Savannah Sparrow

[Ed Vatza]

Image made this morning along the Wildlife Drive at Edwin B. Forsythe NWR in Brigantine, NJ.

Canon 50D; Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens w/ Canon 2x TC; BLUBB-mounted out the Prius window.

1/200 sec at f/11; ISO 400; +2/3 EV

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely textures within the limited colour palette, Ed. The head angle is good but the light direction is making it hard by putting the right hand side of the bird into shadow. I think cleaning up the twigs emerging from the bird's back and nape would improve things.

[Juan Aragonés]

Good eye contact and sharpness. The out of focus twigs at the left of the frame is a little bit distracting and the light is a little bit hard to my taste.

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks Tony. Thanks Juan.

First off it was a very bright and sunny day along the New Jersey coast yesterday. Sunrise was at 0730 and this image would have been made around 1000.

Second, this was only my second visit to this National Wildlife Refuge where there are 1000s of birds (mostly shorebirds, ducks, and other water birds). Light, particularly on sunny days, is an issue. There is an 8 mile one-way road that follows a built up "Bar" (I am forgetting what it is called) in a loop around the marshes. As you start out, you are facing into the sun and the birds are to your left or right (sidelit). After about 3.5 miles, you turn and have a one mile stretch where the morning sun is at your back and shining nicely on the birds. Then you turn again and the sun is behind but the birds are left and right and sidelit. This image was made along that last stretch of the road.

So the bottom line is that, particularly on sunny days, there are a lot of sidelit opportunities and few frontlit. And while you are discouraged a bit from leaving the car, you can. But you are to stay on the road. So there isn't a lot of changing position possible.

I'm still working at figuring this wonderful location out.

[Juan Aragonés]

Hey Ed, sometimes it is not possible to find an adequate point to shoot with a favourable/desired light and we can do nothing about that, like in the case that you are describing here. You did a very nice job considering the circunstances because the image is sharp and the exposure control is very good:)

[Linda Dulak]

Ed: Nice shot. We were at the same WR last week and saw many, many of these sparrows on that drive. They seem to hang out in that last part of the drive. You are right that it's hard to get the best angle from the drive. But seeing all those birds is a bit of over load at times.

Linda

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Eye contact, details and head angle look great. Twigs and sidelight have been mentioned.