Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow

[Joseph Cala]

Bright (well it didn't start out that way) and early this AM, Milford, CT.

The sun finally broke through after about an hour of fighting clouds this AM. I had 9 of these guys within about 15' of me at one point, so trying to pick a cooperative one was challenging at times. I'm not super thrilled about the background with this set, but they're the sharpest and I like the light the best.

D800, 500mm f/4.5. 1/500, F7.1 @ ISO 500. Minimal PP done in Lightroom...actually I think just some sharpening.

Any suggestions on the BG? CC welcomed!


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[Cheryl Flory]

I like the natural background, but I would try cloning out the one that appears to go through the bird's head. What attractive background color!

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Hi Joseph - I think that the background is very natural in this image. I would suggest the following:
- As Cheryl mentioned, see if you can take the one that passes through the birds head. Shouldn't be too bad to do.
- Selective sharpen and add a bit of contrast to the bird.
Otherwise, very nice capture!

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Joseph, have you tried a vertical or horizontal crop? I think both would work well. The vertical would be justified by the long vertical lines in the bg, and similarly for the horizontal with the angled branches in the fg. I do like the touch of green, and would opt to keep it in if at all possible.

[Jon Rista]

Great photo. Grass perches are so much less common than other types of perches, its good to see them every once in a while. I like the warm lighting.

I would get rid of that one blade of grass in the background that comes strait out of the birds head. Maybe even blur the rest of the background blades more, so they are not so distinct. I agree about a vertical crop, I think it would do this photo justice.

[Grace Scalzo]

What a beautiful subject, great colors, great pose. I'm not inclined to rely on photoshop to fix distracting elements in an image....although I will from time to time. (This is a personal preference/choice) Two things bother me here, one is the branch coming out his head. The other is the bright grass that intersects his foot. Obviously a challenging situation, but I would suggest trying to look for a clean opening, then wait and hope that the bird hits it. If you are shooting for field quide or id purposes, then my comments do not apply, but if you are trying for an artistic, clean image then give it a try.

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful portrait, great pose and colours.