Pipit feeding cuckoo, Sichuan, China

[Craig Brelsford]

A juvenile Eurasian cuckoo prepares to take food from its "parent," a rosy pipit, in the Wolong Preserve in Sichuan, China on 22 July. Elevation: around 4400 m (14,450 ft.). I'm just finishing up a big trip to Sichuan.

Device: Nikon D300
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
VR: ON
Aperture: F/4
Shutter Speed: 1/800s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: +0.3EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 800

[Gal Shon]

Wow, That is (for me) bird / nature photography at its best... what a joy.
I wish the "parent" where in the DOF

[Michael Zajac]

I like the moment captured and the details look good to me.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Wonderful timing and the action is priceless. Well done !!!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Neat behaviour image! What a size difference between the two! The perch is a bit dominant and it may be worth looking at the option of cropping some off the bottom to reduce that. I also wish the BG was less blotchy. The impact of the feeding between those two is terrific.

[Craig Brelsford]

Appreciate everyone's comments. Daniel, what could I do about the blotchy background? The background was a mixture of wildflowers, grass, and gray boulders. With the light low and the action between the pipit and cuckoo often quick, I opted for f4. Are you saying that I should have used a narrower aperture, making the boulders and flowers clearer? Or are you saying that I should have shifted my position in search of a simpler background? Note that had I shifted my position, I wouldn't have been facing the birds as the feeding occurred. Facing the birds was my utmost priority. I crawled over boulders to get into that position. The nervous birds were observing my every move.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Craig. Yep, I fully understand what you are saying. Those compromises are part of the bird photography fun!:) You were at prime angle relative to the subjects, and you were already at the largest aperture for this lens so this is as smooth as you could get it at time of capture.

With a combination of the the burn, dodge, and clone tools you could even out the BG in about 2 minutes during post processing. Note that I wouldn't make it uniformly smooth and unicolour (that would be too bland), but it's I just that I find some of the white and dark spots a bit prominent. Darkening those paler areas a bit and smoothing out some of their more defined outlines, as well as lightening the darker spots a bit would all contribute nicely to your image (IMO).

All this is if you don't mind doing this type of alteration of course, or don't object to it as a matter of personal ethics - but its just an option for you to look at. I know I'd be really happy with this capture, as well as you should be!:cool:

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great capture of this behavior. The Pipit probably has to work a lot to feed this big chick. I like the idea of cropping a bit off the bottom and would sharpen the birds a bit more. Thanks for sharing!

[Kiran Poonacha]

Great moment of natural history captured... well done

[Craig Brelsford]

With a combination of the the burn, dodge, and clone tools you could even out the BG in about 2 minutes during post processing.

Thanks, Daniel. Post-processing is an important part of the cycle. I believe in the judicious use of the burn, dodge, and clone tools.