Damselfly Dinner for a Great-crested Flycatcher.

[Daniel Cadieux]

So many different insects these guys bring in for the hatchlings...it's fun to try to capture the variety. It's also amazing that they catch their prey from behind and bring them to the nest still alive...legs and head still wriggling. The flycatcher stayed on just long enough for me to create this full-frame vertical image.:c3:

I love the great view of the rufous under-tail feathers this perch/pose combo gave me!

Canon 7D + 100-400L @320mm, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/1250s., f/8, ISO 400, natural light, handheld.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

You are really doing great with your flycatcher images. The pose here is great, well exposed, sharp, really fine lighting and background.

I might consider a version without the lower twig.

The butterfly food item was great in the previous one, this one is good, just not as well displayed by the bird this time.

Keep them coming.

Cheers

Randy

[Ofer Levy]

Nice shot. Good techs and eye contact. Would remove the branches at the bottom. Eye looks a bit funny - I assume you selectively manipulated it?

[Dumay de Boulle]

Very nice soft light and the DOF looks good. Nice detail and the eye looks OK to me, but cant say as I have never seen this species before.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks guys!

Ofer, although I usually do some eye work on my images I didn't do anything to it in this case. GCF's irises are notoriously showy in good light.

[gail bisson]

A beautiful shot. I would clone out the bottom twig if it was mine but still find it a great shot with it. Lovely BG and love the butter yellow belly,
Gail
Have fun at the nest. I Imagine you will be living there for the next few days as I did with my pileated!

[christopher galeski]

Beautiful shot Daniel,great BG,like theinsect in the beak,nice details,if it were mine,I would remove bottom twig,thanks.

[Wynand van Wyk]

Beautiful portrait captured! Great background and feather detail. I like it a lot!

Very well done!:S3:

[Ofer Levy]

Thanks Daniel.:w3

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Daniel. I like the lighting, pose and BG. I would also remove the lower twig.

[Dan Brown]

Great capture again, Daniel! I don't see any reason to remove the oof branches, they are great habitat and add to the comp IMHO. This is a work of art as is! TFS.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Dan, shooting vertical was the way to go here. Super pose with the catch as a bonus, and separated nicely from the BG. I would have probably removed the lower twig. :w3

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Daniel, superb shot. Loved that BG. details, head position, exp., comp. everything is excellent as always. Good job getting close. Eye is indeed very nice.

[Jim Fenton]

Love the bird, the bug, the colors.

I would loose the lower twig....I think it would go a long way to really making this stand out.

[Karl Egressy]

Great picture overall but I think you don't need the lower branch there, Daniel.
I would clone it out if it were mine.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks everyone! I figured I'd get those branch comments...my first thoughts were the same when I first viewed the raw file. I made a version without it, felt good really about it, then started to like the version with the branch in more. Funny how it goes sometimes!!:S3:

[Craig Brelsford]

Daniel, excellent shot, as always; I too would create a version with and a version without the lower branches, either choice being defensible. Am I the only person who finds the image a bit too dark?

[Tommy Rodgers]

So what's a small branch between friends? C & C is over but I would be remiss if didn't say, "Well Done!" Your images and critiques are of great benefit to all and an big asset for the this group.

[Nico Steenberg]

Great sharp detail and IQ. Like the comp and catch. Subject is well exposed with good natural colours against a killer bg. Well done !