Marsh Wren

[DarrenMcKenna]

http://www.darrenmckenna.com/DJM_7908.jpg

Marsh Wren
(Cistothorus palustris)

Canon EOS 40D
EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x
Gitzo & Wimberly II
1/320
Aperture Value: 5.6
Evaluative Metering
Aperture-Priority AE
Exposure Compensation +1/3
ISO: 400


It is difficult to get a clean shot of these guys, they like to hide in the Reeds and they move fairly fast. Often the BG is full of OOF Reeds so I tried shooting wide open 5.6 with TC and I am happy with this one.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

What a lovely wren!

Love the open bill, lifted tail and the clean BG.
The light angle is not the best, I believe fill flash might have helped here. The branch behind the bird is very distracting but if you are not against photo manipulation then some work could be done here. Just a thought.

[Gayle Clement]

Very beautiful light on this wren. I love the singing pose. I wish that one highest branch were not there. The others are a plus, making a lovely perch.

[Duane Noblick]

I like the upper reed...it helps frame the Wren in it's habitat. The open mouth is excellent along with the lifted tail. Nice soft light in this one.

[Octavio Campos Salles]

Very good, the bird position and attitude is perfect. I like the photo as is, including the reed behind the bird. Just the sun light could be a bit more frontal for a perfect shot.

[Tony Whitehead]

Love the pose, colours and BG. Reeds all angled the same way are nice - I don't mind the one behind. I agree light angle isn't ideal and fill flash would have been an option but the result is lovely - especially with that open bill and yellow gape.

[Juan Aragonés]

Oh man this one is KILLER, one of the images I like the most from the past weeks! I absolutely love it. The creamy out of focus BG is superb and I love the 3D sensation of this image. Love the singing with the opened bill and th eraised tail. I only think about one thing to improve this excelent image and it is just adding a selective levels adjustment (just a little bit) to the eye to make it even better. Congratulations for a very well done image :-)

[Ramon M. Casares]

Terrific, stunnnig, Outstanding! I just love that pose, the comp, the BG, light, exposure, all looks great to me. Congratulations!

[DarrenMcKenna]

What a lovely wren!

Love the open bill, lifted tail and the clean BG.
The light angle is not the best, I believe fill flash might have helped here. The branch behind the bird is very distracting but if you are not against photo manipulation then some work could be done here. Just a thought.


thank you Juan, actually I had my flash/better beamer set up but with dead batteries :eek:. I was at a right angle to the sun because I could not venture out into the marsh any deeper. This area unfortunately is not set up for morning light, so I made the best out of the situation.

Yes I could have cloned out the upper reed, but if you have ever tried photographing Marsh Wrens you know how difficult it can be at getting a clean shot. So to me this image represented the best that I could get and I spent seven hours and over 350 shots, some very nice but the BG's were messy.

[Paul Lagasi]

Very sweet image...singing, tail upright..colors, lighting..this has everything..congrats

[Arthur Morris]

I like the reeds. The one on top is a nice frame. Great job of choosing your perspective and framing the image. With the soft light, I do not mind the off-angled sun. Love the singing pose. All in all, quite well done.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

thank you Juan, actually I had my flash/better beamer set up but with dead batteries :eek:. I was at a right angle to the sun because I could not venture out into the marsh any deeper. This area unfortunately is not set up for morning light, so I made the best out of the situation.

Yes I could have cloned out the upper reed, but if you have ever tried photographing Marsh Wrens you know how difficult it can be at getting a clean shot. So to me this image represented the best that I could get and I spent seven hours and over 350 shots, some very nice but the BG's were messy.

Agree 100%.

[DanWalters]

Nice color and lighting. I like the way the reeds and the bird are flowing in one direction.