Mockingbird

[Ron Sprunger]

This guy was checking me out at Gilbert Water Ranch, not much above eye level. Unobstructed view of the bird, but I had to remove a half dozen OOF branches behind. Critique welcome and appreciated.

Nikon D7000, 200-400 f/4 w 1.4 TC @550 mm, 1/500, f/5.6, ISO 500, manual exposure. Tripod mounted for this. There was only one leg visible on the four frames I shot -- don't know if he had the other one up, or was missing.

109589

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ron, I like the slight angled pose, and you have exposed this fellow nicely. Good DOF, and I feel you could tone down the sharpness around the head and beak - looking a touch crispy in that area. Im fine with the vertical comp, but a horizontal would look fine too. If this were mine, removing the branch behind him wont harm the image, as it just comes out from nowhere.

[Ron Sprunger]

Thanks Stuart. I wondered about that branch -- guess I just got tired of cloning before I got to it. Probably will take out the LLC diagonal in-focus branch as well. Don't know that this little guy is worth all the effort, but every new bird is special to me as a novice, so I want them to be as good as I can make them before they go in the book.

[Marina Scarr]

I personally really like the vegetatiion behind the bird, but would rather see the entire thing. Therefore, Stuart's idea of a horizontal could work in this case. I think that one "flower" gives the capture a lot of character. Love the angle and details in the bird.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Fine detail and exposure. The twig on the left with the leaf looked OK at first but as Stu pointed out it comes from nowhere and it does bother me.

[jack williamson]

Nice and sharp, nice pose. Good job removing the branches, but I would like to see this with all of the branches on the bottom gone. The blacks look a little strong on this bird.

Jack

[Ron Sprunger]

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions, much appreciated, and will help me make a better image.

[Ron Sprunger]

Jack, I'm puzzled by the "blacks look a little strong..." part. I didn't do much to this image, and the mockingbirds in Arizona are fairly black. I checked my master, and found that I had done nothing but add a little contrast. I do think as posted there may have been a little blue cast, and the image seems to improve with -5 points blue, but that doesn't really affect the blacks noticeably. Can you be more specific on this point?