The good common birds will keep me afloat until the money comes
Brothers and sisters in the alar's army, get ready for this whizbang EUROPEAN STARLING, and a juvenile no less! Hold on to your sweet old hats because this bird, although common, is something else! Not really, but I like them. I always have! Why blame me? Instead, please know that this picture was taken with a Canon 7D and 70-300L at 300mm, iso500, 1/500, f7.1...the composition might be slightly odd, is it, I don't know? This is about 80% of the original. Please enlighten me with your pious and poetic processes of ponderability! Sorry.
Composition - if you are following the rule of thirds it may be a little off if he is looking to the right - or is he looking to the left? If left then it is way off. I will say that he is looking right so composition is almost perfect. Nice habitat shot with all of the surrounding leaves in focus - they kind of frame him nicely. And there is a peek into the out of focus background that adds some good depth.
I'd say with all the visuals and vegetation you have going on, the OP is pretty darn nice
from a compositional standpoint. Really nice light. I also like the plumage on this bird (!).
Prefer the space of the OP vs the vertical attempt.
Thanks folks. And Ken: of course, and always. I am a champion of all birds, everywhere. Dismissing the common birds is tantamount to insanity! Shawn: the plumage of the young european starling is quite lovely, I agree. You could go dizzy from looking at the blur that's created from their blacks and whites, a fun and tricky visual effect, to be sure! I like the original post better as well, as I like the vegetation and the berries. But I'm always curious to hear what folks have to say about composition...many ways to skin a bird, as they don't say...
Last edited by Jack Breakfast; 09-03-2012 at 08:16 AM.
Very nice Jack. I do prefer the second (vertical) crop much more. I might consider removing some of the bright blue sky from the background, although that is just a personal preference.
Hi Jack, Your photography is coming just great. When I see this, I can see you have waited for the right moment to press the shutter. Nicely posed in the open, and Im fine with his surroundings. Comp wise in your OP, I would move the bird slightly more up into the ULC. In your repost, a little off the left and top.