Meadow Pipit on Lupin

[gail bisson]

Canon 1DX 600MM II and 1.4X
ISO 1600 f 5.6 SS 1/1000
Taken in Iceland on a cloudy, drizzly day June 2017
This is presented as "a small in the frame" image.
PP: Cropped for composition ~ 75% FF. I cloned a bit of lupin sticking up behind birds back. I toyed with the idea of pruning a few of the petals to the right of the birds beak but decided it would look weird. Your thoughts?
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Isaac Grant]

Very pretty Gail. You really have an eye for the beautiful. Flowers and background are really nice and I like these types of images. I would remove the whole stem that is sticking up near the birds head. Nobody would ever know it was there!

[Daniel Cadieux]

It's unfortunate that the whole tall BG stem bent so close to he subject's face, but the image in general has quite a lot of appeal. Great setting, colours, comp.

[Bill Dix]

A sweet shot, Gail. Love the small-in-frame comp. I'm with Isaac. I wouldn't bother trimming a few petals, but if you want to do some radical surgery, take out the entire stem. (It might leave a disturbing gap, but it might be worth trying to see how it works.)
Johann Oli, our birder/guide in Iceland, refused to stop the van for Lupin shots, or (he said jokingly) even let anyone point a camera in their direction. If you wanted the scenic shot you would have to sneak it without him seeing you. As beautiful as they are, especially whole fields of them, I guess they are an invasive species that can spread rapidly at the expense of native plants.

[gail bisson]

Yes, you are correct Bill in saying they are an invasive species. I was told the lupins were introduced in 1945 to reduce soil erosion. I still lve them!
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely image, I like birds small in the frame. The bird is pleasing as are the Lupines. I tried removing the bent flower stalk in front of the bird, it does leave a open space that appears out of place. My thoughts were maybe to remove the bottom of the blossom and move the top down, as if growing out of the plant but lower than the bird. A lot of work, so maybe not worth it. Thank you for sharing, Gail.