Brown Creeper

[Ilija Dukovski]

We have good numbers of these guys around this winter.
I tried to get a decent image, not easy. It is very hard to
get any decent HA, and on a dark BG they simply disappear.
Today I got a chance with this bird on a overcast BG,
unfortunately I could not get any closer, the forest
near Great Meadows in Concord MA, where I took this image,
is flooded. This is a huge crop, about 15% of the frame.
After PP, I ended up with this quasi-BW version.
I would appreciate your opinion. Does this work?

Nikon D700 300mm+TC14, f/5.6 1/200 Matrix AP+2/3 ISO400

[Markus Jais]

It does work for me. The quality is very good for a 15% crop on a 12 MP sensor. Great exposure.
I like the brown color in this image.
I am not sure about the branches in the BG. They seem a bit distracting but they also frame the birds nicely.

Markus

[Axel Hildebrandt]

These guys really are hard to photograph as it is nearly impossible to predict the next trunk they will land on. I like the angle and eye contact here. The heavy crop shows but it is not too bad. I might lower the color temperature a bit and might remove the branches in the BG.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Thank you Markus and Axel,

Get rid of the branches it is. I'll try few more with this bird and post.

[Bill Dix]

Ilija - I concur that these are very difficult subjects. I posted one yesterday on ETL, but the light on that one was a bit harsh, so I tried again this morning and have yet to look at the results. Even when I focus on one tree in my yard and wait for him to show up, it's tough to get him in a good tangent position as he spirals quickly up the tree. Doing it in the wild as you have done is even harder. I agree with removing the oof branch, and wish you luck getting another one.

[Ilija Dukovski]

Ilija - I concur that these are very difficult subjects. I posted one yesterday on ETL, but the light on that one was a bit harsh, so I tried again this morning and have yet to look at the results. Even when I focus on one tree in my yard and wait for him to show up, it's tough to get him in a good tangent position as he spirals quickly up the tree. Doing it in the wild as you have done is even harder. I agree with removing the oof branch, and wish you luck getting another one.

Bill, thanks for the comments,
Not only fast but they always move upwards and the time you have to get
a decent eye contact is extremely short. But it is a great challenge, and fun :)
Let me take a look at the one you posted...