Evening Grosbeak

[gail bisson]

Took this at my backyard set-up last week.
We have had the worst weather these past 2 weeks and I am so looking forward to shooting these guys in better light.
Canon R5
600mm v.3, RF to EF adapter
ISO 2000 F 4.5 SS 1/2500
About 70%% FF and I do not have any more room at the bottom. Nothing added or cloned.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail
I really struggled with the color balance. I was in "cloudy" color balance and I find that the R5 produces a lot of magenta when using this setting.
Ultimately, used the whites to adjust color balance and this is closer to what I saw,

[Arthur Morris]

Spectacularly sharp and just plain spectacular. Along with a spectacular bird. You might have broken off the catkins that we see in the lower right corner when you were erecting the perch. I'd love to see this with the mid- and dark tones pulled up a bit.

with love, artie

[gail bisson]

Thanks Artie! You hit the nail on the head and here is a redo with blacks lifted. Looks much better.
Re:the perch. This guy landed on the top of the perch and it bent downward because of his weight and the wing motion. So
when the perch dipped, I clipped the bottom catkins. I could clone them out .

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Amazing IQ!!!!
Gorgeous bird and perch. I love the gracefully awkward pose.

I prefer the comp in the OP with the wings making a nice diagonal.
I also prefer the warmth in the OP.

Nicely done, Gail! Happy New Year!

A kiss of fill flash with low power; if you aren't opposed to using flash on birds might be something to try in these lighting conditions.

[Dorian Anderson]

Fun action pose with excellent IQ is a recipe for success! Repost looks great, and I'm really into the focused stare and shiny pink foot. I agree about cloning the half-cone and tethering stalk at lower right. I could also see a bit of light added to the bird's face to force our attention there. I think it would help in the absence of direct sunlight. You'll get a bit more detail around the base of the beak as a bonus.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Gail, lovely image. I remember these bird when I lived in New Hampshire. They always arrived in a flock that seemed timed to a snowfall. I think raising the darks as Artie suggested improved the image. I love the pose. Thank you for sharing.

[David Roach]

Hi Gail, just an awesome canvas with improvement on RP. Can't wait to see some with better light... TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gail ... looking nice overall .

The RP is an improvement in terms of blacks / contrast , but why did you change the WB ???
For me you can go even lighter in the blacks ( less heavy ) . The blue channel in the RP is still clipped ....
But this for sure up to you .....

Nice pose of the bird .

TFS Andreas

[gail bisson]

Hi Gail ... looking nice overall .

The RP is an improvement in terms of blacks / contrast , but why did you change the WB ???
For me you can go even lighter in the blacks ( less heavy ) . The blue channel in the RP is still clipped ....
But this for sure up to you .....

Nice pose of the bird .

TFS Andreas
Hi Andreas,
I used the wrong TIFF to lift the blacks!But I posted it anyway to show that lifting the blacks helped!
Gail

[annmpacheco]

Well done Gail, yes to the lift i repost, just excellent shooting and IQ!

[dankearl]

Repost looks good, Your Canon R5 files look better than anyones I have seen personally.

[Brian Sump]

Gail, not getting tired of these EGBs. Such a blessing they are to have in your own backyard.

Very pretty pose and love the backlighting coming through the secondaries.

You did a nice job battling with the WB and would love a blend of the og and RP.

What Picture Style do you like best/use here in DPP?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gail just read the intro again .... wondering why you are struggling with the color balance ???
Personally I would avoid the " fancy WB presets " , instead go with the " temp slider " and adjust the color balance with the blue/yellow and green/magenta sliders to taste . Just my 2 cents

[Bill Dix]

You're killing me with these guys. This one, with wings-up, is spectacular. Some good suggestions above. Happy New Year!

[John Mack]

Looks great all around to me.