Red-wing Blackbird

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

I find these birds extremely difficult to photograph on the wing. This one I was lucky enough to get as it was getting ready to land which is why the legs and feet are in a seemingly strange position. I have been trying to use a different camera than my Nikon D5 because the D5 is extremely heavy and at my age (77) it is quite hard on my shoulders and back. I love the D5 and really don't want to give it up as I consider it best of the best, but I have not found a way of reversing the aging process, so I have been trying several smaller cameras and have selected the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mk II with a 300mm F/4 lens with which this image was taken. I did a little PP which was the removal of a bit of noise, as the Olympus is a noisier camera because of the sensor size is about half the size of the D5's. Other than that very little PP was done. All opinions of the image will be welcome and any opinions of the camera setup will be appreciated. Shooting numbers are below:
Olympus OM-D E-M1 mk II
2017:06:22 13:00:20
40-150mm @ 150mm
300mm (in 35mm film)
1/2500 sec, f/2.8
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
Exp comp: +1/3
ISO: 1600
White balance: Cloudy
Flash: Off
File size: 18.6MB
Image size: 2163 x 1489
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal
Color profile: ProPhoto RGB

[John Mack]

Nice flight shot, the focus looks sharper on the wing than the birds head.

[Arthur Morris]

Agree on the focus. Wheeler, try adding 80 points of CYAN to the REDs in Selective color for a more natural rendition of the red wingbar. Great flight pose ...

with love, artie

[Daniel Cadieux]

The pose and the head angle are perfect! Interesting to see the molting patterns. Unfortunate about the softer head, but as you say this is not an easy image!

[arash_hazeghi]

love the wing position and the BG, the focus is unfortunately too soft to make this one a keeper, looks like it didn't lock

TFS

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Thanks to all of you for the help on this image. Artie, I added the 80 Points as you suggested and I have re-posted it and I agree this is better. As far as the head being not as sharp as it should be, I do not see it but I do not have the greatest eye for that sort of thing. I think it will remain as a keeper until I can improve on it. These birds are quite difficult, as I said and much harder than say a eagle, osprey, hawks and a great number of flying birds in Florida. Arash, I wanted to comment on your and Artie's book on Post Processing (really on how to remove unwanted noise). It is a wonderful essay on the subject. If you buy the book expect to spend a great deal of time studying the text and practicing what is required, but in the end it is worth while. I still have trouble getting the kind of result that I know it is capable of producing. I am hoping that this is a case of practice makes perfect. Thanks again.

Mac