Siskin

[Simon Wantling]

At last a decent day in the UK to get out to do some photography. This bird was amongst a flock of about 50 which a great sight. I've learnt from here not to be afraid the push the ISO and with this shot I pushed it to 1600.

This has been processed in Aperture 3 and PSE10. I've reduced the highlights in the background but I'm not sure if I should have done anything else. As always, comments always appreciated.

7D, 100-400, F5.6, 1/500ss, ISO1600

[Bill Dix]

Wow. Your siskins certainly have a lot more color than ours. He stands out well against the almost monochromatic bg, but I find the bg somewhat distracting. I don't know if the IQ would hold up to a larger crop, but that might help reduce the distraction.

[Simon Wantling]

Thanks a lot. I do agree with you about the background. I'll try you suggestion. Thanks again.

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely subject and I agree that the BG & FG here are overpowering. I think the right crop would really enhance the image.

[Petros Petrou]

I like your siskin image. I like how the yellow bird pops from the BG. Very good detail for such a high ISO with the 7D (I know because I also use a 7D). For the crop you could try a pano crop. That way you wouldn't have to reduce the resolution of the bird and perhaps reveal more noise. TFS.

[PhilCook]

Yes to the surrounds being a bit competitive with the bird....can this be cropped tighter ? Lovely looking species, quite Finch like. The bird itself is rather nice and the detail is coming through, but I think the head could stand another round of sharpening. Impressed by the high ISO for a 7D shot

[Simon Wantling]

Thanks everyone. I'll try your suggestions tonight.

[Simon Wantling]

I've taken all your advice and reprocessed the image from scratch. This time with a tighter crop and I've also reduced the brightness and highlights on the background which were as you said, distracting in the first posting. I've also run some noise reduction on the background and a tiny amount on the bird. I actually think the detail held up pretty well considering the crop so pretty please. Any comments?

[Bill Dix]

Simon, I like this much better. The tighter crop really helps to focus on the bird; and as you say, the detail held up pretty well. I might still be tempted to apply the s/h tool to lower the bg highlights even further, and/or reduce the contrast in the bg. A very pretty bird.