Eastern Phoebe

[James Phillips]

Got this Eastern Phoebe in the wetland area I frequent

Exif is:

AV f/5.6
TV 1/400
ISO 320
Lens 600mm + 1/4 tele
Body 1dMKIII


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r229/GliderParentsNTN/Birds%202009/_B8D9154copy.jpg

[Randy Stout]

James:
Excellent capture. Seed a plus. Sharp, well exposed. I find it just a bit bright for my taste. You didn't mention it, but unless we have a couple of extra suns, there must have been flash used. I would strongly consider eliminating the two smaller catchlights in the eyes.

I like the perch, scaled nicely for the bird, lichen adds some interest.

There is some noise showing in the background, perhaps brought up by your sharpening. I wouldn't expect a lot at this ISO.

Very nice overall, just a couple minor tweaks would improve it.

Thanks for sharing!

Randy

[James Phillips]

Thanks for your input.
There was no flash being used so the extra sun spots in the eyes is a new one to me.

Here it is touched up and ran thru Noiseware. I'm really unsure at how much or how little to sharpen an image so all this PP is a big learning curve to me.

Here's the new image


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r229/GliderParentsNTN/Birds%202009/retouch_filtered.jpg

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Lovely capture James. I also think this could be nice as a vertical with more canvas added to the top and a little less on the right. Like the pose and perch in this capture and agree that eliminating the second catchlight would strengthen this image. Thanks for sharing.

[James Phillips]

Lovely capture James. I also think this could be nice as a vertical with more canvas added to the top and a little less on the right. Like the pose and perch in this capture and agree that eliminating the second catchlight would strengthen this image. Thanks for sharing.


Thanks Judy,

Cropping is another weak point of mine. I either over do it or not enough. I'm unsure when to use the rule of thirds and when it's not needed. It seems when I center up more I get comments of I shouldn't had then if I off center I get comments I should. I guess it's all in the matter of knowing what captures the eyes of the majority of viewers. I'm learning a lot on PP and cropping just from the little time being here and looking for those little details you folks see that I miss.

[Randy Stout]

James:

Nice job on the eye redo. It is interesting what caused the two extra catchlight. They had the look of a small point source of light, like a flash (I have generated a lot of those!) It possible it was a reflection off of some other object, but since the light was at your back, can't image it was off the lens. Most peculiar.

Ah, the joys of cropping. I tend to think of the
'rules of thirds' as more of a guideline/starting point, rather than a hard and fast rule. The 'rule' changes depending on the size of the subject, with smaller subjects doing pretty well with the
'rule' and larger subjects not so much. As you post more, and watch/critque others, you will start to develop more of a feel for it. It often is nothing more than personal preference, and also depends somewhat on what message you are trying to get across.

So, keep at it! It gets easier. Artie says that he sees the correct crop in .2 seconds on almost all his images.

Cheers

Randy

[David Gancarz]

That is a beautiful image and I especially like the caught insect (or whatever prey it is). The feathers at the base of the beak (I'm sure they have a name) are very sharp. Agree on the triple-sun solar system, which your second post corrects. The angle of the perch follows the gaze of the bird, which is very nice. I too would crop some off of the right, perhaps about 1/8. The right leg lost focus, but that is just a nit. I would be thrilled to have captured this image.

[James Phillips]

Ok thanks again for input here is a closer crop from the right side in and I also darkened the photo just a touch.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r229/GliderParentsNTN/Birds%202009/retouch_filtered-1.jpg

[Daniel Cadieux]

As mentioned, nice pose and prey. The perch, although sized right, is not the prettiest IMO. There is weird "texture" in some areas...such as back of the head and in front of the eye. Hard to explain but looks cartoonish, or crayoned-in. Excellent job on the eye and the noise on the repost.

[David Gancarz]

Rictal bristles is the name given to the feathers at the base of the bill. Again, a beautiful image.

[Stu Bowie]

Great job on the repost James, and I would take some more off the right, and add to the top, to create a good vertical comp.

[Leo Berzins]

Great pose and detail.
Regarding the extra catchlight in the original post (and since you mentioned wetland), was there some water between you and the bird? If so, the lower catchlight would be the sun relecting off that water.

[Phil Ertel]

The last repost is very nice. Lovely background. The bird as good details. The seed is definitely adds interest. I agree with Stuart's cropping suggestion. Thanks for sharing.

[LouBuonomo]

Great details and good job on the reposts. It's alittle tight overall for me.
Lou

[James Phillips]

Thanks for the help and compliments everyone. Here is a final redo and crop hopefully this one is satisfying to the majority here. I didn't sharpen as much as before and tried to darken it just a touch to show more detail in highlights and shadows and then ran thru Noise Ware just in case I had noise from sharpening the photo as mentioned before.


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r229/GliderParentsNTN/Birds%202009/EasternPhoebe_filtered.jpg

[Daniel Cadieux]

The feathers look much more natural in your latest repost, but I prefer the original crops.