Nuthatch - Caught the bug!

[Ashley Cohen]

This was my first outing with the Nikon 200-400mm F4 VR after switching from Canon to Nikon.. again! I currently have a D5200 which I got as a cheap camera as I intend to get a D800 but for now Impressed with the image quality. I decided on a trip to a woods where I know the birds will come in close. My target Species the Jay wasn't about at all but thankfully the nuthatch's put on a good show. This one I caught picking an insect from the bark of the tree. I've had to crop heavy to get the image showing the bug well but I'm happy with the image. As it's my first day with this gear things will improve.


Nuthatch - Bugging out! (Gear Change) by Ashley Cohen Photography, on Flickr

The image has been Cropped Heavy, from landscape to portrait and down from 24Mpx to 6Mpx.
Nikon D5200, Nikon 200-400mm F4 VR, ISO 1600, F5.6, 1/500, Processed with photoshop CS6, Noise reduction to background, light sharpening to bird and standard adjustments.

[christopher galeski]

nice image Ashley,very different to see nuthatch with bug,sharp with nice BG,good pose,well done.

[Randall Farhy]

Hi Ashley, as Christopher notes-haven't seen many pics of these with critters. Comp, exposure and pose are good, WB looks a little on the cool side- might try +8Y and -7R, SWYT. Could use a round of output sharpening too. This is a really nice capture.

[Ashley Cohen]

Hi Ashley, as Christopher notes-haven't seen many pics of these with critters. Comp, exposure and pose are good, WB looks a little on the cool side- might try +8Y and -7R, SWYT. Could use a round of output sharpening too. This is a really nice capture.

Thanks for the Comments Chris and Randall. Wb adjustments seem to be working differently with the nikon gear so thats something i'll have to get use to, I've noticed a cooler tone too. Output sharpening has certainly been applied. I try to go for the more natural look when I can rather than sharpen as much as some others do. I could apply more for this image but with such a big crop noise and an unnatural feel could creep in. It wasn't razor sharp to begin with but then I was hold holding, the 200-400 is very front heavy!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Superb image Ashley. Just love the pose and the comp. The proportion of bg to bird to tree in the frame is just right for me. Bonus points for the perch. Very nice work.

[Satish Ranadive]

Very sweet image. Love it.

Regards,
Satish.