I spent a satisfying day at Algonquin Park last week. The White-crowned Sparrows, my favorite sparrow species, were particularly numerous, so I set up an impromptu perch with a neat fallen log I found at the side of the road. After a few minutes they were more than happy to grab seeds that I had sprinkled along and just behind the log.
Canon 7DII + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC III, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/160s., f/5.6, ISO 1600, natural light, handheld, FF, usual eye work, minor perch clean up (a few white specs).
This is really pretty and everything that a passerine shot should be. Beautiful pose, fantastic perch and a perfect background. The perch and the background make the shot 99% of the time. Bird on a stick is OK. Bird on a unique and beautiful perch with a perfect background is many times more difficult. Congrats on a super image. Might just be the screens but on my 5k imac the image looks a touch dark and cold. I would lift the exposure a tiny bit and warm it up just a bit as well. I'd love a shot like this of this species.
Ditto all the positives above (as expected). The BKGR is loverly. The only thing that bugs me is the spikey brown thing pointing at the bird's breast. I eliminated that with the Patch Tool and a refined Quick Mask. IQ is also superb, as is the log.
with love, artie
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