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Thread: rock ptarmigan chick

  1. #1
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    Default rock ptarmigan chick

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    Taken last summer in Iceland as Gail B. and I weathered the rainstorm... We were shooting the female and whammo: all six chicks busted loose from under mama and ran in every direction. Because of the lovely vegetation and how wee small they are, it isn't possible to get a "clean" shot so i did my best to remove a few intersecting grasses... Downy chicks leave their nest with adult female within a day after hatching. Female tends young, but young feed themselves. When they were out from brooding, the chicks would slide their beak along a stalk of grass to get a few drops of rain to drink. This image may not be pleasing to some bc of the busy BG, however, for me, it brings back a joyful memory and an inside view of this tiny creature just starting its life... the rump feathers are overshadowed by green grass and i couldn't do anything to improve that area... The chick is approximately 4x4 inches!


    D500
    500mmPF
    ISO 1600
    6.3
    1/1000

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    Love the rain drops on the vegetation and chick and all the splashes of color from flowers. May not be classic "Birds as Art" but I love it just as much. TFS

    ps
    Great job isolating one of those cuties...

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    Avian Moderator Brian Sump's Avatar
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    Ann, super cute shot. Yeah it may not be perfect in terms of traditional composing but the story certainly adds.

    It appears the head angle is a bit away? The colors and dew drops help the frame a bunch.

    I've never seen a mature or chick Rock Ptarmigan so thanks for the biological insights!

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Ann:

    A fun image, not 'clean' but nature often isn't . The chick is cute, lots of colorful bits, rain.
    A very small change I might consider is to remove the stem right in front of his beak. Would give him just a bit more visual space.

    Cheers

    Randy
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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Very cool chick photo and the splashes of color are great...
    I assume you cropped as much as you thought reasonable but I would go tighter if you could...
    Dan Kearl

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    Too cute. The flowers are great. The rain/rain drops makes a nice addition as well.

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