Only One Left??

[Daniel Cadieux]

A bunch of Cedar Waxwings were doing what waxwings do recently - stripping fruit trees of their berries. I had lined up in the hopes at least one would come to the edge, as we see here, but truth be told I was so concentrated on the birds that I had not noticed that this particular stem had only one berry left on it until I reviewed the images back home. There are many more trees still full of ripe fruit for them to go onto next!

Canon 7DII + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/250s., f/5.6, ISO 1600, natural light, handheld, about 80%% FF, removed a red stem barely poking out behind the neck, minor bill cleanup via spot-removal.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

Lovely soft light for one of the softest feathered birds. Nice colors, soft background, and in a way the lack of berries helps tell the story of what is going on.

I might sharpen the eye just a bit. I know the feathers are showing accurately, but just a bit of pop from the eye would be nice.

Cheers

Randy

[Jonathan Ashton]

Nice one Dan well detailed, good fortune and photographic skill here - 1/250 sec!

[Brian Sump]

A very different and attractive canvas with all the stems. If it were all stems I'd suspect it would not be quite as cool but with the one berry left there is a lot of interest added for me.

The color pop of the reds/pinks and even some subtle magentas in the bkg are pretty.

Bird processed wonderfully as usual.

[David Roach]

Pretty much perfect for me. I especially like the subtle pop of eye off that black mask. TFS

ps
Strong (verified with good sources) rumor R7 (APSC) second half next year. You're always gonna make magic, no matter the rig...

[annmpacheco]

Instant fav Dan, love the berry eating crabapple strippin waxwing capers and you have presented the evidence! Lovely IQ, comp, colors, and the story. years ago i read about cedar waxwings and how the red waxy ornamental tips of some feathers remains a mystery as to the evolutionary purpose etc, ... it is indeed made of wax, fascinating.

[Bill Dix]

A beauty of a shot. Love the red stems, the single berry, the pose. Shows all of the waxwing's signature points: the yellow tip on the tail, the waxy wing spot, the silky plumage. Maybe a touch of selective sharpening on the face?

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Image design and colors really nice

[Paul Burdett]

A little late to this one Daniel, but glad I got here. Beautiful image all around. Love the smoothness in the colours. Agree with a tad more sharpness to the eye. Cheers.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, I like how the perch extends into the frame. You have nailed the pose, lovely colours throughout the image, and only one berry left.

[William Dickson]

Very nice Dan...you did well with the feather detail, not easy on these birds. Lovely pose, great BG...Love the colours on the bird...The single berry is the icing on the cake...

Nice one

Will

[John Mack]

Such a beautiful bird. The pose is great, also the background. I like the lone berry as you describe.