Bobolink

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Captured this image of an adult with breeding plumage on a hot, late summer afternoon in August of 2014 at a local wildlife preserve. C&C welcome.

D700, 1/640s, f 7.1, ISO 800, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley Gimbal head.


Geoffrey

[John Robinson]

Nice bright image Geoff. Are these related to our yellow hammer(Bunting) ?? Looks quite similar. Maybe try a little bit of USM on the head ? No big deal
Ilike that hint of something in the BG
John

[Isaac Grant]

I really like the bird and the pose on the bent branch and the background very much. Agree with John that the head seems a bit soft to me and could use a little sharpening. In addition, it is probably due to that nice evening light but the yellow of the bird is over saturated. Female Bobolink are not this yellow but are more of a muted yellow. The whole pic has a very yellow cast that I would consider taking down a bit and that may solve the saturation issue with the bird.

By the way John, these are Blackbirds and not finches although they look very similar. And not blackbirds as in your thrush that you call a blackbird either.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Thanks John and Isaac. Thanks for pointing out the females are not this yellow, Isaac. With the late afternoon sun the yellow is richer. I added a bit of sharpening to the head, and did some yellow desaturation.

Isaac, thanks for your bird relation clarification.

Geoffrey

[Bill Dix]

What a beautiful shot, with an alert pose and lovely background. I love the way she's bending the perch down. The repost looks much better in both color and sharpness. Nice light.

[David Salem]

Great looking frame with a nice alert pose. Yes, the RP helped a bunch. Well done

[Isaac Grant]

Agreed. Much better. Female Bobolink look just like this. The removal of the yellow color cast made a big difference.

[Marina Scarr]

RP improved an already pleasing image! Great perch and the green vegetation in the BG really helps to balance the image!

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Thanks everyone.


Geoffrey