Indigo Bunting

[Charles Scheffold]

These colorful little guys are nesting at the local wildlife refuge. During my last few visits, they have been very cooperative. It is quite a challenge to capture them at a clean perch since they tend to prefer the safety of the tall brush.

For this one, I decided to leave the perch mostly intact with only a small amount of cleanup. Some obstructions but I think they give a good sense of the environment without being distracting.

Canon 1D Mark IV
800/5.6L + 1.4x TC (1120mm)
1/640s @ f/8, ISO 400
Manual Exposure
Cropped, Toned down feather highlights, Minor branch cleanup

thanks
Charles

[Paul Randall]

Fantastic Charles, I would only wish for a slightly more side on view but being a bit picky there I think :e3
Colours and light are beautiful, well done :)

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Perfect comp, background and love the perch. I might add another round of sharpening.:cheers:

[Karl Egressy]

Beautiful singing pose captured agains a very pleasing background.
Love the natural perch. No nits here.
Great work.

[Wynand van Wyk]

Really love the environmental feeling as well. Amazing smooth background and feather detail. A super portrait!:S3:

[RakeshDhareshwar]

Really love this frame . The colours and the setting are awesome . The bird with its head angle , and puffed feathers looks as if he is proud of his beauty ! Lovely capture !!

[Dumay de Boulle]

I like this as presented, could be touch sharper but feel if you sharpen more it will look overdone. Love the colors, perch and BG.

[Charles Scheffold]

Thanks for all of the comments - I agree that this web version could be sharpened a tiny bit more, but as oversharpening is a pet peeve of mine, I did not want to overdo it. The small vertical web size really doesn't do it justice anyway.

Not exactly sure why, for some reason this bird is very easy to oversharpen. Perhaps it is just his nature? :bg3:

thanks again
Charles

[Nico Steenberg]

Super calling pose and perch. Subject is sharp and well exposed and the bg is a killer !!