Magnolia Warbler in Habitat

[Melissa Groo]

Canon 5D2
500mm f/4
Gitzo 3530LS/Wimberley

1/400 sec
f/5.6
ISO 400

Have been discovering this spring how truly hard it is to get a good warbler shot in the forest. Esp when one doesn't use flash! This was my best try at a Magnolia Warbler, taken about a few weeks ago ago near my home in central NY. Did some Recovery on the whites, noise removal, darkened the crown a little, Smart Sharpened. Pretty significant crop, maybe 70%. I don't want to crop much more as I like to show the habitat, but interested to see what others think.

Thanks so much for looking and as always, I very much appreciate any comments and critiques.

[noelle zaleski]

Melissa, I wish I was able to capture a warbler. I saw one the other day with a fat little inchworm in his mouth and I watched him quickly fly away :e3

He sure is cute! Overall he looks sharp to me but it looks like you make have lost a little detail in the whites on his wing. I am not 100% sure because I am not familiar with the warblers. You did mention recovery so that may be the area I am seeing it in.

You said this were a large crop so cropping would probably make you lose IQ but if you could I would get rid of the line going across the right of the frame.

I know how hard these are to capture so you should be proud you did!!

Nice pose, perch and environment! :S3:

[noelle zaleski]

I played with it a bit and I hope you do not mind. I copied leaves from another area to get rid of the line and I cropped it. I could have left a bit more room under him but you get the idea :)

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[Melissa Groo]

Noelle! So much better! What a neat trick you performed getting rid of that OOF branch, thank you! And I do like the crop better, now the bird really is the focus. As for the whites (which are always my bugaboo!), they may be a tad hot, I will see if others weigh in on that...
Thanks so much for your work and your comments!

[Joe Senzatimore]

Yes the whites are a bit hot. The leaves could stand to be toned down a bit as well.Probably harsh light, if I had to guess. Love the re-post. It keeps the important habitat but gets rid of the large , distracting element. Warblers are always tough and I would say this is a darn good one.:5 Keep at it.:bg3:

[Melissa Groo]

You're right about the light being a little harsh, Joe. It was about 10:30 am at that point. I will try to tone down the leaves and maybe try a linear burn on the whites. And thank you for the encouraging words!! I aim to keep tryin'.

[James Shadle]

Melissa,
First, that is a beautiful, difficult to capture bird.
Noelle's re-post is really sweet.

The branches now look like a frame with minimum distractions.

James

[Austin Thomas]

Another vote for the reposted version.

The tighter crop helps lift this image.

tfs

Austin

[Mike Milicia]

Great job catching an unobstructed view of this guy in typical habitat with nice pose and good head angle!

I actually prefer the original post and whites look good to me.
Might tone down the brighter part of the leaves and branches, including the OOF one.

[Bob Pelkey]

The upper branches unfortunately lead the eye off the image.
The yellow leaf at far right is somewhat of a distraction. Between
the first two images presented, I prefer the original for its habitat.
Would like to see the bird higher in the frame, but don't see it
possible considering the dominant branches.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Sweet little warbler, nice pose and I like the "forest feel". Great repost by Noelle, the comp is better balanced and less distracting.

Some people like the "chase" of warbler photography, but if you are OK with it the used of audio + a blind greatly improves your chances of getting one down and closer to you for more opportunities...

[Melissa Groo]

Thanks for your comments, Bob and Daniel. Yea, Daniel, I have a good pop up blind that I should employ for this purpose (have mainly just used it at my house for birds near my feeder). I have audio too, (Birdtunes, a great app designed by two friends of mine), and think I should take your advice and head into the woods next to my house with both! What I really want is a winter wren, maybe I'll try the set up with that.