Canyon Wren

[Rob Miner]

Camera: D2XS
200-400mm @ 500mm
750mm (in 35mm film)
1/640 sec, f/6.7
Mode: Manual
Metering: Spot
ISO: 400
White balance: Fine weather
Flash: Off
File size: 1,738KB
Image size: 800 x 800
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: High
Contrast: Low
Color profile: Adobe RGB (1998)

Comments and critisims appreciated.

Rob................

[Stu Bowie]

Rob, it looks like the focus point was on the front of the rock, as you seem to have lost some IQ on the wren. I like markings and colour on him, and would maybe take some off the top - halfway between the top of the frame and the head of the wren. I noticed you posted this 800x800. I feel square crops dont always work, and forming more of a horizontal crop seems to work well.

[Doug Brown]

Hi Rob. Good looking wren; it blends well with the rock. The BG is somewhat distracting, particularly the strong shadows above the bird. Also the whites on the neck could be toned down a bit. The plumage doesn't have the fine detail that I would expect; was this a significant crop?

[Sarah Jessup]

On my monitor, it looks like the focus was fine. There may be a slight loss of detail in the hot spot below the beak, and I don't know how to explain the beak itself . My encounters with these birds have been very fleeting, and I applaud you for the capture.
Sarah

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Rob,
The shadow does look quite a bit contrasty. Try pulling back some as it appears the whites right under the bill/eye are also hot.

[Fabs Forns]

I also see a cluster or burnt pixels in the white chest area. Bird is awesome and could have used a head turn. I find the dark shadows on top of him very distracting.

[Bryan Hix]

I really like the bird and comp, but the whole photo looks very contrasty. The whites look a bit hot.

[Charlie VanTassel]

I agree with the others. A nice composition, but the light is just too strong. Need to find this guy a little earlier in the morning.

[Rob Miner]

Thank you for your direction and comments. I made a mistake trying to up the "contrast" due to prior comments on past picts. Checked histogram - no spikes either right or left. That means poor PS work. The object of this shot was a "wall hanger." Small crop. Just seems that I combined my mistakes -

Rob..............

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Really cool species, but it is a bit soft and too contrasty. The white throat appears very harsh, though I am on a monitor that is uncalibrated. Thanks for sharing Rob. :)

[Harshad Barve]

Cute fellow , agrred with all good points
TFS