Eastern Bluebird - Female

[kenn threed]

Hi all,

Here's another shot of one of our pretty Bluebird girls. We think we still have 3 sisters here, but they're all grown up so much now it's pretty hard to tell them apart anymore. In flight or at a distance any of them could be mistaken for their mother. :)

http://kenn3d.smugmug.com/Nature/Birds-Blossoms-Butterflies-VOL/bluebird2174/743675952_QC84E-XL.jpg
Canon S3-IS +1.7xTC (@735mm) Manual ISO100 F4 1/640 Hand-held
This is full-frame. I backed up a bit and stopped down to F4 here, because the light was fairly bright (9am) and she was sitting pretty for me. But at 12ft away my back is against a wall and the whole perch is still not in focus. It seems I have to reduce the focal length to achieve sufficient DOF, but then I kinda lose the bokeh.

Any comments or suggestions would be a appreciated.

Kenn

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

[Joe Senzatimore]

Nice pose and comp. If this is a set up I might opt for a smaller perch as I find this one a bit too big and overpowering.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Pose, angle and BG look good. I wish for a bit more eye contact and a slightly smaller perch.

[James Salywoda]

Beautiful image Kenn that background is sweet.

[kenn threed]

Thanks Joe and Axel for your comments,

We've had a lot of responses about this perch, about half seem to love it or don't. We've actually got about 7 different "setup" perches placed within our shooting space... some thin branches, and several different driftwood pieces. We get a lot of birds of various sizes using any or all of them and we'll take the shot no matter which. :)

Appreciate your feedback,

Kenn