Indigo Bunting

[Jack Backs]

I guess we'll call this an environmental image. I had spent most of the morning in an exhausting slog to a large sandbar at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers looking for migratory shore birds with zilch to show for it.
I didn't want to go home with nothing so I stopped for 15 minutes at a sunflower field planted by the conservation department. The social media crowd REALLY liked it, probably more response than any other image I've posted this year.
Pretty colors and almost graphic in nature I suppose. Then again, You could probably stick some feathers in a dog turd, take a picture, post it and get some compliments. Just cropped from horizontal to 8x10.
Nikon Z9, 500mmF4VRII, TC-14EIII.....patiently waiting on a 800mmZ6.3
f5.6, 1/2500s, iso320

[Brian Sump]

Jack, this frame is somewhat of a dream image for me. I've seen shots of Indigos on sunflowers and always wanted one for my files. Unfortunately, we only see 1-2 a year here; very rare.

First thought I had, after admiring the beauty of the subject so aptly perched on the gorgeous blooms of course, is did you originally capture it in vertical or portrait. Then I saw your note - can't help but to wonder how the horizontal would have done - taking some off the bottom and a touch off the top, even if you cut those bottom blooms off about 2/3 way up. Even just a slightly tighter vertical crop might enhance viewing a touch.

Otherwise, parts of the subject seem ever so slightly oof but that may just be a sharpening issue. Perhaps you could extract a bit more texture from him, thought that is just a very minor nit (could also be the amount of sharpening applied to the eye, comparatively?).

Overall I just want to soak this one in and don't want my suggestions to overshadow a wonderful image. Congratulations, I can see why everyone on social loves it. A real gem!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Top Notch .... glad you stopped at the field !!
Love the bird popping from the rest of the image .
For absolute perfection ... I would remove the greens in the LRC .
Pretty cool image

TFS Andreas

[Joseph Przybyla]

Very nice image, really worth your effort. Wish it were mine, thank you for sharing.

[Jack Backs]

A little tighter crop as suggested by Brian which removed the greens in the LRC as suggested by Andreas.

[Colin Driscoll]

Stunning shot improved in the re-post.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice indeed, I suspect you could teas out some more details in the plumage and the petals.