American Redstart

[Kenn Christensen]

We have a massive push of warblers coming through right now. I sat beside a local lake and there were hundreds of warblers all around me. This American Redstart showed up by hovering right in front of my face as I sat there watching in amazement all the birds moving constantly feeding on an insect hatch. For most of the time he was FAR too close to focus on.. but eventually he moved out a few feet and I got a couple of shots... Im just not used to see these guys anywhere but in the tops of trees at this time of year. The late spring has made it so the tall trees really dont have any leaves or bugs yet.
canon 1d mkIII
500 f4 w 1.4 tc
handheld
iso 800
1/500
f8

[Kenn Christensen]

a poor head angle is noted....
(I removed the lame humor quoted below.. sorry I placed it here in the first place, the written word in my hands often seems to convey something I did not intend... Im far to clumsy a writer to garner laughs without causing trouble... my appologies)

[Daniel Cadieux]

oh.. if I get pinched by the HAP I have other head angles.. he actually sat here for maybe 10 seconds.. and moved his head hither and yon... for some crazy reason I liked this one... but Im thinking we have a slight away angle.. if Im not mistaken that means hard time.... soooooooooo I better keep my hack saw handy... or can I quick pull out a better angle as a sort of get out of jail free card?

For this image I would say go straight to jail, and do not collect $200;) :D

You are right about the HAP...and its not a "slight" away angle either - it is quite significant :-) The bird is also too crowded top and bottom and the particular highlight in the eye is too much. These guys are so beautiful, I'm glad you got the oppotunity to observe from low and close!

[Doug Brown]

Lucky you to get close encounters with warblers. With regard to this image, I think the bird is OOF. It appears that the perch is what's in focus. Daniel makes a number of good points too. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your warbler photos in the near future. Thanks for posting.

[Kenn Christensen]

well. I cropped in a bit because I like a closer look.... Ive not yet adjusted to the generally accepted viewing range... I guess old habits die hard... but in the interest of advancement change is needed..... the head angle thing... Ive not quite got the angle on that yet either.. for some reason I liked this one.. but then maybe it was because my other angles while different... did not have the same "jauntiness" of this one... maybe looking towards me but more downward..... well.. even after my first cut I have nearly 200 warbler images... Im guessing one or two will be ok.... the oof part.. I guess I didnt really seet that.. I wonder if I bungled the PP... at F8 with a small bird I should have been able to get the birds head and the branch in focus.... I had shot the day before at F5.6 and you dont see any of them displayed.. for reasons that are probably obvious... I also chose iso 400 that day... but with the always active warblers that turned out to be a poor choice as well.. so those 200 shots from a different area are pretty much all scrap...
(well... no more ops for now from the spot I was at yesterday... I went back today and there was a pair of these hanging around... I got way closer than I would normally expect.. maybe broadwings are a bit calmer than the usual sharpies and coopers I find in the local forests... and the redwings that haunt the fields... I seldom get close to any of them.... I really have no idea.. but I suppose a combo of a bug hatch tailing off and the drive to move northward were both factors in their departure... I sure will miss them.. access to the local warblers is usually difficult for me....

[Arthur Morris]

The head angle in the "re-post" (to use the term loosely...) is perfect and bears no relation to the head angle in the warbler... If you cannot tell the difference in the two, we cannot help you. As far as tight, the hawk image is a perfect head and shoulders front end vertical COMP while the AMRE is stuffed into the frame. Lastly, not intending to be unkind, that male restart has to be the ugliest restart on the continent with his molting head... Next time that you are surrounded by all those warblers pick a pretty one!

Please include location. Thanks.

[Kenn Christensen]

ah yes.. certainly I can see a difference in the angle.. I will have to find the HAP post and study the viable angles.. I feared the down angle was too much..... but Im sensing the angle has more to do with towards and away then it does with up and down...
I guess I was in too much awe of having a redstart at eye level.... Ive not seen many so didnt realize he was no prize.. perhaps I need to study other comps for a while before posting anymore.. I seem to be struggling a bit with comps and head angles.... sorry for the HAP humor.. I guess it was pretty poor.... I tend to be a bit of a lame humorist who sometimes doesnt know when tis wise to desist... my appoligies....
the location of this event was at Poplar Lake near Dresser Wisconsin on May 12. I spotted heavy warbler activity there on the 11th but it was mothers day and not a good day for me to get out.....
thanks for the help..
cheers....