Rock Wren

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Normally this beauty is found in rocky areas of western North America. For a lucky few birders and bird photographers this individual paid us a visit here in central NJ. Albeit at a construction site, I was very happy to see this visitor, (a lifer for me) in all its splendor. Being a construction site, and after looking at several hundred images, this one showed as much of the bird as possible in one pose as he perched on a stack of steel rebar. C&C welcome.

D500, Nikon 500mm + 1.4 TC, 1/2000s, f 6.3, ISO 1250, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley Gimbal head.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, sharpness, feather detail and comp wise I would take some off the bottom between the E and O in your first name. A good image to record your sighting.

[Alex Becker]

Nice look at a very rare visitor! The bird looks good to me, and although maybe not the best perch ever, the various colors in the steel are sweet. Did you apply a blur the background? Nice stuff!

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Nice look at a very rare visitor! The bird looks good to me, and although maybe not the best perch ever, the various colors in the steel are sweet. Did you apply a blur the background? Nice stuff!

Thanks Alex. No, I did not apply blur to the background. I did use a bit of NR outside of the bird.

Geoffrey





http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Isaac Grant]

Almost went for this bird today. Would have been nice to meet you!!! I like the pose very much and considering the light today you did well. Not sure if it is just the distance from the bird to the background or not but the background has a bit of a busy look to it and is kind of splotchy. In this type of situation I would go into Viveza and lower the contrast to maybe -15 and also the structure to about the same and see if I could reduce that look a bit. Many other ways to do that of course. Also would apply more NR to see if it helps. I think that if you have the bird on this kind of perch then the background really needs to be top notch in order for the shot to work.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Almost went for this bird today. Would have been nice to meet you!!! I like the pose very much and considering the light today you did well. Not sure if it is just the distance from the bird to the background or not but the background has a bit of a busy look to it and is kind of splotchy. In this type of situation I would go into Viveza and lower the contrast to maybe -15 and also the structure to about the same and see if I could reduce that look a bit. Many other ways to do that of course. Also would apply more NR to see if it helps. I think that if you have the bird on this kind of perch then the background really needs to be top notch in order for the shot to work.

Thanks Isaac. Would have been nice to meet you also. Forgot to mention we were there yesterday. I tried your suggestions and with the minus percentages it lightened the surround of the bird a bit too much. Not enough separation between the bird and BG. I'll play with it a bit.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Bill Dix]

A beautiful little Rebar Wren. Only the 2nd historical record of the species in New Jersey, and a very cooperative little fellow. But it would have been nice if he had perched on some rocks. I think the rebar is interesting, but agree with Isaac about the distracting white in the BG. Maybe painting in some of the upper BG color over the white could help?

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Thanks everyone.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu