a beautiful bird.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on May 21, 2017 at 1:53 AM

Dennis this BB has a worried look like "Uh Oh, I got caught tearing up the cattail..." Or, it could be irritated you were taking it's picture. Nice detail in both light and dark areas here. Nice close composition and complimentary BG.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on May 21, 2017 at 6:45 AM

Hi Dennis,

Redwings are very common in my yard and I've never been able to get them perched on cattails. Pose is nice and the large view shows the cattail fuzz stuck on the bird's face. Comp is very nice with the diagonal stem and position of the RWBB's eye...........Jim

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

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on May 21, 2017 at 1:01 PM

A great pose and I love the cattail fibers all over it's face, Dennis. A nice job on the exposure, the red on the wing looks great, it is tough to keep that red from blowing out. It looks like the high ISO cost you a little detail in the breast, but an overall really nice image.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Peter J. Morrissey on May 21, 2017 at 3:43 PM

Hi Dennis
You did a good job with the black and the Blackbird's interaction wi the cattail make the shot.
Peter

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

Comment posted by David Schoen on May 22, 2017 at 12:21 PM

Although I've seen them perched on cattails many times, I've never seen a Redwinged Blackbird pull apart a cattail like this. Good job on the exposure and the interaction.

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

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on May 22, 2017 at 6:02 PM

Nice close capture of this male gathering nest material, Dennis. Although they are they are literally everywhere here, I've never gotten a decent shot.

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