Cedar Waxwing

[Vaughn Larsen]

Shot of Cedar Waxwing at first light August 23rd The pink specular in the eye is the first glimmer of the sunrise. It was one of those glorious mornings waiting for sunrise to shoot Hummingbirds on a river bank when a Bobcat came down the trail, then this Waxwing perched a feet away and stayed for at least 3 minutes, then a rare Summer Tanager visited.

Comments and suggestions very appreciated.

Nikon Z6
500mm f/4 w/1.4 Teleconverter
1/400 f/9 ISO 4000 exp comp -.33

PP - A little white balance adjustment in ACR and then a slight shadow level increase in photoshop.

[Vaughn Larsen]

Attachment for post.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Sounds like an amazing morning.
Nice look back pose with great eye contact. I live the perch and the clean bg.

Details are amazing, but the image looks over sharpened on my monitor.
If this is a crop, I could also see a version with the bird moved further up in the frame with more of that nice perch showing.

Well done, Vaughn!

[Dorian Anderson]

Bird is nice and sharp, but I agree with Sidharth about too much sharpening. Background is lovely, and I would also echo Sidharth's comment about moving the bird up in the frame to show more of the excellent perch. I would also raise the blacks to get more detail in the mask.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Beautiful bird, just about a perfect background. I agree with the previous comments regarding the sharpening, the bird appears a tad crunchy. I stand corrected if wrong but I think Dorian meant to lower the blacks so more detail would show in the mask. Also I think the comments about more room in the frame and to show more of the perch are spot on. Nice image, thank you for sharing.

[Vaughn Larsen]

thanks for the feedback. will check out your suggestions.

[Vaughn Larsen]

Sounds like an amazing morning.
Nice look back pose with great eye contact. I live the perch and the clean bg.

Details are amazing, but the image looks over sharpened on my monitor.
If this is a crop, I could also see a version with the bird moved further up in the frame with more of that nice perch showing.

Well done, Vaughn!

Thanks for the feedback, I will give those a try.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Vaughn .... nice one .
Well worth a revisit from scratch . Can only echo the comments above , in terms of tone , color and contrast .

Very nice shot , TFS

[Vaughn Larsen]

Hi Vaughn .... nice one .
Well worth a revisit from scratch . Can only echo the comments above , in terms of tone , color and contrast .

Very nice shot , TFS

Thanks Andreas -

[Brian Sump]

Vaughn, some of the best feather detail I've seen on a Waxwing. Beautiful canvas with the Mullein and sweet green bkg!

Great comments above but this one has a ton going for it. Great job making the capture and look forward to more posts.

[Kurt Bowman]

I almost missed this one Vaughn because no thumbnail. Nice job getting this waxwing perched on mullein. I love the backside view! Nice work

[Vaughn Larsen]

I almost missed this one Vaughn because no thumbnail. Nice job getting this waxwing perched on mullein. I love the backside view! Nice work

Thanks Kurt, some neophyte user issues during the upload. Most "cherries" on a back for me. Most patient Waxwing I've had the luxury to photograph.

[Vaughn Larsen]

Vaughn, some of the best feather detail I've seen on a Waxwing. Beautiful canvas with the Mullein and sweet green bkg!

Great comments above but this one has a ton going for it. Great job making the capture and look forward to more posts.

Thanks Brian - their feathers are different and this guy was nice and close. Now if I can figure out how to deal with the black mask.

[Brian Sump]

Thanks Brian - their feathers are different and this guy was nice and close. Now if I can figure out how to deal with the black mask.

Vaughn, I believe there's a brush tool in ACR right?

Try moving the exposure or shadows slider up a good bit and brushing the mask. They are tough for sure and if you go too far it can end up looking all hazy, but see what you can come up with :-)

[John Mack]

I can only echo the previous comments. But that look back pose is very nice.

[Vaughn Larsen]

Vaughn, I believe there's a brush tool in ACR right?

Try moving the exposure or shadows slider up a good bit and brushing the mask. They are tough for sure and if you go too far it can end up looking all hazy, but see what you can come up with :-)

Thanks - pulled up the black eye mask another 60%. Interested in what others think. I like the sunrise in the eye better but not sure I'm liking the lint look where feathers start to show up.