Angling for a mate

[Randy Stout]

This nice female grosbeak was hanging around the feeders, acting coy. I now have three males in regular attendance and think she will go well.

The title was a double entendre, since I worked on her for quite a while to get a good head angle. My last RWB picture had a faulty head angle.

Taken in my 'backyard studio', rainy day, fine light at times however.

D300 500mm f/4 at 5.6 1/1250 ISO 640 EV-.7 Beamer on SB800 -1.3 Gitzo Wimb V2

Comments always appreciated.

Randy

[Roger Williams]

Hi Randy. Nice exposure, detail, head angle and background. I would have preferred not to have the stick rising from her back. And, perhaps a tad more canvas on top??

roger

[Stu Bowie]

Randy, I think your comp is fine, and great flashwork to bring out excellent sharp detail. Super pose with a good head angle, but I find the OOF branch behind her a distraction.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks guys for the comments. It would be easy enough to remove the stick, but my concern was that it would look phony since she wouldn't have any visible means of support. That stick is the what see is sitting on.

Perhaps I will try a version that way, see what people think.

Randy

[Bob Malbon]

Randy, Super job!! Clone out the stick and clean the end of the bill and frame it!! Bob

[Mike Lentz]

Thanks guys for the comments. It would be easy enough to remove the stick, but my concern was that it would look phony since she wouldn't have any visible means of support. That stick is the what see is sitting on.

Perhaps I will try a version that way, see what people think.

Randy

Hi Randy, with all due respect, who says that stick couldn't have ended somewhere behind the bird? My opinion is that "making" it end behind the birds back is definitely the way to go. I'm curious to see how many people think it should stay or go.
You have a nice sharp image and a great BG...

[Randy Stout]

I appreciate all the input. Here is a quick pass at a repost without the supporting branch. Does it fly? :)

The problem for me is that the branching pattern tells you for sure that the branch is coming from behind the bird.

Thanks

Randy

[Filomena Larson]

I am a novice compared to most on this forum and my opinion may be skewed secondary to may lack of photoshop expertise. However, I do like to see clear photographs of avian species in their natural habitat. Obviously there are times to clone out a twig coming out of the head on an otherwise fantastic shot. I recently had a friend purchase a photograph and told him I could clone out a few twigs and he replied "but that wouldn't look natural, that is where they live." I can see why you left the twig in and am glad you did.

[Mike Lentz]

Much better, Randy! Good job on the cloning as you took away the distraction or in this case the stick skewer. :)

[Don Thompson]

Great Photoshop work but I agree with Filomena and see no problem with the original post. I will be surprised if I am not in the minority.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Repost looks better, but to be honest, that branch you removed didin't distract me at all in the OP, I like the comp, detail, pose, BG, perch and light! Congratulatinos!

[Daniel Cadieux]

I prefer it with the branch removed. The problem is not that the branch is sticking out, but rather the angle it is sticking out from. Had it continued diagonally on its initial trajectory and out of the right edge of the frame that would have been much better from the start. Good looking female Rose-breated Grosbeak, but you should have handed her a napkin (or clone stamp!) :-)

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for your additional comments.

I suppose I could try to move the branch down so it came off at a different angle and extended out as Daniel mentioned. I am not a cloning wiz, but could try that.

Daniel, as odd as it seems, I have tried a couple techniques to remove the debris on her bill, and can't get it to look satisfactory, so have left it. I will think about it and try again.

Once again, thanks everyone.

Randy

[Don Anderson]

No stick, is better and cleaner. Excellent shot, great color and sharp. Good head turn,
I'd clean up the bill, but thats a nit. Great shot.

[Mark Fuge]

The key to cloning is to keep the light the same. I use the smallest brush possible, given the size of the cloning area, and clone from an adjoining area as close as possible to the area to be cloned. If you have a wide open area, use a big brush, but in this case I started with a #4 and finished with a #1 brush. That allowed me to use the same colors as the adjacent area. See attached.

When I was done, I use a #6 brush to blend the area a little. This helps me to eliminate brush marks.

Practice, practice, practice! :D

PS I didn't clone out the branch, as you did a good job on that on your image. Although, I feel removing it makes the bird sit unnaturally as there is no perch showing. I agree it is unfortunate it is at that angle, but I feel it is the better of two alternative. Cloning a perch in might work, if you are skilled in the trade!

Good luck!

[Randy Stout]

Mark:

Thanks for the repost and tips. Nice job cleaning up the bill.

Randy