singing chickadee

[Jamie Strickland]

figured I would try out some of the info from Alan Murphys new CD and setup a perch, wish I had removed those small branches in front of the bird

I found tons of pine trees but I could not find any cones other than these little guys that I glued on and I dont think they were from a pine tree

Canon 7D, 500L, ISO 400, F8 1/200, + 1 2/3 EV, 580EX with better beamer, flash was at -2 I believe but I couldnt figure out how to get that from LR

cloned out a seed from one of the cones, hid some of the glue as well, and cloned out the seed from its mouth

[Arthur Morris]

Heck, it looks natural enough just don't show it to the local botanist! The small in the frame style is reminiscent of Alan's work. I love it but for the fact that the bird's head is angled slightly away and could use a bit of selective sharpening. Love the snow on the branches and the little feet. Alan's book is available here: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/ca....aspx?catid=33

Have a great 2010.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

You did well in setting up your own perch Jamie. You will only get better. Well done.

[Peter Farrell]

The perch looks pretty good and I likethe pose and open beak on the bird.
There is a dark stripe off the birds head that is a little distracting.
Peter

[Aidan Briggs]

I agree with Artie 100% on this one. I might have opted for an image without the seed so you wouldn't have to clone it out. The beak looks a bit awkward without it. The snow was a nice touch

[Steve Canuel]

Agree with you on the pine needles just in front of the bird (they're a bit yellowed and taller than the bird). Good job on the cones, they look quite natural.

[Adams Serra]

The setup looks good Jamie, nice perch and beautiful bird.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the overall arrangement of the image. I agree about HA being a bit off, and the open bill bill does not have a natural "singing" gape...more like a virtual seed-gripping position;). Image seems a bit flat from the flash, even at -2 FEC. Good job glueing the cones, I never would have thought they were from another tree!

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the set-up and agree about the open beak looking a little unnatural. Well done!

[Arthur Morris]

I forgot to ask, was this bird singing for its supper?

[Jamie Strickland]

Thanks everyone for the comments, I was not having much luck with getting a good pose for sure, this was about as good as it got. At home I get chickadee's galore and they pay more attention to the feed so I will have to give it another try as these ones were not co-operating the best.

I dont know why but maybe this one had a damaged beak because the top portion looks so strange, and I did not clone out any of the beak at all, seems quite small doesnt it.

Artie I dont think they were to hungry to be honest, they seemed to be having a convention up in the trees lol