Blue Jay

[Ross Taylor]

This photo was taken at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

My Canon EOS 7D mkII, and EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens were handheld. Settings were f/4.5, 1/750s, ISO 1000, 278mm. Shot RAW and processed in Lightroom.

Cropped to 80% frame width for composition. Cloned out a few distracting strands of moss. Cloned out a splinter near the eye. Also cloned out a noticeable BG transition line in LLC. Applied NR to background.

I got this pose for the price of a peanut. I used the same branch as in my Black-capped Chickadee post. I promise to find a new one ;)

Critiques very much appreciated - Thanks for having a look :)

Ross

[Marina Scarr]

Very nice portrait with plenty of details. Love the little bits of vegetation on the perch and your lovely BG.

[David Salem]

Wow, that's a pretty sweet Blue Jay shot. Not much to critique here, it's about perfect. Great work.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, perch, BG, IQ and composition. Jays come in hard and fast making it not too easy to get a beauty like. Very well done Ross!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ross, perfect pose, and perfect DOF throughout the image. You have brought out the finer plumage detail so well, and Ive always liked the colours on these guys. It may be the same perch, but still has lots of interest and detail.

[William Dickson]

Beautiful image Ross. Everything about it looks real good. The colours on the bird are wonderful. That's a great BG and perch you have there. Keep em coming.

Will

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love it Ross, well done on the setup and the processing. Well balanced composition. Is that from our short impromptu session together the other day?

[Ross Taylor]

Thanks very much everybody for your encouraging comments and feedback.

Daniel, that was at the same spot as our impromptu session, but a few days later on Wednesday. I was there for about two hours trying this and that :)

Ross

[Glenn Conlan]

Super shot, excellent capture branch is perfect