Little fairy superb fairy wren

[Julie Rathbone]

Was chasing this little fairy wren around in Yallingup Western Australia - running out of light shooting with D800 and 500mm f4 - ISO 2200 1/500sec at f4. Not a lightning fast camera for a lightning fast little bird, but was happy with this..

[arash_hazeghi]

this image is too small for critique Julie, please post larger.

[keith mitchell]

Agree with Arash re size.Remember doing just the same as yourself and just to get a decent image was a great achievement so well done getting this Julie.

Keith.

[Julie Rathbone]

sorry, is this better?

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Julie,
I like the pose of the bird you caught with the raised tail and with it peering into its environment. The image has distracting aspects such as the oof elements in the foreground and the grass in the background cutting through the tail - tough to eliminate when tracking a bird in the field. If using a setup on this species is possible then that may be the way to go to get a clearer shot.
Allen

[Ian McLachlan]

Hi Julie,

I've been chasing these little guys for years without much success . I agree with the comments above. You've taken this in the shade I think which is the only way to get rid of the overblown highlights which they seem to produce. I think this is a Splendid Fairy Wren not a Superb. Did you take it in Aug. when I reckon the males would be coming out of eclipse in W.A.? You have the largest population of these over there which is great as they are very beautiful.
Ian

[Jonathan Ashton]

Julie you have picked a tricky subject is less than ideal surroundings but under the circumstances you did well. It may seem a little disheartening initially to receive some negative comments but they are made with good intent.
The point Allen makes is a very good staring point, i.e. if this shot or one like it is repeatable then look at all the negative points and fix them.
This is a small bird so I think that you choice of aperture was good and it also helped diffuse the background a little. If it is possible I would try to get the bird to a less busy setting and perhaps on a stump that has not been cut by a saw - something a little more natural. I would imagine a bird like this would enjoy mealworms which I presume you would be able to obtain?