Singing Blue-headed Wagtail

[Ivan Miksik]

Blue-headed Wagtail (Motacilla flava), photographed at Austria (Neusiedler See)

Canon 350D, Sigma 400/5.6 APO macro tele HSM
ISO 400, f=9, 1/800 s (AV mode)

I didn't erase branches out (it's nature :)) - what do you think about it?
Any comment is welcome!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Welcome to BPN, Ivan. I like the singing pose, perch and BG. The light looks a bit harsh. You mentioned the OOF branches, I would clone out the bright dot at the upper left, though.

[Alfred Forns]

Welcome Ivan, I like the pose and bg Agree with Axel on suggestions Might add would nice having the head just a little turned to the camera plane It will help having the tip of the bill in focus since it will be parallel to the eye !!!

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

Very nice shot of a male Yellow Wagtail :)
I like the singing pose. I like natural images but I would like to see the branch cloned out while it is not too much distracting.
Szimi

[Ivan Miksik]

Thank you for your comments! Light was really harsh (around 12:00 !). I have some problem with cloning out of some subject in wildlife photos so I really appreciate all opinion about "acceptable" manipulation.

Regarding Yellow (Motacilla flava flavissima) and Blue-headed (M. f. flava) Wagtail - I thought that Yellow Wagtail has yellow head (and e.g. supercilium), while Blue-headed has bluish crown and white supercilium. And it was photographed at Austria. Is something wrong in this my opinion? Thanks a lot for any future comment.

[Fabs Forns]

Big welcome Ivan!!!!

And let me say how much I love your city, I visited a few years back and really want to come back, it's very beautiful!!

If your ethics don't allow you to clone branches, the you need to be extra careful of your in-camera composition.
I can't see what was to your left, but a few steps past the out of focus leaves may have been given you an even better head angle, providing the bird held his posture while singing.

Can't help with the ID. sorry :(

Looking forward to more and if you do landscapes at all, I'd love to see some Czech country :)

[Jody Melanson]

Love the pose, the BG. Light is a little to harsh for my liking though and I would clone out the white dot in the upper left.

[Terry Eddington]

Ivan, by my standards this is a very fine shot. While there is usually something that could be "better", better is often in the eye of the beholder. I applaud your ethics on manipulation and will admit, I land on the side of permitting "clean up" if it improves the image without changing the context. If this were my photo, I'd be more bothered by the branches in the lower right than the OOF branches to the left. Very nice. I look forward to seeing more images from you and sharing my own in time.

[Glenn Bartley]

Theres a lot to like about this one. Great pose and BG and a very fine perch. If it were mine I would clone out the 2 red sticks in the lower right and also the white circle in the top left.

Cheers!

[Ivan Miksik]

Thank you very much for all suggestion made by excellent photographers (I really love all pictures at this great web)! They are really valuable for me. And thanks for so warm welcome here.