A spotted towhee

[Desmond Chan]

No violence today :)

D300 300f2.8 + 1.7TC. Manual exposure mode, no flash. ISO1000 f5.6 1/1000 sec.

Nothing removed or added after the crop. The background - all natural and as shot - is the result of large aperture + very far away background + long focal length + close subject matter.

C&C welcome !!

Thanks!!

[Gus Hallgren]

Super photo, Desmond, well done, easy to remove 2 branches, and your photo will be off the charts. I think it's it real winner and could make SOTD :D:D

Thanks for sharing.

Uncle Gus

[Cheryl Flory]

I would like to see a pose where the beak does not merge into the black on its face and a bg that looks more like natural habitat. Nice job exposing the black but not overexposing the whites.

[Gail Spitler]

Hi Desmond - like the smooth, neutral bg but might be seeing a touch of noise? I'd remove the little branches that hang down but the one going up seems fine to me. Like the toe in the air - must be a compensation for the thorny branch. Does the histogram say the blacks are okay?
Towhees can be a wonderful subject, they tend to pick a spot in the open and stay there, and that red iris against the black head is so dramatic - the perfect photographic model.
Well done
Gail

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Desmond,
I like the purple hues on the perch...agree about removing the two vertical twigs coming off the main branch. also need to run noise reduction in the background. the head angle could use about 1 degree of CW rotation...I like the pale soft complimenting background...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[denise ippolito]

Desmond, agree w/ Gus he hit on all of my thought, well done looks well exposed to me

[Alfred Forns]

All points well covered Do like image very much and particularly the shadow detail. Fine image !!!

[Desmond Chan]

Thanks guy for the comments and suggestions !!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Great image Desmond. Great pose and details. Agree with uncle Gus regarding the branches.
Regards,