Grellow

[Brian Sump]

194043

This image is of a Painted Bunting - another from our trip to Santa Clara Ranch, TX.

Now, admittedly I cannot perfectly ID whether this was the female Painted or the juvenile male as both were present and were incredibly difficult to ID (someone else can?). The male was calling back, in response to audio played and have some files of that so I suspect this was the female. Of course, the prize shot is of the male; one of the most handsome in the avian kingdom. I got some on the ground of him but no great ones perched, unfortunately..

Title of the image is in reference to the green/yellow palette. Massaged it to get adequate color separation from the surroundings within the canvas.

R5
600mm
Tripod
ISO 2500
1/1250
f5.6

LR and PS, NI for noise. Evicted one small branch sticking up at left. Would have been nice had that leaf not intersected the back of the subject's head.

[Kurt Bowman]

Really nice pose and look you got from the burning Brian! I also wish the leaf wasn't intersecting with the head, but it's still a nice pose and it engages the viewer.. Processing looks good to me, especially the variation in the colors and great BG.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Brian, nice setting, beautiful bird. Feather detail really nice, a background to die for and interesting perch. I first looked at the image on my laptop and now on my calibrated display, both times my first impression was that the image was a little pale/very slightly washed out (the bird and a few surrounding leaves). Maybe adding a little black, not sure would have to try to see what it would do and how much. Really nice image, thank you for sharing.

[Brian Sump]

Hi Brian, nice setting, beautiful bird. Feather detail really nice, a background to die for and interesting perch. I first looked at the image on my laptop and now on my calibrated display, both times my first impression was that the image was a little pale/very slightly washed out (the bird and a few surrounding leaves). Maybe adding a little black, not sure would have to try to see what it would do and how much. Really nice image, thank you for sharing.

Appreciate this feedback Joe.

Can say I agree... this file was very washed out to begin with and, truthfully, I found it quite a challenge to process (which is fun at times to let yourself be stretched in post, but a bit of a time suck lol). Here is a snapshot of the raw fwiw..... I'll go back and play with it.

194050

[Brian Sump]

And here's a RP with a little more punch (quick edit)

194052

[Jonathan Ashton]

I held of commenting so I could look a couple of times. I think I would have gone for something along these lines WDYT? (It's a bit rich isn't it when I make a suggestion not having a clue what the bird actually looks like!)

[William Dickson]

I like the OP.....The leaves on the perch look amazing.....Beautiful bird and you got some great feather detail Brian.....The BG shows the bird well, nice pose, and HA....Lovely colours throughout and pleasing to the eye...

Will

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Brian
Oh lala a lot of versions .... :bg3:
i am starting to feel puzzled , so will not add another version into the mix !!

Nice shot Brian and I do like the " elegant and delicate looking perch " with the fine leafs .
Pose is looking good as does the overall colors and tones . I am fine with overall presentation in the OP .... but can understand and see a version with a slight mid tone boost within the subject and perch without pushing the colors .

Nice details rendered and perfect sharpness in the subject

TFS Andreas

[arash_hazeghi]

nice image Brain, a nice palette of colors and a pretty perch provided the right setup. the colors in the original look best to me but I might add a touch more contrast to it

TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

This is a very natural looking image, and I like the leaves as much as the bird. Direct stare and eye contact are fantastic. My only issue is the color - I've seen lots of these over the years and the tones seem a bit strong here. Maybe back of the sat or vibrance a point or two. Otherwise a really cracking frame!