Gray Jay

[Jeff Nadler]

http://www.freephotoserver.com/f05/u3780348.jpg

Gray Jay, Adirondack State forest Preserve, NY State
This species oftens stalks me in the boreal forests of the Adirondacks, hoping for a handout to cache in tree bark. Not sure if tossing it a piece of bread from my sandwich qualifies as baiting but if so, that is the case. Canon 500MM f4, fill flash, F7.1, 40D

Processing-wise-the whites in RAW capture were a bit hotter than desired. Doing a combined (liner and normal) RAW conversion recovered detail and toned the whites down nicely!

[Markus Jais]

Great shot. I like the soft light and the catchlight in the bird's eye.
I only wish the dark part in the BG below the bird would be as green as the rest.

Markus

[Jeff Nadler]

I don;t believe that part is green. It might be logs.

[Steve Maxson]

These jays are certainly interesting and intelligent birds. I like the pose, comp, and background. The only drawback to my eye is that the bird looks "flashed" - though it is a subtle effect. You might try backing off just a bit on your fill flash. :)

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent comp, and love the soft light. Great use of flash, but I agree the "steel eye" effect caused by it should be fixed. Great job on the post processing to recover the whites!

Giving bread does not consist of "baiting" per say (at least as in live baiting), but it does consist of attracting the bird in with food...so thanks for mentioning it :-)