Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius vittatus)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Image captured in Bandhavgarh tiger reserve

Hand held

Olympus: E-M1X
Shooting Mode : Manual
Focal Length : 420.0mm
Focal Length (35 mm conversion) : 841.0mm
Shutter : 1/800 sec
F.No. : F5.6
Exposure compensation : -0.7 EV
ISO Sensitivity : 250

LR + PSCC2020

I am sure many will not like the grass stem and thorn running across the bird, sure it would be better clear .... but does it really matter that much, for me this is an image of a bird in entirely natural surroundings, nature isn't always conveniently tidy.

[Aditya Sridhar]

I like this shot, Jon. The colors look good, HA is nice and I like the view of the habitat. I think it could do with a shot of contrast though. The bird also feels a bit too centered in the frame, so I'd shift it to the left and add more space to the right.

I understand your comment re cloning and I've personally had a love-hate relationship with it. Ideally, our images would be entirely natural, but oftentimes when looking through the viewfinder, we miss tiny details that we notice when looking at the images on a large screen. For eg, in this case, while viewing the shrike through the camera, you may have missed the intersecting stem and thorns, and that's fine considering you're effectively looking at the scene through a tunnel. I see cloning as a means to an end - the end being conveying the scene as I saw it to the viewer, and not necessarily exactly as it was. It's an interesting discussion.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Jon, I like the image. The grass and thorn branch don't bother me where they are placed. The shrike is very similar to the Loggerhead Shrike found here. Thank you for sharing.

[John Mack]

The only thing that bugs me here is the placement of the bird in the frame. Detail and exposure look good.

[Dorian Anderson]

Background is sublime, and the exposure and details on the bird look good. My rule is that I won't clone stuff that intersects the subject. That I want to get right in the field. Distracting stuff in other parts of the frame I remove without thinking twice about it. I like your thoughts when it comes to natural shots in-habitat. Such natural views are always the most representative.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks very much everyone, I was looking forward to your comments. The positioning of the bird was deliberate, I felt it was important to retain the two longer grass stems including the seed heads - this meant the bird was central. Re-positioning meant the bird became a little small in the frame.