Eastern Bluebird

[Tim King]

Taken in spring of 2012 on a family farm.
123510
50d | 300mmF4L IS | HH
ISO 500, f4, 1/5000
big crop.

Eastern Bluebird, female hovering by nest box.



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[Miguel Palaviccini]

Tim -

This is an outstanding BB photo. I've only ever been able to take photos of them perched, and here you managed to get a great head angle, a magnificent wing angle, and with a critter in it's mouth to boot.

The bird does look a bit too "sharp" to me.Not sure exactly what it is, but I see it mostly in the head. Maybe someone else can comment.

Miguel

[gail bisson]

Wow Tim,
This is great.
The wing position and the worm in the mouth take this over the top.
Great BG and the crop has held up fairly well. How much of a crop?
I see what Miguel is referring to and I think it is a bit of loss of IQ or perhaps harsh light.
I would go back and use a blind to get nice and close !!
Gail

[Tim King]

This is probably about 20-25% of original frame. This particular female had a messy face with mud and who knows what.

It was late light as you can tell by lack of shadow.
The blind i have is too low and ill be shooting into the sky and wont get the soy field BG, i just stood at a distance in the brush. I would have used my 1.4tc but it makes my already slow lens even slower. Theres always next time.

Thanks.

[dankearl]

Very nice flight photo!
I don't find it overly sharp, the IQ looks fine for me with the big crop.

[Morkel Erasmus]

great timing/pose and the IQ looks good for a big crop from the 50D
I'd darken the overall frame by about 1/3 stop for some more "oomph"...

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the fully extended wing. Nice to have prey in the bill. I see what Miguel refers to, there are spots around the bird's contour that look almost too sharp...surely the effects of sharpening on the heavy crop. Still a fine image, and it had retained an impressive IQ despite the said big crop.

[Karl Egressy]

I don't see the artifact being mentioned, but it can easily be avoided if the bird is chosen in: Select, Adjust Edge, Smooth 5-10, Feather 1-2, and most importantly; Shft edge -3.
If I remeber correct I learned this on this site and it works, so I share it.
Great flight shot regardless of the crop size.

[Marina Scarr]

Super image and how great to get the bird with prey. IQ held up well for a large crop. I agree on darkening entire image just a hair.

[PhilCook]

Nice high shutter speeds made this very sharp Tim, but I'd have to say maybe a little over sharp, but still and excellent shot and with food in mouth as well....enviable

[Dan Busby]

Really nice capture Tim. The wing position and food in beak make this one good. Personally I would like to see a bit more texture or variation in the background. I see the alleged sharpening artifacts on the head and belly, making the plumage look very course. But sometimes bird's plumages just look a bit ratty, especially when they are going all day long feeding the young.

[Frank Schauf]

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> Excellent flight shot, perfect timing.

[Jonathan Ashton]

You have the pose great timing and a nice background, if it were mine I would lower the brightness or highlights on the bird, I almost get the impression it is a little oversharpened but I think it is the very bright light (wasn't flash was it?) Maybe reduce the crop just a little to trade for a little more image quality. I think this is a fine shot and a few minor tweaks will make all the difference.

[Roman Kurywczak]

I too like the idea of darkening just a touch. Very nice for the large crop......it held up very nicely!!!

[J van Noordwyk]

This is a pin sharp stunning BIF image WELL DONE Tim.

[Satish Ranadive]

Tim:
Wonder flight pose with fully extended wings and prey in the mouth.I like the lights,colors and nice BG.
Agree with Miguel about sharpness.Very well done.

Regards,
Satish.