In what has otherwise been a very rainy and largely bird-less June, we had a few moments of sweet late afternoon light this afternoon and I had an opportunity to capture this Pacific-slope Flycatcher in our backyard in between flights during an active flycatching session.
Comments and critiques are most welcome as always. Thanks for looking!
Cheers!
Bruce
Canon 40D
Sigma 300 f/2.8 with Sigma 2x
ISO 400
1/200th sec, f/5.6, +0.33EV
Natural light, no flash
06-08-2008, 02:36 AM
Dan Brown
Hi Bruce, I like the BG but I am seeing some noise on my monitor. The whole image seems to be sort of soft and glowing, I like it. Also, I think that this bird is a Western Wood Peewee and not a Pac Slope Flycatcher.
06-08-2008, 06:17 AM
Axel Hildebrandt
Nice eye contact and BG. I agree regarding the noise in the BG and find the cut branch underneath the bird a bit distracting. I also wish for a bit more head turn toward you. Keep them coming!
06-08-2008, 06:41 AM
Gus Cobos
Very nice composition Bruce,
It does have a pleasing background..agree with all of the techs given...congrats...:cool:
06-08-2008, 09:04 AM
Glenn Bartley
Not too shabby! I would crop it tighter taking some off the right, top and bottom. I would definitely do some noise reduction on the BG. And probably boost the midtone contrast (maybe just move the levels middle slider a few pts to the right).
06-08-2008, 09:27 AM
Daniel Cadieux
Good advice so far. I also see some "glow" and a certain softness throughout the perch. Good composition, just wish the head was turned a few more degrees towards you.
06-08-2008, 03:06 PM
Bruce Enns
Thanks very much everyone for your comments...I have several others that are about the same quality as this one...I'm sure I can find one with a bit more head turn towards me, the other issues are easy to fix. I'm not sure where the noise is coming from...I re-checked the EXIF data and it was actually taken at ISO 200! Normally I don't even consider noise an issue with the 40D at 200.
I'm not really sure why the perch is so soft on the right side...probably photographer error...I'm just getting used to this new (used) lens combination.
Thanks again for taking the time to have a look and make helpful suggestions.