Say's phoebe

[gail bisson]

Taken at Bernardo Refuge in New Mexico.
Had too much lens on this guy (600 and 2 x) but no time to take converter off.
This is 90% FF .
F9 SS 1/640 ISO 1600
Shot handheld from car from the back seat with me pushed up against the far door to get a bit more room around the bird.
OOF flower cloned out on LHS of frame.
The BG is a corn field that has been cut.
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks.
Gail

[Isaac Grant]

This is beautiful Gail. Love everything about it and would not change a thing. Top notch!

[annmpacheco]

I have fond memories of this cooperative phoebe. This frame is a beauty, love the colors, detail, and the seed heads. Well done girl!

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Beautifully captured.

I do wish to see a vertical composition for this scene, but as you said sometimes we do not have chance to take off TC.

How is Bernardo Refuge compared to Bosque ?

I did not get chance to visit Bernardo Refuge.

Thanks
Krishna

[John Mack]

Very nice. Loving everything here. Nice pose,nice perch and a nice background.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice indeed Gail, beautiful quality, the only thing I would suggest would be to brighten the eye and surrounding area just a little, this would show the lores a little better.

[gail bisson]

[QUOTE=Krishna Prasad kotti;1202605]Beautifully captured.

I do wish to see a vertical composition for this scene, but as you said sometimes we do not have chance to take off TC.

How is Bernardo Refuge compared to Bosque ?
Hi Krishna,
Bernardo is much smaller than Bosque. A single loop around the refuge ~ 3.5 miles long. There were lots of cranes and harriers and this very cooperative Say's Phoebe. It was a nice change from Bosque and not very crowded. I think that it is all about timing and luck. We went a second time on our way back to Albuquerque and we saw cranes only- lots of them but the wind and light were against us!
If Bosque is "hopping" I would stay there, but if Bosque is quiet then it is a good option for a change,
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the perch, pose, details, composition and BG color is really nice. Excellent image Gail.

[Doug Brown]

Lovely frame Gail. Definitely has a New Mexico winter feel to it. I do agree with Jonathan about lightening the area around the eye a bit.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, excellent IQ, and I really like the light in this. Lovely pose, and the finer plumage detail shows up nicely. Killer BG. Its amazing how a natural BG - whatever it may be, can create such a smooth, smooth finish.

[David Cowling]

I like the way the bird and perch stand out from the background. Lovely feather details and colours. Agree with lightening the eye a touch. I might also be inclined to remove the white speck on the bill.

[William Dickson]

Beautiful photograph Gail...Very nice detail and lovely colours throughout. Nice one.

Will

[Bill Dix]

A beauty of a shot, Gail. Good in every aspect. My only nit (although I'll admit to breaking my own rules sometimes) is that I have a personal preference for not posting images that are dramatically larger than life-size. But it certainly shows the details nicely at this size.

[Dorian Anderson]

Looks great, Gail! Perch and bird look equally good. IQ is really good with the 2x! If you lighten the area around the eye, you might add a touch more sharpening there as well.

[gail bisson]

A beauty of a shot, Gail. Good in every aspect. My only nit (although I'll admit to breaking my own rules sometimes) is that I have a personal preference for not posting images that are dramatically larger than life-size. But it certainly shows the details nicely at this size.
Hi Bill,
I agree 100% about the "shouldn't be bigger in the image than IRL" rule. My problem here is that I had the 2 x on and this is about 90% FF. I could add canvas.
Gail