BlueTit

[Simon Wantling]

Popped out for a while this morning before the snow is supposed to set in. Lots of birds but only managed a few photo opportunities. This Blue Tit is quite a large crop and was photographed in fairly shaded conditions. I'm fairly happy with it but would really appreciate your comments.

7D, 100-400, +2/3 ev, ISO1000, 1/400ss, f5.6. Processed in Light room 4 and PSE10. Cropped for composition, USM, shadows and highlights and some noise reduction in Neat Image.

[Randy Stout]

Simon:

An attractive little fellow! The background colors go well with the bird and perch. Well exposed.

The IQ is suffering a bit from the crop. I would normally consider a vertical as an option with this bird and perch layout .

Consider toning down the brighter areas in the left upper corner to reduce competition with the bird.

Cheers

Randy

[Simon Wantling]

Thanks Randy. Yes, it's a shame it was a big crop. They're such tiny things anyway so distance is always an issue with these. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give them a go.

Simon

[Nick Palmieri]

Cool little bird and I like the perch. I think the BG colors compliment the bird. Agree with Randy's suggestions.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Simon,

Randy hit the nail on the head. I agree about the vert crop, but could see how that may not be an option bc of the already large crop.

I don't think the IQ is bad, but it could be better. The colors definitely stand out.

Miguel

[PhilCook]

He looks very cold, sure is a cutie, the IQ is not bad but is just starting to show some of the typical high ISO noise from the 7D, I rarely take my 7D above ISO 500 as the noise factor is too hit and miss, but it's not overly bad in this one.

I agree maybe a vertical crop would suit better to eliminate some of the dead space

[Marina Scarr]

What a little cutie-pie!!! Yes the image is suffering a little from the large crop but the image still works. It does look great as a vertical but then you are cropping even more. As a compromise, I would probably crop this one from the bottom and left a little bit.

[Simon Wantling]

Thanks for all the feedback. I did consider a different crop but this was the compromise as its a big crop anyway. I wax actually only 4-5 meters away from the bird on my 400mm, so to get it bigger in the frame I would have to be virtually on top of it. Guess you guys would use TC for these which my 400 won't take.

[Daniel Cadieux]

The BG is so beautiful that it deserves the amount of canvas it occupies. I like the comp and size of bird in it, just wish it was not so high in the frame. Great colours. I agree filling gin the bright area in ULC would improve things. Our chickadees readily frequent bird feeders and allow close approach...do yours behave the same? Could be a way to get closer...

[Jonathan Ashton]

Simon when I saw the thumbnail I thought the subject may be a little small but the image looks OK. I think a portrait version would quite possibly give you a bird a tad larger in the frame with less cropping, if so I think the image quality may improve slightly. Love the colours and exposure (did you enhance the blues a little?).