Blue Jay

[Jim Crosswell]

This was taken today at my backyard set-up. It is a full frame image. All C&Cs are welcome and appreciated.

Canon 1D Mark IV
500L f4
1.4 Extender
ISO 1000
f6.3
1/250s
Ev -1.00
Tripod


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[Karl Egressy]

Nice pose, great detail and beuty fall colour background. Beauty shot, Jim.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Beautiful colors and strong composition. Blue jays are so cool.

is there slight motion blur in the head? light clearly wasn't there to give you a higher SS.

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful colors and strong composition. Blue jays are so cool.

is there slight motion blur in the head? light clearly wasn't there to give you a higher SS.

Thanks Karl and Kaustubh for the comments. The light was not there and the head was reasonably sharp in the RAW file. They come in fast and scoop the peanuts and their crest is moving continually. I didn't get too many keepers out of the two visits the Jay made tonight.

[Melissa Groo]

Nice work, Jim. Were you in a blind? I have such a hard time getting near blue jays around here. Think I might have to set up a blind in my backyard just to get a shot at one.
Love the colors in the background and how they set off the blues of the jay, and his pose and intent look down. I like the intricate character of the branch too.

[dankearl]

Great look to this, very nice perch and BG.
I also see a bit of blur, I think 1/250 was not quite fast enough.

[John Cooper]

Stunning capture Jim of this beautiful bird. The exceptional feather detail, as expected from the 500L, is depicted nicely against the soft BG. Well done!

[Dan Brown]

Great setup work, Jim! The bg and the bird are really nice! I have been working a backyard setup for a while and I know that it is not as easy as it sounds to get the bird to sit on the perch right where you want. That said, IMO, with a BY setup, you are the artist and have lots of control in regard to BG and perch. Your bg is great. As for your perch selection, I would have selected a perch with a nice curve or maybe a couple curves and hope that the bird lands on the curved areas. AND THAT SAID, I AIN'T NO ALAN MURPHY EITHER!:S3:

[Jim Crosswell]

Nice work, Jim. Were you in a blind? I have such a hard time getting near blue jays around here. Think I might have to set up a blind in my backyard just to get a shot at one.
Love the colors in the background and how they set off the blues of the jay, and his pose and intent look down. I like the intricate character of the branch too.

Thanks Melissa. I am in a pop up blind (Ameristep Doghouse) . I swear they know when I am in there. Today one stayed on the perch to open a peanut so they might be getting more relaxed. I have a real nice branch that I need to set-up next time.

[Randy Stout]

JIM:

Def. nice colors, I like the funky perch, interesting detail and the right scale. The neck/head area does seem a bit soft as mentioned.

I agree about blue jays, as common as they are, a challenge to get them to sit nicely for pictures at times!

Cheers

Randy

[Joe Senzatimore]

Beautiful BG colors. Find the softness in the head and eye to be a distraction. Perhaps some fill flash would help.???

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. I selectively sharpened the head area to address the issue.

[Jim Crosswell]

This image is two frames earlier than the OP. In reviewing the RAW files again I found this one was sharper in the head region.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent set-up.Magnificent image.Love the pose,colors and details.Nice perch and BG too.

Regards,
Satish.

[Shawn Zierman]

Yes, that second image is sharper. Great background colors/variations.
I like the perch, it's gnarly and interesting throughout. I find this subject
to be pretty wiley and difficult to photograph in general.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Jim, love the repost. Wonderful, clean and colorful background.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Sweet poase and a nice diagonal perch and clean bg. I prefer the second post

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jim, Ive always enjoyed the blues and greys on these guys, and love how the top of the body follows the line of the perch. Love the colours of the BG too, and lots of character on the perch. Pane #13 works for me.

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.