I've bitten off my than I can chew

[Glennie Passier]

Here is a young Noisy Miner that I've come by quite accidently. His mother had hidden him carefully in dense thicket.

Cropped, NR, cloned out branches, levels layer, dodged some of the darker light feathers, selective sharpening.

Canon 5D Mk II
Lens EF100-400mm USM
Focal Length 200mm
1/160@f5.6
ISO 1600
Evaluative Metering

Any C&C is always welcome.

Glennie

[Diane Miller]

Wonderful!! Tonalities and colors are great, sharp focus, excellent composition, wonderful BG... My only thoughts are very trivial: to possibly remove the side branch going out the bottom of the frame in the lower left and the small dark one coming up in the lower right. I would probably experiment with darkening the light area behind the head, especially near the top of the frame, but that will be a challenge to mask, and since the head is dark, it might decrease separation more than desirable.

The mood is dusky, but it fits in the forest setting. The exposure could come up a little, but that's artist's choice. It doesn't have the typical low-contrast look that would normally make me suggest that, so it's just an idle thought.

So cute!! Hope mommy will teach him not to chew with his mouth open!!

[Jim Keener]

My first time on the forum for awhile and this is what I see! The bar has been raised. Beautiful. I especially like the action the way the light pattern causes an apparent vignette. This photograph truly is light writing. The drama of light. And those fine little downy feathers on the back. I'm trying to find a suggestion to make. Hmm. I give up.

[Diane Miller]

Welcome back Jim! How about "Print, frame, hang!"

[Michael Hansen]

Glennie,

I love this one as well! I really like the dark tones and colors. The thin perch that this bird can't quite fully get a grasp on remind me of a puppy with adult-sized paws that it's trying to figure out how to use. :) The downy feathers and mouthful of food are just the icing on the cake! Well done! Thanks for sharing!


Mike

[Jim Keener]

What Diane wrote.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Glennie

Dramatic capture and I cannot help but be concerned about this little baby - what happened next? Did he actually swallow those branches? Or is it the legs of a beetle?

Subject well exposed and I like the placement in the frame (that space in front of him), those dark surroundings and branches intersecting add to the drama and contribute to a kind of "immediate danger" feel I am getting ( BTW, do not forget to let me know what happened to the birdie)

Thank you so much for sharing, a unique behavioural capture I enjoyed viewing

Kind regards,

[Glennie Passier]

Thank you Gabriela,

This little bird had two siblings and all are still present in my paddock. (Not so cute anymore) The "Mickey bird" (Noisy Miner) is a smallish size bird but with a very tenacious personality and will tackle anything (dogs, humans) that may bring harm to their children. The birds often employ older relatives to look after the youngsters. He did eventually swallow the grasshopper.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Glennie,

We have them too here in South Africa... well, they are very similar in terms of looks and behaviour. We call them Indian Minah. Very intelligent and quite cunning, seen by some as pests.

I am glad the little fellow had his meal, and I really enjoyed this image:)
Again, thank you so much for sharing

Kind regards,

[Don Lacy]

Hi Giennie, A really nice image, great behavior captured and processed nicely