Eastern Phoebe

[Wendy Kates]

I'm pretty sure this is an Eastern Phoebe, but if anyone thinks differently let me know. I captured it along a tree-lined towpath (along the bank of the former Erie Canal) in Upstate NY, in the late afternoon / early evening. Minimal post-processing, although cropped to about 25% of original. Comments and critiques welcome.

Canon 7D Mark II
300 f/4 lens
f/4, 1/320s
ISO 640
handheld

By the way, birding with my 7D Mark II / 300mm lens is becoming exhausting. I'm thinking of buying the new Nikon megazoom point and shoot for birding walks. The question is, if I manage to take a decent photo with it (which apparently is possible), and I post it on BPN, will I ever be able to show my face here again??!!

[Warren Spreng]

Adorable! Great HP and very pleasing BG. Did you think of cloning out the OOF branch in the upper left corner?

[Carolyn Arnesen]

Attractive bird, well captured. Nice look back pose, BG and perch. It may just be my eyes, but it seems just a little soft on the back. I wonder if more dof would have made it appear sharper? If mine, I might increase contrast slightly, crop more toward vertical and eliminate the ulc oof branch. TFS.

[Diane Miller]

Gorgeous catch! Lovely pose, light and BG, well processed. Good suggestion from Warren about the branch in the corner.

Maybe a little sharpening would be worth trying on the JPEG -- looks like there is a lot of good detail to work with. It does seem a bit soft, though. That shutter speed and aperture are on the edge of thin ice. In a situation like that I'll shoot a burst and often one will be sharper than the others.

Your question: Could be a dicey situation... But if it's an excellent shot, go for it!! Seriously, though, I doubt it would increase your odds of a good picture, but I hope I'm wrong, because I know it's not fun to be too tired to take a good shot when you find one. Is the problem carrying the camera in between shots? I use a hip belt and bag, and have just ordered the Spider system that Marina mentioned in a post in Equipment. It looks like a good way to do a quick draw. It isn't so fast to get the camera out of the bag.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/762494-REG/SPIDER_HOLSTER_100_SpiderPro_Single_Camera_System. html

[Bill Nuttall]

Beautiful bird Wendy
Agree with the cloning
I would not drop back from a DSLR for birds to a P & S - I think that you will be disappointed with most of the shots