Which Way Did They Go?

[Milt Berko]

Photographed at Wakodahatchee last week.
Olympus E-30
50-200mm lens + EC-14 TC
ISO 200
1/640 sec.
f/6.3
-0.3 EV
147mm

There is a twig by the left side bird's neck that should be removed but it is beyond my skills.

[Katie Rupp]

Hi Milt, great title! made me smile. I really like the poses, HA's, sharp detail and the warm light and agree with you about the stick. On my monitor, I'm seeing some funky stuff, noise or something, along the top?

[Lance Peters]

Hi Milt - smart title - one of my weak points can never think up a great title.
Looks a little dark on my screen - might try setting a black and white point. Might also add some sharpening to the eyes.
The stick is a easy remove - do you have robert o'tooles APTATS cd??? - Steps you through the process in easy to understand terms - really quick and really easy - available form http://www.birdsasart.com
One question for you - having never seen these guys - are the lores really that shade of blue??

[Milt Berko]

One question for you - having never seen these guys - are the lores really that shade of blue??[/quote]

Lance, I did no color correction to the image and checked the lores of other GBH from that day and other days and the lores are typical of the GBH I have photographed. Many thanks for the other information regarding PP.

[Lance Peters]

One question for you - having never seen these guys - are the lores really that shade of blue??

Lance, I did no color correction to the image and checked the lores of other GBH from that day and other days and the lores are typical of the GBH I have photographed. Many thanks for the other information regarding PP.[/QUOTE]

Hi Milt - cool - they are great - love hat blue, another one to put on my list - Thanks for that ;)

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Milt The stick removal is well within your means and should give it a try, remember to increase the image size to see what you are doing, just the clone tool will work fine. Many other ways but just keep it simple.

The lores do look that blue, maybe this are a tiny over but very close. Also they last very little time, as soon as the nesting starts they are slowly go away.

btw corp wise would like seeing the birds more in the center !!!

[Bill Dix]

I like this shot, and the title. I would definately make a duplicate and give the stick removal a try -- with patience, small brush and large image magnification. The capture is worth the effort IMHO. The blue lores are amazing. I see these guys all the time and have never noticed anything like that blue. Maybe that's a Florida thing? I'll start looking more carefully at my Jersey birds.

[Milt Berko]

Bill, as Alfred pointed out, the beautiful blue lores is a temporary condition that fades away as the nesting progresses. I never knew that and I have photographed literally many hundreds of GBH. Thanks to Alfred for the information.