Painted Bunting

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

I have never seen a Painted Bunting let alone photographed one, that is until this morning I was able to do both. What a fantastic bird and what colors. This was taken at a private residence in Fort Pierce, Fl. The owner fed many kinds of birds, but this was the most lavish. Hope you like it, I do! Shooting data follows:
Nikon D4
2012:03:20 08:25:30
600mm
600mm (in 35mm film)
1/320 sec, f/4.5
Mode: Manual
Metering: Multi-segment
ISO: 640
White balance: Auto
Flash: Off
File size: 43.9MB
Image size: 1499 x 1209
Color space: sRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal
Color profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1

[Roman Kurywczak]

Beutiful species Mac! If within your ethics.....eliminating the twig with the poop and some BG stuff.....LL whitish stuff near sig in particular......will go a long way to improving the overall image.....if you are uncomfortable with such......this must have been a huge treat to see and hope you get more ops!

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Hi Roman,
I have no ethics at all when we are dealling in art and as Artie says Birds as Art. Here is a little clean up as you suggested. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Mac

[jack williamson]

Very nice images Wheeler! Nice and sharp and certainley colorful.

Jack

[Roman Kurywczak]

Much better Mac......I might go even further with the leaf at the bottom....crop up to eliminate one going across branch....then magically remove other one.....if you're going to go....go big :).Glad you like it better too!

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Thanks for the help. Here is the latest changes and I think it looks great. Thanks Roman. "went BIG"
Mac

[Roman Kurywczak]

Some may want a bit more room on the bottom.....but works for me! Let's see what others chime in and glad I could help!

[Ed Cordes]

While the last repost is striking and the detail is super, I like the first repost best. A bit of environment helps give a nice feel to the image. IMHO.

[Robert Rommel]

Umm, the 'cleaned up' image is indeed a great improvement with a much cleaner background. I am surprised that people are thinking it is a repost though :S3: I think you're trying to see if people are awake! With the bird in a different pose, it of course is another image. Congrats on getting an early D4 - pane #6 is the closest to my ideal (aspect ratio, etc.), but I would like a little more room in the frame. Thanks for showing this gorgeous bunting!