Black-capped Chickadee ... the gem of the north!!

[Bill McDonald]

Probably the most common of all the winter birds we see in Southern Ontario, but undoubtedly one of the cutest. Incredibly bold (when it comes to food) and can't count the times they have landed on the end of my lens. I kinda liked the pose that I ended up with here, so, as always, your criticism is always welcome.

Canon 5D2
Canon
100-400 (115mm)
ISO 1000
f7.1
1/800

[Tim Harding]

A classic BCC pose. I wonder if you could pull a little more detail out of the black head feathers? Image looks a little soft to me overall - maybe some additional sharpening?

I have as soft spot for chickadees. The first bird photo I took that I thought was pretty good (after many, many tries) was one of these guys in my back yard. I'm always amazed how they brave the super cold temperatures.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice -- a lovely pose on a lovely perch with a lovely BG. But I'd clone out the branch in the UR in a heartbeat.

[Kirk Benson]

Lovely scene with a terrific backside and look-back pose of this BCC Bill. Your decision to shoot at f/7.1 was well chosen producing good DOF and detail in your subject.
Your composition is good, I would be tempted to move the bird a little higher in frame if there are no distracting elements below. I would also clone out the branch in upper right corner. :S3:
My only other suggestion is to run some NR on the BG to smooth it out.
Very nice Bill, and a pleasure to view.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Count me as another who has a soft spot for this species! I like the overall monochromatic feel to the image. Good pose overall, just a wee bit more head turn would have been super. I agree with removing the branch in URC - if not in post then physically while preparing your setup. A bit of noise to deal with as mentioned. You may prefer the result of your BG if you back up and use a longer focal length...the dof will not change, but the field of view will and it is often easier to obtain a smoother result.

[Bill Dix]

One of my favorite species. I like the look-back pose, although a little more turn would be even better. Good suggestions from Daniel.