Orchard Oriole

[Bill Dix]

D90; 80-400 VR @ 400mm. ISO 400. f/7.1, 1/800s. -0.7 EV. HH.

Nothing really special about this except that it is my first capture of this species. I also got a profile shot of her, but I liked the look-back pose of this one. I find it very tough to get woodland birds without a bunch of shadows and uneven lighting. I tried here to tone down the contrast of the shadows a bit, but wish there wasn't a shadow on her forehead. Thought about blurring the bg, but left it as is except to tone down some bright spots. What looks like a cloning repeat at the tip of her bill is in the RAW file and must be a shadow in the bg. C&C appreciated.

btw this was taken last week on a 340-acre property that was just purchased by a local conservation organization; it had been slated for an 800-unit housing development. So I'm looking forward to more visits and more birds.

[Meesh Fink]

Congrats on the capture. :) I like the shot in general. Good color, exposure, sharpness, and comp.

I wonder if a little fill flash would have tamed the crossing shadows on her back?

[Joe Brown]

Very nice capture Bill. I like the composition, the sharp detail and the surrounding environmental detail. As you pointed out the shadows are unfortunate but it is difficult to avoid them in these types of shots.

Joe

[Alfred Forns]

Great record shot and you did the best you could from your location !!! Don't think the flash would have helped much here ... it is a very pleasing image !!!

[Dave Mills]

Hi Bill, agree about good look back pose. Also agree you did about as good as you could under the circumstances.Shooting in that environment is very difficult to get a clean image without variances in light and shadow. Agree that the flash wouldn't have taken away the shadows on it's back.

[Lance Peters]

Mixed light is always going to be a tough one- Dont think there was anything else you could have done here.
Good pose and HA and exposure looks good.
TFS