White Throated Sparrow

[Beth Goffe]

This was taken at an Audubon preserve in Dutchess County, NY this past weekend. It was a gorgeous day with amazing fall colors. A real treat but while I had a hat and gloves, I still wasn't really prepared for the cold temps! Not sure I'm quite ready for winter yet...

http://www.pbase.com/bgoffe/image/104883206/original.jpg


40D, 400 f5.6, 1/1250s, f/5.6, EC +1/3, ISO 400

[Daniel Cadieux]

Beautiful image of this Song Sparrow. I'd trim some off the top, and wish for more of the perch showing (and also tone it down). I also wish the bottom part of the bird was not obstructed. Great BG!!

[Beth Goffe]

Daniel, thanks very much for the species correction and critique. I had a difficult time ID'ing this guy because it didn't have that prominent spot on the breast like you normally see on song sparrows (I have other images of it facing front and it's not there). I ran through my Sibley's yesterday and decided instead that it was the tan-striped version of a white-throated (there were a number of both species at this place).

Regarding the crop, I cropped it a number of different ways and wasn't sure what was the best, although I did prefer horizontal to vertical. The perch is pretty thick and large so I though I'd minimize it by cropping a lot of it out. This left a lot of negative space at the top as I tried to keep the bird from being centered. What is the best way to tone it down? I, too, am really happy with the background. I don't always get these great backgrounds with the 400, so I was really pleased to see this when I reviewed my images. I'll try and re-post when I have some time to reprocess.