American Goldfinch

[Henry Domke]

The feedback on this forum has been great. Seeing though the eyes of others is teaching me a lot. Thanks everyone!
The comments have made me go back and reevaluate my bird pictures. A LOT have been trashed but occasionally I find one that catches my eye. For example, I took this goldfinch picture off my back deck.

Any comments and suggestions on how to improve are welcome.

Canon 1DIV 600 f/10 1/800sec ISO 2500 on a tripod
Processed with Lightrooom 5 and Photoshop CC

[Bob Pelkey]

Great colors. I would crop this image to a square with more canvas below. Prune your vegetation carefully.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the angled perch, look back pose and sharpness. Looks like the light was getting harsh and I find the bird a little small in the frame. Nice image Henry.

[Kevin Giannini]

Beautiful bird and well exposed. Looks very sharp. I agree that the finch is too small in the frame, and I would also go for a more square crop. The sole red leaf/flower directly over the finch is slightly distracting to me - I do like the OOF background otherwise. Very nice.
Kevin

[Sandy Witvoet]

I Like this A LOT! Would not go square...just a bit off the left and top... and maybe drop the saturation on the red stuff above the bird's head. Finch is totally awesome!

[arash_hazeghi]

The finch is great, sharp. good exposure, but the light was a bit getting harsh and the busy BG is also distracting here. I agree with Jim that he is small in the frame. had you not stopped down so much you would have rendered the BG softer but I think you were setup for take off/landing and wanted more DOF. If you can setup your perch against a nice clean BG without distractions you can get better output and also have a higher chance of nailing flight frames.

[Marina Scarr]

Nice pose on the bird. I would crop a tad from the right and top. Arash has given you solid advice. With a 600mm lens, you could have photographed this at F4 and it would have really caused your BG to be OOF and less distracting. I understand you may have been set up for another kind of image...happens to me all the time.

[keith mitchell]

Henry you have got some sound advice above, agree with a bit tighter crop but apart from that I think it's a very nice image.

Keith.

[adrian dancy]

There is nothing wrong with the size of bird in the frame. Nothing wrong at all. The composition could be improved slightly but then it is not entirely out of the ball park as is. The image would have worked better if the reddish leaves were not directly above the bird's head and I can only suggest toning them down a bit. If you had shot wide open the blur would have magnified the size of the leaves above the bird's head...so your choice has helped with separation. All these things are tricky to see in camera, and for all these minor issues, I still prefer what looks like a totally natural setting rather than a contrived one ( I am not opposed to the latter). I would also tone down the brighter leaves just a touch. All in all a very nice image and one I'd be happy to see on my wall.

[Henry Domke]

The image would have worked better if the reddish leaves were not directly above the bird's head

I agree! Compositionally that is a problem.
The red bracts are from the hickory buds which just opened a few days before.

I still prefer what looks like a totally natural setting rather than a contrived one

You are right. This is a totally natural setting.
However, I am going to work on creating setups for my bird pictures this year.

[Henry Domke]

I find the bird a little small in the frame

I know what you mean. I've debated that and will continue to debate that.
I'm finding that my clients want birds in their environment more then they want tight portraits.