Two Tits

[John Robinson]

Blue Tits
Good to be out and about again. Finished two new bathing pools so should keep me going for a while. This is from a session today with a hazel branch pulled down on a growing tree with fishing line,over the pool.Had to clone a blurred bird out of the back which was a pain.. Background not ideal but will be adjusted some time in the future. Good session- had 8 species in half an hour.
Nikon D7100
Nikor 70-300mm
Contrast and sharpening down one in camera Auto white balance(warm)
80 % of full frame
800 ISO
250th second @f9
Levels /etc Paint Shop Pro 7
Cheers
John Robinson

[Jonathan Ashton]

An interesting and unusual shot John, not very often do we get to see two together. I quite like the colours but I get the impression a little over sharpened possibly? Did you make a loose mask around the birds for sharpening/noise reduction or is it just the way the background appears, something seems a little je ne sais quoi.

[Aidan Briggs]

Always tough to get two birds in one frame with nice poses.I like the soft light and pastel colors. You mentioned the bg, it's not ideal, but it isn't terrible either, what bugs me is the broken off end of the perch. Since it's a setup you can always go back and play around with different perches

Looking forward to more!

[John Robinson]

Thanks both
Jon- Just neat image all over and just the bit of cloning to get rid of the blurred bird (that sounds funny- blurred bird!!) I may have had the camera on dynamic lighting not sure . I loose the exif with PSP. I have to write it down before I do anything.
Aiden- funny- I left the twig on as thats how it was and I thought if I removed it it would show more !!. Its how it is growing on the tree but I can "adjust it !
John

[Arthur Morris]

I love the background and the two birds just exude character. The broken twig does not bothrt me as it looks totally natural. The smaller one on our right bugs me no end as it looks as if it has a cut end. Love the soft light.

Back to the perch if I am understanding you correctly: better to select and erect a really lovely perch over the pool than to use a less han ideal perch from the tree above the pool....

[John Robinson]

Artie
The reason I use the perch is because it has buds and leaves on in the Spring ! So I don,t have to keep it fresh in water. (It does look better with leaves on - honest !!!) I will tidy the little one up though.
Cheers
John

[Aidan Briggs]

Hey John if the stump is natural then I would leave it! Maybe a slight crop from the right to eliminate that clipped twig would look nice, up to you.

I know what you mean about perches, cut em and you gotta keep em in water or everything starts wilting pretty fast!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

A nice pair!
Light looks good and pose too. I wish the BG was as noisy.

[dankearl]

Nice to see both sharp, however I agree with Jonathan, poor IQ for you, the BG is noisy…..

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Welcome back John. Getting two sweet, sharp birds in a frame is low percentage. Well done on that one. BG, as mentioned, does look wonky. Wish the left side and the right side of the perch was better.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie
The reason I use the perch is because it has buds and leaves on in the Spring ! So I don,t have to keep it fresh in water. (It does look better with leaves on - honest !!!) I will tidy the little one up though.
Cheers
John

Great to use it in spring, but news flash: it was not spring when you created the image above :) Again I ask, why not find a truly attractive perch and set it up? Please remember that I am trying to help....

[Neil Burton]

saturation maybe a bit strong John but some good suggestions to work with I think.

[Marina Scarr]

Love these little cutie-pies and the BG works great!!! With the ideal perch, this image would have been killer.

[Martin Dunn]

A very cute pair John. super detail.
I'm going to go against the grain here because I don't like the BG. For me it is too colourful and saturated. But that's just me.