Black-headed Grosbeak

[Diane Miller]

A pair have been coming to our feeders and I finally got some halfway decent shots of them on a staging perch.

Canon 5D3, 300mm f/2.8 IS + 1.4x, Gitzo + Wimberley II. ISO 800, 1/160 (to sync with flash), f/13. Afternoon light was behind the bird which was in tree shade, flash was main light. ME for sunlit trees in BG.

Basic LR adjustments, a little Nik Detail Extractor in PS, NR with Neat Image. (Thanks to Arash for the recommendation of that -- it seems to be a lot better than Nik's Dfine.) I shortened the space between the bird and the leaves on the right. The perch is wild grape. (Not sure how wild it is -- might just be feral rootstock -- this is wine country. I know there are wild grapes in the east, but not sure about here in CA.)

Now that I've posted it the contrast looks low. I'll punch up the blacks, for sure.

[arash_hazeghi]

hey Diane,
nice and handsome, you handled the flash very well. exposure and color balance very good, head is tack sharp. it is a bit too large in the frame for my taste. BTW, if you take the TC off or setup a bit farther can get the tail in focus too plus more room for cropping in post. I wonder if you can also attach :D more leaves to the perch!

[Diane Miller]

Agree, it needs more room. Had the perch positioned close anticipating smaller birds. Now moved farther away hoping for more of these guys.

Especially with the new size, tight in the frame really doesn't look that great.

[PhilCook]

Just to agree with previous C&C, personally I feel if a bird is highly and finely detailed then fill the frame boldly, this one is good in terms of detail but not brilliant so more space needed I feel.
liking the inclusion of some leaves and such a clear bright eye, although I feel the bigger bottom leaf looks a little over flashed

[Diane Miller]

Yes, flash was too bright on that very reflective leaf. I lowered saturation and increased darks, but still doesn't look right. Will work on it some more -- thanks!

[Marina Scarr]

Agree with above as to a bit large in the frame and a tad too much flash on right leaves. That said, what a great looking bird with a tack sharp head. Like the perch and BG very much. You did great job considering you weren't anticipating a larger bird. Don't you just hate it and love it when that happens?

[Robert Holguin]

Great shot.
Detail looks very good, nice background, overall great flash work with the exception of the leaves already mentioned.
Well done.
Look forward to seeing more.

[Satish Ranadive]

Beautiful image of beautiful bird. Very nice use of flash.
Agree about more room around bird. Love the pose,colors,and sharpness.

Regards,
Satish.