Say's Phoebe

[David Salem]

The Phoebe was hunting back and forth using a steel post for its perch. I pulled my truck up to a good distance to photograph and watched it hunt for insects.
I was fortunate enough to get three nice frames with good wing positions and head angles. This one is wings up. Fun and challenging trying to catch the action.

1DMKIV---700mm---f5.6---ss1/3200---ISO400---Car as blind w/BLUBB @8:15am---25%crop

Wanted to say thanks to everyone for the input and the great constructive crits received on this site. I have learned allot here in the past few months and I Appreciate the help.

Look forward to all your great pictures this coming new year!

Wishing Everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

David

[Don Nelson]

Excellent flight shot and I like the head angle you've got on this one. Nice background. The bird has a yellowish cast that I've not seen in a Say's Phoebe.
Here's my correction for the bird, with the background the same:

As always- starting with a larger raw image, instead of the tiny jpg, will result in better masking (I see some artifacts around the legs where they join the body)

[David Salem]

Thanks Don for taking the time to adjust my image. Looks great and adds more highlight and detail. Our Say's in the California desert are more of the cream color than the grey/blue you have re-posted. I have seen them in other parts of the country with more of a grey look. I like the look of the re-post better but not what this individual looked like. The area at the leg and body joint was an anomaly in the original capture. Forgot to clean it up. Thanks again

[Don Railton]

Hello David

Cannot comment on the colour as I have never seen one but it looks to be a challanging subject well captured. very rewarding personally I image. I like the high wing position, the turned head and clean BG. When you say 25% crop do you mean 75% remaining or 75% removed? If its 75% remaining I am extremely impressed...!

Don

[Frank Schauf]

Wonderful flight pose and colors.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position, HA, BG, light and composition. Well done David.

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comment Don. . Yes this is approximately 75 percent of the original capture left.
I wish I could have left 25 percent and had that kind of IQ. thanks again

[gail bisson]

This is terrific David.
Great BG, love the head position and wings up.
Looks like 2013 is off to a good start for you!
Gail

[Randy Stout]

David:

The wing, foot and head position are great. To my eye, the head could stand a bit more sharpening.

It would be easy to have this kind of detail with only 25% of the original frame, shoot with a D800!

Happy New Year to you.

Cheers

Randy

[Doug Brown]

Way to go David! This is a tough one. Did you prefocus on a perch, or did you track the Phoebe in flight?

[Mike Landwehr]

Hi David, very nicely placed in the frame. I really like the complementary colors of the BG, and the head angle. The "wheels down" position of the legs and feet, with one toe pointed upward, is interesting--I suspect the phoebe had just left its perch? I also like the way the tips of some of the primaries catch the light. A difficult shot well done!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, great flight pose with the raised wings, and I too like this HA. That is one sweet BG. Im not familiar with the colours of this species, so will leave that to the pro's.

[Grace Scalzo]

David, a beautiful take off pose. Love the eye contact and smooth background.

[Nick Palmieri]

Really nice capture. Nice BG and great wing position. TFS

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. Appreciated.
Thanks Doug. I pre focus manually on perches allot because with small birds its a better chance of getting a shot in the tiny perfect focal plane. That being said I didn't with this shot. I used servo and tried quick panning as the bird took off with shutter bursts.

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent, this is a tough shot and you get it sharp. great light and details, I think the Cali specie actually looks more like the original post in terms of colors

[dankearl]

Superb photo, David.
As good as it could be to get this species as well as you did in flight.
Not a thing I would change or critique, a serious contest contender!

[Shawn Zierman]

Excellent and technically difficult to do this well with that much focal length!
OP looks great. Repost almost makes the bird look like a female mountain bluebird to me, in terms of coloration....

[Uri First]

amazing capture

[Leo Berzins]

Lovely pose and background superbly captured David.

[Karl Egressy]

This is a fast flying small bird. To get any shot it tough. David, you did an excellent job. The flight pose, background, colours and deatils are all excellent.

[Hayath Mohammed]

Some beautiful wing position and that head turn's a nice touch.
Liking the Edit better :)

[Satish Ranadive]

David:
Magnificent flight pose captured.
Love the pose with full wings up,colors,nice details,BG and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent flight shot!!!
I really like the wing and head position, excellent IQ, wonderful background and light.
Very well done.

As far as the color of the bird the ones I have photographed here look more like the one in the original post.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments and suggestions. Greatly appreciated.

[Jonathan Ashton]

An amazing image, terrific detail and even a slight head turn, one of the best small bird in flight shots I have seen.