Le Conte's Sparrow

[Jason G. Harrison]

After a few attempts after finding this location of Le Conte's Sparrows in a vast section of Native Prairie grasses, I set up before sunrise hoping to get some decent shots of them. In my previous attempts, I came later in the morning and found them very low in the 5' tall grasses, thus offering very difficult shooting conditions as I could never quite get a clear view of them.

I chose this day due to the temps and sun. That night before this shoot, the temps dropped to 35 degrees. I knew that the birds would want to warm up in the morning sunshine and when they do that they often times get much higher on the grasses to catch the warming rays of light. It paid off.

Sometime after sunrise, I saw a handful of Le Conte's Sparrows mixed in with several Savannah Sparrows all getting their morning dose of golden sunlight. This particular shot was a quick grab. I was shooting with my 600VR with the 1.4tc as some of the shots were a bit distant. I saw this one bird fly in much closer and he landed on this stem of grass. This is a full frame shot. I know not the best comp, but with the swaying grass from it just landing on it and the fact I thought it was going to fly off real quick, I just started firing away, and got a few.

Some may think the BG is way too busy...and it is busy...but at least for me, this is a very wide open shot for this species of sparrow. They are normally way deep in the cover...and I felt very luck to have gotten these.



Taken with a D300, 600VR, 1.4tc, f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/500th ss, +.3 EV

Hope you enjoyed.

[Doug Brown]

Nice head angle and light. Perhaps a bit more sharpening. I would move the bird to the left in the frame, and I would remove the light stick coming up at the right foot.

[Jason G. Harrison]

Thanks Doug...all good points that I had pondered but thought about the image as it was. Here is a revised version taking the points you raised. I really needed more DOF, but did not want to sacrifice anymore SS due to the movement. As it is now...the DOF was around 1/4"... I measured the distance to this piece of grass before i left and it was 18 feet. I was at f/6.3...@ 840mm's, so even if I had stopped down much further, due to the short subject distance and focal length, I could not have got the entire body in focus when it was in this position. This bird is around 5" long or so beak to tail tips. Not one time did it turn it body to parallel the sensor so I could get an entire body shot in focus. Such are the breaks... Anyway, here is the repost, which I posted in a larger size...900 on the wide side vs. 800.



Feel free to C & C, it is wanted and appreciated.

Jason

[Doug Brown]

Much improved Jason!

[ChasMcRae]

The only background that really draws my attention is the left upper corner and wonder if that could be patched out. The other limbs do not bother me.
Congrats getting this species-I have never seen one although just arrived back from Mo,Ks and Ne. Also congrats in knowing and observing the actions of the birds.

[Arthur Morris]

I am fine with the BKGR and I love the light. For me the big problem with this images is the apparent lack of sharpness overall...

[Jason G. Harrison]

I am fine with the BKGR and I love the light. For me the big problem with this images is the apparent lack of sharpness overall...

Well that is not what I like to hear but sure appreciate hearing it. The only part of the bird in focus is the head and a portion of its shoulder, for lack of better terms. The rest...is soft...due to DOF...given that, I will for sure revisit the original raw and look for critical sharpness from the onset...appreciate your thoughts on the matter Art.

Jason

[Jason G. Harrison]

Well after reviewing my original print file, I went back over my workflow and found an error. After resizing, I did not resharpen the web version. A good buddy of mine asked me about this after I had him review my original file and he agreed it was sharp, but my web posting was not.

So here is a version that has been sharpened after the resizing. Thanks again Art for your spot on critique.



I believe this improved the previous posting.

[Harshad Barve]

Super cute bird , nice pose and BG do not bother me much
last repost definately looks better
TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Yes, sharpening helps; the repost is much better. I must noticed a large, angled artifact in the empty space above the bird's neck. It is not present in the original post but is evident in the two reposts.

[Jason G. Harrison]

Yes indeed Art, I noticed that too...and am curious why? I did not sharpen that area...and as you stated in my first post, it was not evident. I can't see it on my optimized print file either. I probably have screwed up somewhere along the way as it sure stands out. Thanks again for your input...I will try and clean up the web version...to eliminate that nasty artifact.

Best regards,

Jason

[Dave Blinder]

Nice capture of an elusive bird Jason. Great head angle, and great detail on the face. The reposts have look much improved and I'd count this as a nice keeper.