Black and White Warbler

[Ian Cassell]

Canon 7D
Canon 500/4
Canon 600EX-RT with Better Beamer

1/640 sec f/7.1 ISO 500

Crop for Comp/sharpening in CS6

[Henry Domke]

I love these "Zebra Creepers"; that is what Pete Dunn calls them.
The crop from 3:2 to square feels quite severe. Why so tight?

The lighting on the bird and the tree is very hot. Do you know what settings you used on the flash? I think less would be better; or perhaps none.
My personal preference is to have flash not be apparent.

The out-of-focus background is very appealing. Great colors and shapes.
By-the-way, where did you photograph this? I assume it was not in Arizona.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Henry. This was taken this morning at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve, just outside of Phoenix. These guys are really uncommon here and the last I saw before this morning was a couple of years ago.

I'm still getting used to my new flash (I have used the 430EX for years and just got this one), so might have overdone it a bit. The guy stayed in the shade, so flash was necessary here.

[Grace Scalzo]

A wonderful warbler to have in your collection. I'm terrible at photographing them as cluttered backgrounds and uneven lighting challenge me, and that's the case here. I'd try selecting the background and toning down to help the warbler take center stage.

[arash_hazeghi]

bird is nice and sharp. I like the open beak. BG is very busy though and it looks like you did some editing as it shows some artifacts

[WillieHall]

I like the close crop on this beautifully detailed bird. I also have had problems with light ( natural) reflected off leading edge of wing and tail feathers...don't know what to do about it, a blessing and curse of full light on subject. Any ideas? Am visiting daughters in AZ next week, did you have lots of birds in this preserve at this time of year?

[Arthur Morris]

Sharp and the open bill adds. The light is a bit harsh and for me, the BKGR is distracting. And the bird is angled slightly away. But don't forget that warblers are T-O-U-G-H!

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, folks. I'm slowly learning this flash. It is much more intense than my old 430. Unfortunately these guys live in the realm of cluttered backgrounds, so it's difficult to escape that a retain a natural appearance. Grace, I like your idea of selecting and toning down the BG and am going to try that with my limited PS expertise. I'm not sure what artifacts you're seeing, Arash. This image has limited PP with the exception of a bit of crop, some levels/highlights, and some sharpening. Yes, Willie, the preserve always is a treat with varieties and now is no exception. When will you be around?