Goldfinch in autumn

[Amano Samarpan]

Goldfinch on teasel

Composition not quite what I had worked for here ... but like the autumnal feel and this colourful bird.

Greylake Moor, Somerset Levels, UK

Canon 7D with 800mm f5.6 IS lens

320'th of a second at f6.3

ISO 400

Amano


:2eyes2:

[Art Kornienko]

Light is sweet and head angle and eye contact is good. Wood have been nice to see bit more of the bottom of the Goldfinch, am wondering if the AF is in front of the bird as bird seems a touch soft and maybe some NR on bg.

[Amano Samarpan]

Thanks for your comment but NR on bg .. !?

Not sure what your abbreviations refer to!

Amano

[Randy Stout]

Amano:

Good points from Art. The thing that struck me most was the large, dominating stalk of teasel on the right. Although I rather like the arrangement of masses in the image, the plant on right is just too dominant for me. IF possible a move to your left might have helped move that plant to the right out of the frame.

The colors of bird, plant and background are really nice.

Cheers

Randy

[Amano Samarpan]

Hi Randy

Agreed .. but this guy only allowed me a few frames! I think he actually flew off when I tried to move.

Amano

[Geoff Warnock]

Hi Amano, NR=noise reduction, BG=background. Hardly necessary in this case but might just smooth it even more. I really like the concept and I think if you could only have seen more of the goldfinch then the seed heads would have been less dominating. I'd love the chance of even a few frames in this situation, so you did very well.

[Alan Murphy]

I like the setting. Wish the birds plumage was better.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the shot very much but I think it is either too bright or slightly overexposed, i think a curves adjustment or Shadows/highlights would improve the image significantly.

[Amano Samarpan]

Yes, Jonathan

There were a couple of blinkies on this one ... shall repost soon!

Amano

[Daniel Cadieux]

If you do repost, I have a suggestion comp-wise to consider (if you have the extra canvas): less room below (to above the OOF spiked teasel just creeping in at bottom) and then add the equivalent at top to completely clear the top teasle from being clipped, plus a bit at right for the same reason. Interesting setting, and the green BG looks great back there. I also like the view of the foot gripping the flower.

[Arthur Morris]

Wow, this is a strange image. Everybody wants something different, including me :) What do I wish for? Tons more d-o-f like 1/60 sec. at ISO 800 to sharpen up all of the teasel front and back. (It's the one lower left that bugs me the most). Its great to see so many guests and members offering substantive critiques and comments.

[Amano Samarpan]

My mind is now having its' own blinkies ... what is is, what ain't aint!

Its' going to take a little time to repost but thanks for all your feedback.

Amano

[Melvin Grey]

The bird is a juvenile, Adam, which is why it looks a bit 'scruffy'. It is a pity that more of the bird's body could not be seen as I think the teazles overpower the bird, particularly the lower left and the lack of d.o.f adds to the problem. They are beautiful birds and well worth the effort to perfect this image. A few tiny seeds - such as 'Niger seeds' sprinkled carefully on the tops of the teazles so that they are not obvious, will attract the birds to where you want them. Good luck.

[Amano Samarpan]

Melvin

Is this bird really a juvenile? I thought they lacked the red on the head and had a spotted front. To me, it looks like worn adult plumage.

Thanks for your suggestion about the Niger seeds .. I shall try that next week as long as the weather is fine.

Amano

[Amano Samarpan]

Thanks for all your comments … this repost is an attempt to respond to them all.

My own feeling about this image was that the composition needed altering. I have done quite a bit by removing a prominent somewhat out of focus Teasel and tightening the crop from the bottom; this gives more attention to the bird. OK Daniel !?

Art, the focusing point is on the head of the bird but a little over-exposure has resulted in softness (you are right Jonathon); in Camera Raw, I needed to reduce exposure by a stop.

Have blurred the background a little more and added some green saturation.

The bird looks worn (not at its' best as you say Alan) which further contributes to the softness!

I also burned in the white and yellow on the bird to bring these tones down.

Not much I can do about the DOP now Artie but have blurred the teasel on the right a little to encourage the eye to stay with the bird.

Further comments welcome

Hi Ho

Amano