Common White throat
As a continuation of the pool stuff and set up.
Now this is taken in the same day- or hour- I should say of the Linnet.
It is a good example of how different birds behave at water. Many will say the background is messy/ cluttered etc and so it is. But Whitethroats for example and many other species like a bit of cover. They feel vulnerable when wet and so they should- as they cannot fly so well to escape predators. The Linnets don’t seem to care – they just get on with it out in the open. This is useful to know when doing a pool because if you leave the “shoreline “ clean- many species wont use it.This is taken at the far side of the pool where as the linnet was at the nearest side on my left. This is not quite as sharp as the hide is not in its final position yet and is some distance away even for a 500 mm.
Ok its cluttered but that’s how it happens and personally I quite like this sort of shot . ( Not every time of course.)We see many plain backdrops and I do it myself but not always.Will be interesting to see others views.
. I am not really a photographer and certainly not a PP man but a naturalist who likes to try and get a picture the way things happen. Not always easy or popular.
Same specs more or less as previous pic. My views above by the way are the way things have happened with me and may certainly not be true at all in other countries or situations
Thanks for your interest and comments
JR
I like the detail on the bird and don't mind all the grass etc. I do find the large branch on the left a little distracting and if it were mine I would crop that part of the image.
Nice to see this bird in the open, I have only even seen them hiding in trees so you had a good opportunity here and did a nice job.
The bird looks sharp on my monitor and the bird's colour is accurate. It is easy to see the bird is pensive whilst at water...but as you say that's the way it is...that's nature.
Regarding your other comments. Photographs are taken for reasons other that mere aesthetics. They can be taken to illustrate a bird's life or as reportage. Birds don't live in blury backgrounds and orange light all the time, and as satisfying as such images may be to the human eye for a picture in a book or on a wall it does not mean that one should limit one's portfolio just to please other photographers. When a critique is made it should be made with reference to whether or not the photographer has achieved what they have set out to do...not whether or not an image ticks all the boxes for a prescribed formula. Apples should not be compared with oranges. I'm not attacking 'arty' type images, I like them like the next person. Of course, even with birds in habitat there has to be something which makes the image viewable and worthy of holding attention and so in a sense making such images can present an even greater challenge.
In this image we are given a glimpse into the life of a bird that is rarely recorded near water yet it will visit water every day. There's a ton of superb Whitethroat images made but this is worth half of them put together. In my view I can easily see this image being used for educative talks or for a book and it is not untypical of the kind of image that I would sometimes see in the RSPB magazine many years ago by a certain photographer who went by the name of John Robinson!
Last edited by adrian dancy; 06-23-2014 at 08:46 PM.
I like it, John! There's no distractions to the bird's main features and you've got clear focus on the eyes. A nice shot portraying the bird in a natural setting!
Thanks all- your commentsare indeed encouraging.
Iain- I did wonder about the branch. I 'll try taking it outl ater. They are there for the larger birds to land on.
Juan-here they are - same as the Linnet pic
Sigma 50-500 mm
Hide -bean bag
800ISO
320th @f9
about 7o % of frame
Neat image.
Bibble pro fro colour check
Adrian- Thanks the RSPB was a long time ago. ! Long story.!They paid well and it bought my first digital.
Cheers
JohnR
Magnificent image. Beautiful pose, colors and details. I like the composition with bird in the middle of green grass. Beautiful pool.
You are luck ,getting wonderful pictures of beautiful birds.This one we call it Greater Whitethroat, winter migrant rarely seen here and other common one called as Lesser Whitethroat.
Every year I try to get good image of it,so far no success.Only record shot of arrival and departure timings.
Thanks all
Satish- There has been a lesser and Greater(Common) in the hedge most years but this time the lesser moved on. Did get some pics though
John
And now for some thing different
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