Great or Coal Tit?

[Rene' Villela]

I need help with this guy. After looking through my book I don't know if it is a Great Tit or a Coal Tit.

This afternoon I went to a little forest to see if there were any birds. I saw a few, Daurian Redstart and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Bull-Headed Shrike. I was so upset coz only having a 300 mm with a converter I couldn't take any pictures. Finally I was leaving and when I got to my car I could hear a bird very close by. I look around and I was so surprised that I had parked my car just to this guy's nest. He was upset to see me so close so he wouldn't get into the nest and was jumping all over around it.

Anyway, I wish I knew how to blur the BG but I don't! I've chosen this file so maybe you guys can tell me for sure which of the 2 birds it is.

Your helpful comments are welcome, thank you for your time!

Nikon D300 - AF-S 300 f/4 + TC1.7 eII, AP @ f/6.7, 1/200 sec, ISO Auto 1600

[Juan Aragonés]

René it is a great tit for sure. The whites of the cheeks are a litle bit hot but I think that you can save it if the original file is a RAW. The bluring of the Bg can be done with the Gaussian blur filter but you have to be careful with that filter. You have to select the area that you want to work witha a selection mask and then apply the filter. Of course, you should apply the GB filter only in small amount if you don not want to have an unnatural looking file. I use it mostly to reduce noise and to increase the blur in a BG that is naturaly blured by the lens. Hope this help

[Rene' Villela]

Thanks a lot for the info Juan. I think I also need a new bird's book! About the cheeks, Uhmm! I noticed that. I must be doing something wrong. The RAW file was OK then I save it as JPG and opened it on Aperture at full size. Then for web I resized it with Aperture and the highlights were blown out already! Sorry, I am not so good processing files or as you know, taking bird pictures! :)

[John Chardine]

Coal Tits would not have the yellow that this bird shows and they have a very noticeable white patch running down the back of their head. Also somewhat smaller than a Great Tit, which makes sense!

I like the concept of this image René. The composition is pleasing with the bird forming a diagonal and the head at two of the "thirds lines" cross. I would like to see some more sharpness, particularly in the eye. Agree with Juan that you can probably recover the white cheek from the RAW file.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Anyway, I wish I knew how to blur the BG but I don't!

**Just to be sure: This image is not a good candidate for blurring the BG!! Only attempt to do so when the BG is already OOF because of its distant separation from the subject and perch.**

Otherwise, I also like this one, and agree with comments above. I like how the light is illuminating the bark.

[joel quenneville]

I agree with Daniel that this is not a good candidate for blurring the BG. The blur in the lower right corner distracts from the bird. However, the pose is good and so is the composition. Good job.

[Rene' Villela]

Thank you for your comments everyone! It seems I can't post yet but as soon as I am allow I will post another one from this series. I appreciate your help and advices! Cheers!