Sedge Wren for Critique - Kathy Cubert

[Kathy Cubert]

As my first post to the critique forum, I'd like to submit this shot of a sedge wren. It was shot at F8, 1/1600, 560mm ISO 640. I typically use a Canon 5DSR and a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 lens with a 1.4x III teleconverter. The date was 8/5 and it was taken at 5:14 p.m. No flash was used. I use Lightroom to process my images along with incorporating NIK software on occasion. The image was cropped to utilize the rule of thirds. I would appreciate any thoughts on how I can improve my work.

[John Mack]

Nice pose on the bird with a good exposure that 5DSR will give you some leeway with the cropping.

[Glenn Pure]

Kathy, beautiful first post - well done. I like this frame a lot. The composition and placement of the bird is great and the background is really excellent. Having the bird singing is excellent. Nor can I fault the clarity, tones or colours on the bird. A very fine shot that I'd be happy to have in my portfolio.

[Tim Foltz]

Kathy, welcome to the forum, super first post. Nice HA, BG and pose.

-Tim

[David Salem]

Welcome Kathy and yes this is a great first post. Love the calling pose and the nice Colors and details. Very well-done

[Kathy Cubert]

Thanks for commenting John. I do like the 5DSR a lot - partly for that reason and use it pretty much exclusively. I debated between a 7D MK II and the 5DSR for bird photography.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great singing pose, and just enough grasses to make this a beautiful habitat image. I love the BG. Nice light and colours. The only thing that is unfortunate, for me, is the bill tip and grass merge - not much you could do there except hope for the bird to pull back its head more. Terrific first post...and welcome to BPN!

[Kathy Cubert]

I appreciate the detailed information about what you like Glenn. It's helpful to know what specifically works in the shot.

[Kathy Cubert]

I think it's going to be a lot of fun being on here and am looking forward to learning more. Always learning.

[Kathy Cubert]

Thanks so much for taking the time to provide input David! It's one of my favorite shots from recent shoots and was hoping that others thought it turned out well.

[Kathy Cubert]

I'll have to take a look back at some of my other shots of this bird singing to see if I have anything that separates the bill out more from the grass. I appreciate the comment very much! I truly want to know about the things that distract or don't make this the best possible image I could produce.