Oriole With Grub

[Dave Mills]

Shot this a few days ago. The Orioles were not regular visitors. My experience was to see them briefly once or twice in a 2 hour shoot. I loved the coloration.
Nikon D300, 500mm F/4, ISO 800, 0 Comp
F/8 1/1250 Tripod Mtd

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Good-looking specimen and BG. Where did you make this image? The bird looks a bit soft on my monitor. I guess you have to be an oriole to like this kind of food. :)

[Doug Brown]

I like the feeding behavior and the way the bird stands out against the BG. I'm not crazy about the squarish compo; I'd like more room on the left. I would selectively sharpen the eye a little.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Axel, I photographed the bird on a Texas ranch. This is migration time through Texas and alot of different species pass through. I forgot to mention that the grub was baited.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Dave,
Agree with Doug on more room to the left and I too would selectively sharpen the eye a little more. That said I am enjoying this image a lot - great bird!
Best,
Nicki

[Daniel Cadieux]

I guess you have to be an oriole to like this kind of food. :)

...and even then this particular oriole doesn't seem to enjoy it that much!! I see a few hot spots in the yellows especially at the shoulder and back. Try desaturating the yellow channel a bit to see if it makes a difference.

[Arthur Morris]

That would be the Cozad Ranch in the Rio Grande Valley. See the blog for a link: www.birdsasart-blog.com (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com)
It was nice meeting you and the gang there and thanks for your hopsitality. That Phill is a nice guy and so was ???

IAC, I love the bird and the BKGR; you had to be quick before he got the meal worms. I wish that the bird's head were turned a bit more towards us; barring that some eye doctor work (darken the pupil/lighten the iris) would help.

As for the yellows, there is a great thread in Educational Resources here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35243 with some great tips by Dave Thomasson. (The one about using a 25% Blue Photo Filter here would help; I have been using it myself.)

[Fabs Forns]

Nice bird, he seems to be getting rid of the warm rather than eating it ;)


There's a dust bunny right under his right foot, and I'd run some NR on the BG.
Thanks for sharing it!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

I agree about the head. Noise on BG is not distracting but could be fixed.

A lovely oriole indeed.