Hanging Around

[Doug Schurman]

I saw several Golden-crowned Kinglets flitting about a tree. I set up my tripod and began trying to get a good capture. The kinglets don't like to stay in one place long and they were sometimes obstructed by branches. However I was able able to get a few good clean frames and this one came out the best.

1D4 600mm with 1.4x @ 840mm 1/1000 f5.6 iso 800 on tripod, manual exposure

I did some basic raw edits in Lightroom but am thinking this could be improved if I was able to blend the out of focus branch on the left side more into the background.

Overall I was real happy with the pose of the bird, the head angle, and alignment with the sun.

All comments and feedback greatly appreciated.

[Don Nelson]

Excellent capture of this tiny very active species.
I'm ambivalent about the results your comment of blending out the OOF branch on the left.
I've tried completely removing it out or reducing the transparency of the intermediate replacement layer to leave some of it visible.
Here's a quick repost showing a somewhat pleasing result. Others can see what you suggested:

[Don Nelson]

and completely gone:

Which do you prefer, Doug?

[David Salem]

Nice shot. Like the hanging pose. Exposed well and lots of detail. Dons last post is great and isolates the subject perfectly. Good work by you and Don too.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of beautiful looking bird.Great pose captured.Lovely colors,lights and details.Nice composition too.
I like the repost by Don.Looks clean.

Regards,
Satish.

[John Cooper]

Yes i agree, the last post looks clean without the suggestion of the branch. The hanging pose is most appealing Doug - well done!

[PhilCook]

Reworks have improved on what is already a great shot, great dangling pose and sweet fine detail....great stuff

[christopher galeski]

very nice image and pose,like Dons 1/3d image best,this bird is very much like our smallest bird here in the UK,the goldcrest.thanks.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Lovely shot! The dynamic pose here is killer. I do like Don's last image the most, as it helps isolate the bird further. Great capture!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Doug, good light angle on the bird, lovely hanging pose, and the colours look good. Don's second repost in pane #3 is the best. In not sure what was underneath the bird, but sometimes I find changing the shot to a vertical in camera sorts outs a few distracting bits and pieces in the BG.

[gail bisson]

Love the 3rd repost.
Great pose,
Gail

[Nick Palmieri]

Nice initial image, the third re-post is a nice and worthwhile fix for such a great image.

[dankearl]

Yes to the above, Don's repost does the trick, but it was your eye and comp.
Very nice.