Blue Jay

[Daniel Cadieux]

From last week on a day off. Taken on a chilly pre-winter morning (we had our first significant snowfall this week, goodbye to the grass until next year!). This spot is a virtual guarantee for Blue Jays, a spot I like to visit when it is quiet elsewhere. They seemed to be outwitting me on this day...every time I set up my camera horizontally they'd perch vertically, and vice-versa. They are so quick that most often as soon as I'd rotate the camera they'd take off. A few times I got it right though Lured to the set-up perch via an impaled shelled peanut just out of frame.

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/200s., f/5.6, ISO 400, natural light, handheld, small crop for comp, darkened pupil, lightened iris, slight yellow cast to the whites on the belly, undertail coverts, and tail (caused from the grasses below) removed via sponge tool. I do wish the tail did not touch the perch...

[Henry Domke]

I'm jealous! I want a Blue Jay shot like that! I'm going to try your "shelled peanut just out of frame" to see if that will give me Blue Jays.
The only thing about the image that I question is the branch sticking up on the bottom right, the one that touches the tail. I might shorten the tail of the bird slightly so that it does not touch the stick.

What software you you using?

[dankearl]

Perfect exposure, color and IQ and the BG is very nice.
A bit higher up to get the tail off the branch would be great, but if you had it, you would have posted it……..
I am always envious of these photos, they are not in my part of the country.

[Doug Brown]

We've got Scrub Jays and Stellar's Jays, but no Blue Jays in my neck of the woods, so I'm a little envious too. Perfect exposure and sharpness. Nice BG. Maybe a little too much canvas up top and not quite enough on the right.

[Holger Leyrer]

...every time I set up my camera horizontally they'd perch vertically, and vice-versa..

Perfect exposure and sharpness. Nice details ans BG. The background color fits nicely to the bird.
Ok, the stick in the right corner touch the tail. But you wrote how difficult it was to capture the bird. I like the photo very well

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautiful image Dan, I have very minor suggestions - place head more towards ROT and the shot is so good I would consider losing that twig by the tail.

[Carl Walker]

IQ is good and colours beautiful. The mood of the shot is captivating and the twig does not detract from the super image in my opinion…..

[vishaljadhav]

Amazing exposure , the colours are fantastic
i like the composition may like a slight silver on the right
the BG is fantastic

[Karl Egressy]

Good looking Blue Jay, Daniel. I like the background, head turn and spread feet as well as the angle of the perch.

[Grace Scalzo]

I like the tail touching the branch, looks like it is adding balance. Lots of room at top would could be trimmed for an alternate composition. Depth of field is perfect and sharpening looks great, very natural.

[Enrique Patino]

great colors and detail. good looking bird!

[mohammad reza shahab]

Hi,
Perfect exposure & BG. very nice color and IQ .