Indigo Bunting

[Mike Herdman]

This Indigo Bunting showed up just as the rain was getting ready to come down, you can see a rain drop on the perch. ;) I was able to get some good feather detail and saturation, due to the rain. I seem to be losing the detail with the downloading.

Is the detail better by using BPNs hosting service?

1DX
600mm
f/8
1/800
ISO 1600

C+C...appreciated!

[Hazel Grant]

Overall detail looks good. If I had to pick a less sharp area, it looks like the center of the bird, but I think it's a good shot. Of course, I am so jealous that you got to see one of these and! take a photo. They are very elusive here in southern Illinois, and they the very few I've seen don't stay put very long at all for goto purposes. Good for you!

[Diane Miller]

Gorgeous bird!! Color and sharpness look excellent.

An option is to take a bit off the bottom, just above the the knot in the perch, and add more to the top, if you have it (or don't mind manufacturing it). That would remove a very minor competing focus point -- the know pulls my attention a little bit. But that's a small nit.

Looking forward to seeing more from you!

[Mike Herdman]

Thank you Hazel and Dianne, the C+C is really appreciated!!

@ Hazel...this was the one and only time one of these have come around, I was actually nervous and talking to it, hoping it would not fly away! LOL

@ Dianne... I will give your suggestion a look and see, I can see your point and will try it out! ;)


Kind of bummed...Plenty of places/forums where you can go and get... Nice Shot...or Great image... came here to try be a part of the site and get better feedback/help and I was thinking of joining as a member, but not sure, now, so many Views and very little participation.

I am not mad, just kind of disappointed, but what can you do.

Thanks again!

[Diane Miller]

There are thousands of people in the general public who view the posts here but never participate, so don't feel bad about the ratio of comments to views. Everyone in every forum has the same issue and it's not a reflection on the images.

As new members become active, both by posting and commenting, they will soon become a member of the community of active people here, and will benefit from a lot of experience and different points of view.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hey there Mike, what a beautiful species you got here! To answer your question: As posted, the subject looks like it may need an additional (but small) dose of sharpening just to get the fine detail on the face and neck feathers. If you upload to BPN's hosting service there is no change to the image if it is not exceeding the posting size limits.

If this is a setup, then hunting for a better perch would be good (plus it is a fun activity!). The perch here has nice colours and texture, but it is rather thick for small songbirds and the broken tip is not ideal. Nice parallel pose of the subject. I am wondering about the blue iris?

[Mike Herdman]

Thanks for the reply Dianne, I never even thought about all the "Visitors" just dropping in and looking and not posting, that kind of makes a little more sense to all the "Views" with no feedback or comments. But, that does not excuse those who are members, that post images but do not interact or reply to others who do C+C in their posts. If someone comes in your post and offers C+C, the least you could do is reply, at least say Thank you or acknowledge that they posted. Why else post a image in a "Critique" forum?

@ Daniel....Thank you, as always, C+C is...appreciated! It does look muted/flat in areas after the download, not sure what I could do about that. I am still thinking/wanting to become a BPN Member, hopefully that will help using BPNs service.

Yeah the perch is kind of big, and I appreciate the advice and your right, hunting for them is part of the fun. But, I like this perch and I use ALL kinds of sizes, shapes and types just to do something different. Birds land on some crazy perches and places, so I try to add a little extra by using abnormal perches. I do this just for a hobby and fun, nothing serious. If we all made the same images and such, it would very boring. ;)

As for the Blue Iris, I am not sure why, unless it was due to the rain clouds, I tried to do my normal eye detail work and saw the same thing, I decided to leave it as is.

Thanks again for taking the time to post!

[Mike Herdman]

Where did my image go, All of my images just have a Splash Screen, now.

[Diane Miller]

I still see your image, just as it looked before. Are you having this issue with all the images?

There are always a few people who post but rarely reply to others' posts, or even fail to reply to comments on their own posts. It's human nature that many people will just start ignoring their posts. The same goes for people who make too many curt, critical, rude replies. They will become outsiders. But my impression is that the best photographers here, who have much to teach by comments and by the examples of their own images, form a vital community who welcome anyone who participates with enthusiasm.

[Mike Herdman]

Thanks Diane for the info/reply, I will eventually get used to the place and figure the ins/outs of it. ;)

No, I do not see my images in the posts, for some reason... I have made 3 posts and "ALL" the images have been replaced by a Splash Screen, saying the Image is Unavailable, I dunno why.

[Diane Miller]

I see this one but get a screen on the Purple Finch that says the image is not available on Flickr. Did it get moved on Flickr so the link is no longer correct? I didn't look long enough to find other images of yours.

Simple solition -- become a member and you can upload directly to the BPN server right from your computer -- no intermediate host needed, and no possibility of resizing outside of your knowledge or control.

[Mike Herdman]

Hi Dianne...Nope, the images were not moved or anything and all are gone that I posted on here, not sure what happened, not a problem...I will take your advice and pay the membership fee.

Thanks!

[Diane Miller]

The fee will go to an excellent cause -- it isn't cheap to run this place and it's virtually all volunteer staff.