California Quail

[Bruce Enns]

Hi all, I found this handsome fellow on a recent trip through the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

Canon 50D, Canon 100-400 L IS USM @275mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1600s, full frame, PP in LR2.3, PS CS4

Comments and critiques are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!
Bruce

[joel quenneville]

Congratulations on getting this beautiful bird. I love the patterns on the neck and stomach. The soft BG is very pleasing but you might want to run some NR. Your pose is excellent as is your head angle and eye contact. The bird's out of center position in the frame gives it room to "look into", strengthening your composition. I am not too sure about the lighting. On the one hand, the breast isn't lit but on the other, the sidelight reveals some of the feather detail. I will be interested to see what others post. Well done.

[Randy Stout]

Bruce:

A handsome fellow he is! Excellent pose and composition. Sharp, perhaps even a bit of sharpening halo in front of the throat.

Nicely exposed. He seems like he might be just a bit washed out, but I don't know this bird well enough to be sure.

In a perfect world, I would wish for a slightly less linear perch.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

[Randy Stout]

Bruce:

I had a second, and took a quick pass at your image.

I reduced the brightness of the midtones slightly, and increased the overall saturation a few points. It is a pretty small change, and only you can tell how it matches reality, but I thought it made the bird pop a bit more.

Randy

[Doug Brown]

I like the pose and sharpness. The BG is nice, although I'd eliminate the gray horizontal band. I don't mind the angle of light because it lends a sense of depth and texture to the bird. The crop is a little snug at the bottom.

[Bob Malbon]

Bruce, Super capture! Not sure the re-post works maybe to much saturation. - Bob
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[Stu Bowie]

Super pose, and I like the detail and colours on him. Killer BG, and I feel this is a bit tight at the bottom.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Bruce:

I had a second, and took a quick pass at your image.

I reduced the brightness of the midtones slightly, and increased the overall saturation a few points. It is a pretty small change, and only you can tell how it matches reality, but I thought it made the bird pop a bit more.

Randy
Hey Randy! You forgot to reduce some noise on BG...\

Just kitting! Great repost.

[Bruce Enns]

Thank-you everyone for your comments. I agree it is a bit tight on the bottom...which was a result of the logistics of the shot taken from the drivers seat of a car, through the open passenger window. I could add a bit more of the fence rail with a QM or cloning. I agree Randy, that a few tweaks such as those you have done on the repost, or even a simple bump in contrast with a curves adjustment would pop the bird a bit more.

Cheers!
Bruce

[Randy Stout]

Bruce:

Only you can decide what looks most accurate here, but it just seemed a bit washed out.

Show us some more if you have them!

Randy