Common Bird Project

[Steve Canuel]

A common brown bird in summer (don't even know what kind) on a crappy perch, and a project because I used stacked 1.4x and 2x TCs. I did like the light on the wing, the head turn, and the BG colors. Don't have the techs available at the moment but it was taken with the 40D and the 400DO with stacked 1.4x & 2x TCs, tripod mount, MLU, cable release.

Techs added - f11, 1/80s, ISO 800, + 1/3 EC

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the look-back pose, light and BG. The perch is not my favorite but I guess it goes well with the theme. :)

[Arthur Morris]

Is this from Colorado? It is likely not a very common bird and might be a very good bird, i.e., an uncommon and hard to photograph grassland sparrow.... I agree with your self critique. SH is excellent for stacked... I am assuming that you were on a tripod and were not working from the car...

[Steve Canuel]

Is this from Colorado? It is likely not a very common bird and might be a very good bird, i.e., an uncommon and hard to photograph grassland sparrow.... I agree with your self critique. SH is excellent for stacked... I am assuming that you were on a tripod and were not working from the car...


Hi Arthur,
Yes, this one's from Colorado in mid May. I got him in a meadow in the foothills while I was out hiking. And yes, I used a tripod, MLU, and cable release. I have to admit these little brown birds all look the same to me (except for the ones with the red hairpieces) so I will defer to your expertise on the ID. Here's a quick edit of a frontal shot to see if it helps with the ID. Does this mean I can't play?

[Fabs Forns]

Thanks, Steve, for being part of the project!

Excellent quality, 1/80 of a second, I'm impressed. And manual focus at that too.
Can't help you with ID, brown little bird may be my guess :)

Shame on the wire perch, but nice BG.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Steve, not knowing your birds over there, he does look like he's from either the sparrow or weaver family. lovely complimentary BG, and I agree, our garden variety, and common birds often produce excellent images.

[Ryan Schain]

That's a Vesper Sparrow...thin stripes in the crown, well defined white eye-ring, and cheek patch are the field marks to look for with this guy. A great bird where I'm from (Massachusetts), as I've only seen one this year.

[Arthur Morris]

The ID is much easier from the second photo. If they are common where you are from, then it is OK to play :)

[Steve Canuel]

Thanks for the comments and ID data.