Spring is underway

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

While you northern hemisphere folks prepare for your winter hibernation, we are already well into summery weather from very cold days Down Under.
I stumbled across (not literally) a pair of my fave Aussie birds, Spotted Pardalotes with an active nest. Not sure how old the chicks are as they are in a tunnel inside the earth. In any case, these little (90mm) birds can be very confiding in humans as long as one stays still and they let me take their photos as they approach the nest and land on their final perches before dropping down into the tunnel. This is the female I photographed barely two hours ago. I know the tail may be arguably too close to the edge, but I did not want to add canvas.

30D, 300/4L IS + 1.4x, HH, ISO400, f/7.1, 1/200th, FF, 430EX @ -1/3 with beamer.

[Randy Stout]

Alos:

Beautifully exposed, sharp, good angle in frame, seeds, eye is very nice.
Agree with your self crit. about the slightly tight framing, but the action all seems to be heading down to the right, so less bothersome than if a static pose.
I might be tempted to tone down the brightness of the lightest areas by the feet.

Nice to see you posting!

Cheers

Randy

PS: This is one cool looking little bird, no wonder you like them.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very good to see you back!
Lovely bird and nice alert pose. What is that on the beak? Great to see that this is the full frame image, that 30D rocks!

[denise ippolito]

Akos, Nice to see you posting. Fantastic sharp details and very nice pose. I see your point w/ the tail. The BG colors are nice and I don't find the branches distracting as they have a nice flow with the perch. I might tone down a couple small areas in the BG but nothing major. Very colorful bird, I never saw one before.:)

I posted at the same time as the others -sorry for any repeats.

[Marina Scarr]

"Arkosh"

Nice to see your work again around these parts. You did a great job with exposure and wonderful flash work. Had to look to see if it was flashed b/c looked so natural. Based upon your story, this really depicts the behavior and habitat of this bird and the food in beak is a huge plus.

Take care,

Marina

[Mark Young]

Awesome Akos. This image looks great, love the details and composition.

[Arthur Morris]

Killer bird with a perfect head angle. A bit tight in the ulc. Nice job with the EXP and the flash (the latter surprising at only -1/3 stop...) Food for young a plus and tells the story. The rear half of the bird looks a tad sharper than the front half; is this the full frame? Lastly the brighter BKGR areas could be toned down a bit.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Thanks for commenting. :) Agree that I could improve by carefully masking out some of the brighter areas.

Randy, those are lerps, which are some kind of insect as far as I am aware. These birds eat lots of those things.

Artie, your eyes are perfect and I should have noted too at first, but my excitement got the better of me. While it is full frame (FF) as indicated in the OP I was using the center AF point to focus on the head. Maybe it was almost at the point of locking on, but the butt area is still somehow a little sharper in the RAW file. So despite what some people may tell ya (I've been reading you know?) ;) I think your eyes are just fine.

Here is a repost where I darkened the lower light areas. Not sure what you guys think.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yep, the leaves are changing colours fast here and many are already falling...snow is just around the corner!

Good stuff above. I love the image too. Neat colours and patterns in the BG. I also like that you kept the strand (?) around this little guy's leg. I prefer the BG in the OP, but the area you could tone down is the lightest area touching the perch. Another round of sharpening to the face only would bring it up to the rest of the bird.

Glad to see you posting Akos!!:)

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Bro, great detail and colours captured, and I like the diagonal pose. The food item adds interest, and your repost has turned out well.

[James Salywoda]

Such a beautiful bird nice pose and excellent detail good to see you posting.:)

[Colin Driscoll]

Where ya been mate! Great shot for a re-start and good to get the shy female.

Those lerps are a sugary shelter made on the leaf surface by small aphid critters (Psyllids). I think the Pardalote grab insect and all while the Bell Miner only harvests the lerp and so the insects proliferate to the detriment of the foliage in the long run.

[Craig Brelsford]

I appreciate your Southern Hemispherean perspective, and I've enjoyed viewing what is for me a very strange bird! I like the crisp closeup; you were sharp right down to the feathers. I'd like a looser crop, though, if possible. The bird appears gigantic on my monitor.