January project: Winter!!: Junco

[Chad Caswell]

It was 0 degrees this morning and the song birds were out in full force gathering feed to stay warm, It's not often I catch the Junco's perching so it was a nice treat to get a few images of them perched on something other than the ground.

TFL

Chad

Shot from the van using a bean bag
Model = Canon EOS-1D Mark IV with 500mm + 1.4x
Focal Length = 700mm
Exposure Time = 1/1600"
F Number = F8
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 800

[Randy Stout]

Chad:

Looks like winter to me!
Nice detail in the snow, it is that dry fluffy looking stuff you get when it is really cold.
Excellent exposure.

My only observation would be that there must of been some shadows on the scene, as the lighting is a bit uneven, and the bird isn't quite as well illuminated as some other areas. I appreciate how dark juncos are, but it still looks like the upper part of his body is shaded a bit.

Normally I would say the perch is too massive for this little fellow, but the snow really softens it.

Cheers

Randy

[Dumay de Boulle]

fantastic soft light and colors. I like the detail...But the perch makes this image for me! Nicely done Chad

[Stu Bowie]

Good exposure, and I like the pose with the tail following the perch.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love juncos, and your image showcases this species very nicely. I have never seen such a saturated pink bill on one though...did you boost its colour in post? I like the perch, but find the big snow mound in the BG a bit much IMO and would have preferred the image without it (I do love the snow dusting elsewhere on the perch though...very nice).

[Arthur Morris]

I love everything about this one. Everything: the cute little pink bill, the head angle, the perch, the SH, and the soft light. Dan is right though, the head is too dark. I did a Tim Grey Dodge and Burn on it and then removed a few specks that became more visible when I did so.

Then a bit off the bottom.

[Chad Caswell]

Chad:

Looks like winter to me!
Nice detail in the snow, it is that dry fluffy looking stuff you get when it is really cold.
Excellent exposure.

My only observation would be that there must of been some shadows on the scene, as the lighting is a bit uneven, and the bird isn't quite as well illuminated as some other areas. I appreciate how dark juncos are, but it still looks like the upper part of his body is shaded a bit.

Normally I would say the perch is too massive for this little fellow, but the snow really softens it.

Cheers

Randy

Thanks for the C&C Randy, this was taken using filtered light through a pine tree top :)
Although juncos are dark its tough to get any detail out of the blacks while exposing the whiter bottoms of them correctly, I did a small amount of dodging on the upper half.

Chad

[Chad Caswell]

fantastic soft light and colors. I like the detail...But the perch makes this image for me! Nicely done Chad

Thank you so much Dumay :)

[Chad Caswell]

Good exposure, and I like the pose with the tail following the perch.

Thank you Stuart :)

[Chad Caswell]

I love juncos, and your image showcases this species very nicely. I have never seen such a saturated pink bill on one though...did you boost its colour in post? I like the perch, but find the big snow mound in the BG a bit much IMO and would have preferred the image without it (I do love the snow dusting elsewhere on the perch though...very nice).

Thank you for the C&C Daniel, I boosted the color ever so slightly on the bill, I made sure I did not change hue's but rather sampled the color and did a 8% over painting just to add a smiggin' :D

[Chad Caswell]

I love everything about this one. Everything: the cute little pink bill, the head angle, the perch, the SH, and the soft light. Dan is right though, the head is too dark. I did a Tim Grey Dodge and Burn on it and then removed a few specks that became more visible when I did so.

Then a bit off the bottom.

Hey Artie, thanks for taking the time to do this rework, it looks great, I pushed the D&B but you took it to the next level, I like it :) Thanks again for the thoughtful praise as well :)

Chad

[Arthur Morris]

You are welcome on all counts Chad. I got bored photographing them on the plain snow from the car in my Mom's front yard two weeks ago....