Japanese Waxwing III

[Craig Brelsford]

This is the third in my series of Japanese waxwings for BPN.* The somewhat misnamed "Japanese" waxwing doesn't breed in Japan at all but in the Russian Far East and northeast China, wintering in Japan, Korea, and eastern China. Occasionally the Japanese wanders as far south as Shanghai (latitude: 31 degrees N, a bit farther south than Savannah, Georgia). The least numerous of the world's three bombycillids, the Japanese waxwing is classified as near-threatened because of habitat loss and the caged-bird trade. I shot this bird in Binjiang Forest Park, on the Yangtze River in a suburban part of the Delaware-sized Shanghai city-province. Because of the heroic, demonstrative pose and sharpness of the bird, I decided to engineer this one in Photoshop. (See non-Photoshopped image below.) I removed the stick facing him and added canvas below. I not only welcome your comments; I solicit them.

Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
VR: ON
Aperture: F/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/200
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: +0.3EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1600

*First thread: http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ing&highlight=
Second thread: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?76165-Japanese-Waxwing-II&highlight=

[Craig Brelsford]

Here's the image straight out of the camera.

[Randy Stout]

Craig:

Lovely bird, nice pose,nicely scaled perch, soft background.
Nice PS work, I can barely tell where the branch was removed.

At first I thought there might have been some loss of detail on the breast, but I think that the feathers there must just be very soft and smooth.

This pose calls out for a vertical, as you cropped it.

Cheers

Randy

[Craig Brelsford]

Thanks, Randy. Right about the sharpness of the breast; the waxwings are known for their silky smooth plumage. I can attest to their silkiness, having cradled an injured Japanese in my hand last Sunday.

I was trying to send you a private message, but it seems your inbox is full.

[Stu Bowie]

Lovely stately pose Craig, and good choice of comp. I like the various colours on him, and stands out nicely against the smooth BG.

[James Salywoda]

I'm not always a big fan of steep angle shots of birds perched but the pose and beautiful colors really work nicely and its full of detail well done Craig.

[Craig Brelsford]

I'm not always a big fan of steep angle shots of birds perched . . .

Many thanks, James. I'm curious about "steep angle." I was about level with the waxwing when I took the shot. Does it look to you as if I was low?

[James Salywoda]

Does it look to you as if I was low?

I didn't even look at the ff image just your original post but the position of the perch on a diagonal and cropped into vertical to me gives it a sense of a higher angle also the position of the birds head without the eye contact really makes it feel that way. Its still a great shot Craig.

[Craig Brelsford]

Yes, James, I can see how one could get the impression that the waxwing was high above me. Thanks for your perspective.

[Conrad Tan]

Beautiful! :cheers: