Song Sparrow

[Ilija Dukovski]

This is from last Sunday, Great Meadows in Concord, MA.
I went there to shoot ducks but the water was all frozen except
in not accessible areas. There were plenty of A. Tree Sparrows
around but I only managed to get this little guy.
Very cold and partly overcast morning...

Here I used fill flash and warmed the image in ACR.
CC appreciated.

Nikon D80 300mm+TC1.4 f/5.6 1/250 MatrixAP+2/3 ISO400 FillFlash used @ -1 1/3

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Ilija - Nice song sparrow in golden, morning light. The frost really makes it special. I take a lot of sparrow shots and the song sparrow is one of my favorites. Also, the white-throated sparrow. I like the way you left head room for the vertical reeds. Sweet shot of this little puff ball.

[Amy Marques]

I love the habitat showing and the delicate dusting of snow on the perch. Great job!

[Harshad Barve]

Lovely pose , nice habitat , snow and spot on compo works very well here
TFS

[Daniel Cadieux]

You did a good job warming the image...it makes a nice contrast with the frost. Good pose by the sparrow too. At first I was questioning the comp, but I have to admit it is now growing on me. Another option would have been an horizontal with more room at left and less above.

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the habitat and the snow on the perch but I am not crazy about the placement of the bird in the frame.

[denise ippolito]

Ilija, The frost looks great. I like the vertical reeds, they add some interest and habitat. The fluffed up look and pose on the sparrow is nice.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Lovely one, nicly showing habitat, nice light and pose....

[Rodney Flowers]

I like the frost and the reeds in the background. I would have preferred it if the reed were not coming directly out of the birds head.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Comp is good Ilija. I'd sharpen the bird a little more. Congrats! :)

[Dan Busby]

Ilija - I love the browns in this image. The darker colors really draw one to the head and eye - which makes it a successful image. When I look at this one I have to shake my head so I don't make the bird into a marsh Wren!

[Dave Blinder]

Great pose! Curious if this is a large crop? Details seem a bit muted, especially on the face.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Thank you for the comments, appreciated.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Another option would have been an horizontal with more room at left and less above.

Yes, agree with you Dan, I had a mess of reeds here so I wanted to make the verticals the main BG feature here
to take the attention away from it.

[Ilija Dukovski]

I am not crazy about the placement of the bird in the frame.

Fair enough, horizontal frame as Dan sugested was another option.

[Ilija Dukovski]

I would have preferred it if the reed were not coming directly out of the birds head.

Good point.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Curious if this is a large crop?

Not too large, about 1/2 of the image.