Snow Bunting (male in breeding plumage)

[gail bisson]

Nothing show stopping here but I haven't seen a snow bunting in breeding plumage on BPN recently and thought I would share.
Barrow, Alaska 2014 with Matthew Studebaker's workshop. Bird was called in to set-up.
Canon 1DX600mm and 1.4x
ISO 800 F 5.6 SS 1/800
PP: Crop to 70 % FF, levels, DE at 2% to bird and USM to JPEG.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Karl Egressy]

Nice setup, pose and excellent details, Gail. I would try to brighten (linear doge) the eye up if it were mine. I wish it were.

[Paul Kusmin]

Very nice indeed, i've yet to see one in breeding plumage, you could tweak the eye a bit as Karl mentioned but as a whole, i wouldn't change much.

[Raymond Lee]

Beautiful shot Gail! Great exposure, colour balance, details, and perch! I think the eye is fine, but a tiny bit of dodging in the highlight wouldn't hurt.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Beautiful bird and I love the lichen covered perch. Did you get any with more of a side profile?
Just being super nit-picky, and easy for me to say from the comfort of my arm chair, but I think I'd have pushed the ISO (and/or traded some SS if on a tripod) for more DOF here.

[Greg Oakley]

Lovely colours in this Gail, and a wonderful species. The perch is pretty special as well! Agree that some of the whites have blown a touch - nothing a bit of dodging wouldn't fix....

[Ian Wilson]

I see you have had a lot of advice here but I think you have done a nice job with what you had to work with. I especially like the lichen-covered perch and background gradation. Regards, Ian.

[Satish Ranadive]

Spectacular image with very nicely balanced colors in the frame. Love the handsome bird with nice pose,beautiful and colorful perch, wonderful Bg and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Marina Scarr]

What a darling bird and super image. Love that perch and its colors really help to showcase your bird. Super exposure and details in your bird.

[Shawn Zierman]

Breeding plumage is quite lovely! The perch is solid with some great texture and color. I wonder if you could have been just a little bit higher for your shooting angle, and it would have been even better if the bird had moved up a bit on the perch and shown it's left foot more...DOF seems just a bit shallow at this working distance too...but those are things said without knowing just how "cooperative" this little fellow was...maybe the moment was fleeting...Ahh, now I just read Sidarth's comment about DOF and it seems there is an echo in here...in here... in here... :)

[David Salem]

Thats a great looking frame Gail. I really like the lichen covered rock with the contrast of the white bird. The techs look good to me and I dont show any clipping on the whites. All around, a very nice frame.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I only ever get to see them in winter plumage here, although sometimes in HUGE numbers...I'd so love to see one in breeding plumage! I like the image a lot, and the yellow lichens on the perch really add a lot of nice colour here. I guess a bit more dof would be good here, but more for the perch than for the subject as it is sharp where it needs to be.