Rose Breasted Grosbeak

[jfranciskay]

Backyard setup, overcast. No touches - just cropped. First ones I have seen this season here in New England.




Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Focal Length: 700.0mm (500 + 1.4X)
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 1/125
ISO equiv: 400

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Jim, Please explain what "no touches" means.

[jfranciskay]

I just meant no cloning...

[Arthur Morris]

So yes to brightness and contrast adjustments?

[Joe Senzatimore]

Very clean, simple image. Good exposure and BG as well as fine detail. Might tone down the left side of the perch as it seems a bit hot.

[Arthur Morris]

I just meant no cloning...

Also, why would you need to clone if you are working at a set-up that you created???

[Randy Stout]

Jim:

Beautiful fellow. I saw my first one here 3 days ago, but didn't hang around unfort.
Well exposed, sharp, clean background, well scaled perch. do agree with Joe about darkening the lighter areas of the perch.

The only small thing, about a setup. If I can, I try to set my perches parallel to the image sensor, so the entire perch is in focus. Doesn't always work, but that is what I try for. Tough if you are using multiple perches, but I try to use just one or two at a time.

cheers

Randy

Nice.

Randy

[jfranciskay]

Thanks for the feedback. See what you mean about the perch needing a little burning, and the angle. Something I try to keep in mind, but always seems to miss.

@Artie - Hey, even with a setup, I am not perfect :), I am always learning. Sometimes I have had to clone out a not so good looking leaf, or when the bird doesn't land where I want, I get a small part of the setup in the picture. There is often something that can make my shot imperfect that I did not plan. I have a hard enough time betting them to land on the perch (even with the tips from your CD). The only work here was a bit of burning on the breast feathers and a little NR on the BG. Thanks for commenting.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

Jim
ANother trick is to setup a small feeder just below your perch. This will almost always bring the birds in to your perch.

Then just take a pre-photo (without the feeder) of the area below your perch which you can use later to help mask out the feeder in PS

By the way - very nice photo

[Malcolm Benn]

nicely done Jim .. I must admit I like the look of an angled perch but it does present the oof issues .. great looking bird, love the pose, detail and exposure

[denise ippolito]

Beautiful pose and sharp details. Very nice BG color. I like this a lot.

[Lorant Voros]

I have been returning to this post again and again because I like it very much. Agree with the comments above and there is not much more to say, just to congratulate for this capture. Well done.
Lorant

[Alfred Forns]

Excellent just out of camera image !! That is the goal and you made it ... find the ones with very little manipulation work out best !!! Big Congrats !!

[Kiran Poonacha]

classic pose, loved the details in the black.. nice BG too..

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the explanation Jim. Love the BKGR and the pose. Would not mind a bit more contrast (exp. blacker BLACKs). Have you thought about removing the dandruff?

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, BG and detail in this image.