Sophomore Rose Breasted Grosbeak

[Randy Stout]

Back home and spent some time in the backyard 'studio' tonight. Cloudy, late (8:00 pm). Had not taken a photo for 30 minutes and then bam, a bunch of birds showed up for a late night snack.

I am pretty sure this is a second season young male who is developing his adult plumage. I think it is fascinating to see how the adult plumage comes in. Quite a mix of juvenile and adult features. I was pleased with the level of detail, pose and background.

D300 500mm f/4 f/5.6 1/80s ISO 1000 -.2 SB800 with beamer, -2.0 Gitzo Wimb V2

Comments always appreciated.

[Harshad Barve]

This is beautifully done , Loved the way bird is looking

Thanks for sharing

Harshad

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hey Randy!

This has been a very long day for me, I went to band birds early this morning (5:30am) let me explain, I am taking a course of bird banding, the whole day long we talk about bird molting, plumage, buffy tips, brood patches, first year resident, second year migrant and bla bla bla. Now I come and see your image and all comes back to my mind! isn't that funny?!
Yes, I agree with you, this guy looks like a juv which is becoming an adult.
It is amazing to see that you did not get much noise at such high ISO. that's remarkable. Very healthy looking fellow.

[Stu Bowie]

Randy, super pose, with a perfect head turn. Excellent exposure, pin sharp, and your comp works well. One of your best IMO. Congrats.

[Scott Frye]

Very nice with just a hint of the rose breast --

[Kobus Tollig]

Randy this is great. Great bg and comp. Well done on this

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Details look great considering high ISO and low shutter speed. How did you blur the BG?

[Randy Stout]

Axel:

Blurring of background: shallow DOF, noise reduction, gaussian blur

Randy

[Chris Kotze]

Excellent feather detail pose and comp. Great capture

[Ramon M. Casares]

I would be pleased too, level of detail, pose, light and BG looks terrific! Congratulations!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Axel:

Blurring of background: shallow DOF, noise reduction, gaussian blur

Randy

If you use the noise reduction tool in PS you might avoid the little spots in the BG.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks Axel:

Post here was in NX2, but I will look at it again, and see if I can get it cleaner. Pretty dim light, and lots of negative comp., moderately high ISO.

Randy