I’ve been lurking on this site for several months now, constantly amazed -- and inspired -- by the photos I see posted. It’s been a very valuable learning experience, and my photography has improved as a result. Well, now it time to crawl out from behind my rock and jump into the fray …
I found this cute little guy trying to warm up in the early-morning sun after a cold night. Captured at Chobe National Park, in Botswana, on a vacation I took there in July.
Canon 40D, 500mm, 1.4 TC
ISO 400, 1/200, f 7.1, 0 EV
Shot with beanbag from vehicle.
Sweet image to start out with. I love the loose comp, and warm light. A neat bird, and perch too. I wish the light angle was a tad better, as there is a shadow on the right side of the bird.
A warm welcome to BPN Steve! If you feel your photography has improved just by lurking watch how even better it could get now that you are participating!! Very impressive first post, love the IQ in this image. Love the "wet" look. I like the unconventional comp...it works because of the curving tip of the perch, but I can't help but wonder if the comp would improve if you cropped just enough to hide the samll twig in LRC, and then a bit at bottom to keep the same aspect ratio.
Very lovely image with the nice light and sweet pose. I like the perch too and the clean BG. I agree with Daniel's cropping suggestion. Looking forward to see more posts from you.
Welcome to BPN Steve. I like the perch curling diagonally across the image, and you have done extremely well to capture this busy character. Great HA, and you have exposed the colours nicely. I like the light throughout the image, and what a killer BG. Keep them coming.
Another word of welcome! Like the head angle & puffed feathers. Bird is well exposed with great detail & natural colours against a great BG. Well done!
What a cutie. Nice sharpness and great subtle colors in the feathers. And the background is of course fantastic. Also agree with Dan's cropping suggestion. What is a bit unfortunate IMO is that the bird is looking into the short end of the frame.
Great image. Love the bird and pose. Looks all puffed up!! Very nice. The shadow is a bit of a distraction, but that's a small nit on a very nice image.
Thank you all for the warm welcome and the helpful critique.
I agree that the protruding twig in the LRC was a bit distracting. It has been re-cropped to remove it. It moves the bird a touch to the right, which could be problematic given the fact that the bird was, as John mentioned, already facing that short end of the branch. Bit still, I think I like this version better.
Welcome Steve and it is a ripper to start with. In a perfect world the head would have been turned the other way, but love this image. And there is evidence of expert PP technique. Keep 'em coming mate. :)
Blue Waxbill
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