Evening Grosbeak

[gail bisson]

After an absence of 12 years these beautiful birds have returned to my feeders.
I was looking out the window about 3 weeks ago and was overjoyed when I saw an evening grosbeak. A few minutes later 9 more arrived. I grabbed my camera and quick camo blind, stuck a branch and seeds in a flower pot and prayed that I hadn't scared them off. After an agonizing 30 minute wait they returned and I got a few images.
Canon 1D MKIV
F 500mm
ISO 800
F 6.3
ISO 640
70 % full frame.BG are leaves on the ground. Dark, overcast day.
Usual PP. I had to deal with a significant magenta cast and burned a bright area in front of bird.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful image Gail. I like the pose, sharpness, DOF and sweet BG.

[Karl Egressy]

Great pose, nice perch and a truly beautiful background, Gail. Also I like the compositon a lot.
One of the best backyard birds I can imagine to have.

[Alan Murphy]

Gail, a killer species and a BG to die for. Wish you had chosen a more interesting perch.

[Randy Stout]

Gail:

A lovely fellow, well exposed, sharp, nice pose. I am sure you grabbed the best perch you could, fearing that they might move on. Hopefully they will hang around and allow some more elaborate setups. You did very well.

Cheers

Randy

[dankearl]

I don't mind the perch, simple and effective and the bird looks really nice.
Beautiful color, sharpness and DOF.
I wish I had them in my yard!

[gail bisson]

Gail,. Wish you had chosen a more interesting perch.

Me too Alan!!But I was worried they would leave if I went searching for a pretty branch. They have been back a few times since then but only as I was leaving for work, or cooking supper or when the light is terrible etc etc. I plan on getting them with a prettier perch!
Gail

[laurie golden]

Gail,

This is a beautiful back view which in my opinion is their best. You have a very nice background. It's been a lot longer than 12 years since one has come to my feeders, congratulations and enjoy them while they are there.

[PhilCook]

I'm so envious you have this beauty come into your feeder, I like the perch as it is as it doesn't compete at all with the bird......a marvelous image Gail, lovely contrast and liking the mottled backdrop too

[Satish Ranadive]

Gail:
Classic image of Grosbeak.Wonderful colors,lights,great details,beautiful pose and sweet BG,,nice perch too.
Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice pose, details and BG. sharp and excellent exp. perch could be better but at least it's natural :)

TFS

[Shawn Zierman]

Good job with the exposure...it's easy to blow out the secondaries on this species...these look great.
The background is great....nice mottling/variation. I had a very similar experience two or three years
back.....ran out and grabbed a stick, put it up and obtained images of the male and female of the species on the stick...they never came back after that day, and afterwards I wished that I had had better perches on hand....Actually, your perch is much better than the hunk of stick I piced out. Yours is sized nicely and I like the slight curve...Congrats on your quick thinking/effort/and very pleasing result.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Gail,

This is a wonderful image. You have great detail throughout, a dynamic pose on the bird, and a wonderful background. Glad they came back for you, and really glad you got a chance to capture it. I hope to see more if you have them.

My only (minor) gripe about this image is the perch. I just wish it wasn't passing at the same angle as the tail. Otherwise, what a shot!

Miguel

[David Salem]

Very nice picture. Exposure, witch by the way looks excellent, detail, and killer BG make for a great shot. Perch is fine and like the close comp, accentuates the beautiful colors on this bird. Good job.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, I really like how you have exposed the Grosbeak, all the colours stand out so well. Good pose leaning into space, and Im fine with the perch - at least its thinner than the ones in Pilanesberg. The grosbeak is sharp, and that BG is a killer.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I always have a selection of perches in my garage just in case Beautiful image, and I love this type of lighting...you did well to take advantage of the opportunity.

[Corey Hayes]

Awesome shot, I like the pose.

[Robert Holguin]

Beautiful shot.
Love the background, nice muted lighting, terrific pose, excellent details, and great comp.
Very well done.