Red-browed fire tail

[John Cooper]

This Red-browed finch was attracted to this Banksia cone by placing millet seed in the cone's empty seed pods.


EOS 7D, EF100-400 @ 400mm, ISO 200, 1/640 F8, hide, tripod with Jobu Gimbal head.

[Richard Unsworth]

Lovely species John, and nice trick with the seeds!

Might burn down the bright perch a little, nice composition though maybe a little too centred?

[Daniel Cadieux]

Another beauty John. Great bird, perch, BG, pose. Comp works fine as is, I don't find it too centered. Very good details. Please take this next comment constructively...your images are all top notch and appealing, but I find the contrast a bit strong in most of them.

Keep it up, I'm enjoying your australian songbirds!!

[Bill Dix]

Beautiful species. One of the great things about BPN is its international reach, giving us the opportunity to see lovely birds like this one from 'far-away lands'. On this one, the comp works fine for me. I would consider toning down the highlight on the upper mandible, and perhaps reducing the contrast on the perch.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent pose light details and BG. I also agree with Dan that it seems like you have an issue with contrast. It is too much, most likely it is the LCD you are using to edit your images. some LCDs have low contrast which makes you bump it up too much in post.

great shot TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Hi John, love the pose, perched high in the frame, and the curved cone adds interest. I really like the red 'zorro mask' across the face of the bird, and overall nice and sharp. Great BG too.

[Shawn Zierman]

Beautiful bird, smartly captured, though for whatever reason, I typically prefer to see the bird without the seed in the mouth....
though the impact of the seed here is decidedly minimal. Great perch, you select some wonderful, unique perches imo...
Thought worthy points raised about the contrast.

[gail bisson]

The bird is terrific and so is the perch-love the s shaped curve.. They are both so pretty that I feel they compete with one another a bit. I would prefer a plainer perch for this colorful bird but that is a minor issue.
Great BG and composition.
Really like the curled foot around the tip.
I agree with Bill re: decreasing highlight in mandible.
A lovely image,
Gail

[mohammad reza shahab]

Hi John,
excellent pose, light, details ,and BG. Beautiful bird.

[Greg Oakley]

Beautiful shot John - there are lots of Red-browed Finch images going around, but this is one of the best!
Cheers Greg

[Robert Holguin]

Great shot!!
Beautiful bird.
Excellent details, great pose, wonderful background, and interesting perch.
I agree on toning down the perch.
Well done.

[Peter Dexter]

Excellent photo and clever trick to get him on that interesting stalk. Very nice capture of an attractive bird.

[John Cooper]

Another beauty John. Great bird, perch, BG, pose. Comp works fine as is, I don't find it too centered. Very good details. Please take this next comment constructively...your images are all top notch and appealing, but I find the contrast a bit strong in most of them.

Keep it up, I'm enjoying your australian songbirds!!

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions. Yes Daniel I do tend to err towards a contrasty image but it doesn't appear excessive on my monitor. Arash makes a good point that my monitor may have a low contrast ratio which encourages me to over compensate. Not sure how one can check if this is an issue. I calibrate my monitor every 3 months. I would be grateful for any further comments on this topic.

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions. Yes Daniel I do tend to err towards a contrasty image but it doesn't appear excessive on my monitor. Arash makes a good point that my monitor may have a low contrast ratio which encourages me to over compensate. Not sure how one can check if this is an issue. I calibrate my monitor every 3 months. I would be grateful for any further comments on this topic.

what's the model/make of your monitor and what tool are you using for calibration? Mac or PC?

[John Cooper]

what's the model/make of your monitor and what tool are you using for calibration? Mac or PC?

Thanks for getting back Arash. My monitor is the Dell 2407WFP, (one that Tim Grey was recommending at the time, among others). I use a PC and calibrate with the Spyder2 Suit.

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks for getting back Arash. My monitor is the Dell 2407WFP, (one that Tim Grey was recommending at the time, among others). I use a PC and calibrate with the Spyder2 Suit.

After calibration, what is value of contrast?

[David Salem]

Great shot John. Like the pose, comp, detail and exposure and BG. One more for toning down the perch a bit. Nice work and contrast concern is easy to deal with.

[Satish Ranadive]

John:
Another wonderful image of beautiful bird with nice composition,lovely colors,BG and perch.Love it.

Regards,
Satish.

[John Cooper]

After calibration, what is value of contrast?

I will have to take not Arash when I do my next calibration - thanks again for your input.

[arash_hazeghi]

make sure the contrast is set to 80-85 at least, sometimes the calibration software will try to set it too low, in that case you have to set it manually and prevent the calibrator from re-adjusting it.

[John Cooper]

make sure the contrast is set to 80-85 at least, sometimes the calibration software will try to set it too low, in that case you have to set it manually and prevent the calibrator from re-adjusting it.

That sounds like good advice Arash - I will do a recalibration tomorrow and apply your recommendations. Many thanks.

[christopher galeski]

niceone,love that perch,nice pose,nice BG,agree on toning down the contrast a bit.thanks.