Black-Capped Chickadee

[Jean Chang]

I took this in the yard--no setup.
Nikon D300, 300mm f/4 lens, 1.4 TC
1/1000, f/8, ISO 400, -1/3EV
Spot Metering, No Flash

Cropped and sharpened in PS. Noise reduction with Topaz DeNoise. I removed a couple of straggly pieces of the vine.

This was originally a horizontal shot, but I took some off of the right. Should I have left it, or would it be too much negative space?

http://jeanchang.smugmug.com/photos/774651355_9yfqG-XL-1.jpg

[Deborah Hanson]

Like the pose. If mine, I would try to lighten the bird a bit - bring out the whites. Good detail in the feathers.
I also like the background. Would a more vertical crop work better?
Deb

[Jean Chang]

Hi Deb,

Thanks for commenting. I thought of a vertical crop at first, but I would have been left with very little on either side, making it look too cramped. I brightened the whites as much as I could without losing detail. Maybe it's just my monitor that's deceiving me.

Thanks again!

Jean

[Joe Brown]

The BG is very nice. You have captured good detail in the eye and feathers.
I find this pose rather unusual for a Chickadee. As well there is too much contrast. The contrast could be reduced with S/H in PS. if you have more space above and below, I agree a portrait crop maybe better.

Joe

[Jean Chang]

I reduced the contrast, so I hope this looks better. As for the crop, I didn't have any more room to work with on the top/bottom, so I couldn't get a good portrait shot. As for the pose, for some reason the chickadees and titmice both like to land on that vine. It was just a quick grab while I was out back in my yard.

Thanks for the tips!

http://jeanchang.smugmug.com/photos/774651355_9yfqG-XL-2.jpg

Jean

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I like the unusualpose Jean. It looks just a little bit soft, or wonder how much of a crop it is from original? If it is significant it's worth noting that the bigger the crop the less details will be apparent. I still like it and would dodge the lower part of the perch in photoshop. If you are not sure how, just send me an e-mail. :)

Thanks for sharing.

[Jean Chang]

The only crop was off the sides. Yeah, I know cropping kills the details, unfortunately. I think this one may be soft because of "arm weakness". I had been walking around for quite awhile, hand-holding my camera, plus it had the 1.4 TC on it, so the teeniest movement of the camera or the bird was going to be a problem. Even at 1/1000, I think I really should have used my tripod. As for the bottom of the perch, I was afraid it was already too bright. Do you think it would look better if it was lighter?

Thanks for the tips!