Chipping Sparrow

[Jason G. Harrison]

While shooting Blue Birds the other day, I noticed several Chipping Sparrows really working over the flying insects attracted the fresh blooms on the trees. I set up much closer and waited them out 3 evenings in a row. This is one of my better images from those attempts.

D300s, 600VR, 1.4tc, ISO 400, f/9, 1/800th SS, slight crop for comp.


Hope you enjoyed and as always, C&C welcomed and encouraged.

Jason

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the setting, eye contact and sharpness and might lighten the eye a bit.

[Ryan Schain]

I love the perch, the background, the colors, and the background. This image is exposed well and the composition is very good. I agree with axel about lightening the eye, but otherwise this is a steller image.

[Gary Esman]

Fantastic comp, nice and sharp! congrats!

[Danny Laredo]

Wonderful compo and setup. Lovely perch and pose as well.

[David Thomasson]

I like everything about this image ... the pose, the composition, the colors, and that butter-smooth background with
the gradients. This is one of those rare times when I feel no urge to bring the image into Photoshop and play. When it's that
good, leave it alone!! Nice work.

[Arthur Morris]

Agree. This is superb on all counts. It is so perfect that it looks like a set-up but if I am understanding correctly, it is not a set-up. Amazingly well done. Aside from the flowers, the light, and the perfect COMP what I love most is the look-back head angle.

[Jason G. Harrison]

Agree. This is superb on all counts. It is so perfect that it looks like a set-up but if I am understanding correctly, it is not a set-up. Amazingly well done. Aside from the flowers, the light, and the perfect COMP what I love most is the look-back head angle.

Its set up to the extent that I pulled this branch down and out of the way...out into the clear. The limbs are very flexible and a few tweaks on it and it stayed clear of the rest of the tree. This Red bud is on the edge of our small Apple Orchard. This branch and a few others are to be pruned as they interfere with the tractor and the mower when we go down this row. Thus, I was not concerned if I damaged the branch when I pulled it down and out into position. I am shooting between two rows of Apple trees in this shot. The light middle bg color is actually a gravel road that goes back into the wooded area on my folks place. The greens are mowed grass in the small orchard.

The Chipping Sparrows as well as the Blue Birds were hitting all these trees like crazy with the blooms. Some type of small bee was in the blooms and the birds were feasting on them. I just had to wait it out and hope they landed on the branch I bent down. I can't tell you how many times they did not land where I needed them! In 3 evenings of shooting...3 hours each night, I got 20 or so images that I kept, with this one and a few others being tops.

Now the blooms are gone and so are the insects:( and thus the birds are now not using the trees like before. I am moving on to more sparrows though, they are hitting our left over Milo we planted for wildlife to feed on through the winter months. Those are coming soon.;)

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the info. I guess that we will have to call it a quasi set-up:) Still fabulous.

[Myer Bornstein]

Wonderful photo, I would love to see more of the rufrous crown on the chipping sparrow