A juvenile Eastern Bluebird

[kenn threed]

Hi all,
Our first post here...

We are avid Bluebird hosts. This is one of this season's 16 fledglings (now in full adult plumage):
http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/Nature/Birds-Blossoms-Butterflies-VOL/bluebird9135/714088615_VmTia-XL-1.jpg

Kenn & Temple
Backyard Birders in St.Louis, MO
http://kenn3d.smugmug.com

[arash_hazeghi]

Welcome to BPN and nice first post. BG and colors are very nice, like the HA too, head and eye are soft compared to wing, always try to focus on the head. TFS and welcome again :)

[Bruce Enns]

Hey Ken, A big welcome to BPN! A very nice first post. I am a big Bluebird fan. I love the background and the bird. I can't tell if the eye and top of head are slightly OOF or if more sharpening is just needed in that area. I would give the photo a little more room on the left for the bird 'to look in to'. If you could post the EXIF details (shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc.) it is easier to provide critique or helpful suggestions.

Good job on your first post. I hope to see many more!

Cheers!
Bruce

[John Blumenkamp]

Hey Kenn... welcome! I really like the colors of the bird set against that nice background. I'd be curious to see the specs on the image too. Hope to see more. :)

[kenn threed]

Thanks Arash, Bruce, and John... both for your welcome and for your critiques.

We use Canon S3-IS and S5-IS cameras with Sony 1.7x TC attached. The exif data is not saved from my older version of PS and likely doesn't correlate well with settings used in DSLRs, but here it is anyway:
Manual Mode
ISO 100
Shutter: 1/100
Aperture: F3.5
Focal Length: 432mm (equivalent) + 1.7x TC [I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to state that more clearly]

Thanks again, ... we'll be back. :)

Kenn

Kenn & Temple
Backyard Birders in St.Louis, MO
http://kenn3d.smugmug.com (http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/) <!-- / message -->

[Jim Crosswell]

Welcome to BPN. I like the BG in this shot. The focus appears to be on the wing. The more images you post on this site the more you learn. Look forward to seeing more in the future.

[kenn threed]

Hey Ken, A big welcome to BPN! A very nice first post. I am a big Bluebird fan. I love the background and the bird. I can't tell if the eye and top of head are slightly OOF or if more sharpening is just needed in that area. I would give the photo a little more room on the left for the bird 'to look in to'. If you could post the EXIF details (shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc.) it is easier to provide critique or helpful suggestions.

Good job on your first post. I hope to see many more!

Cheers!
Bruce

Bruce,

I fear the OOF aspect is some combination shallow DOF and/or head movement during my slow shutter. But at your suggestion I attempted some selective additional USM... which improves it a little perhaps on casual inspection, but may not bear close scrutiny:
http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/photos/722244162_6vQVi-XL.jpg

Anyway, thanks again for your critique.

Kenn