Getting Soaked

[Arthur Morris]

This male Painted Bunting was resting after a vigorous bath. At the Cozad Ranch, Linn, TX. Man made pond.

Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC, 37mm of extension, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/8. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

Dynamic colors,like the reflected sky in water ripples, head on pose.

Wish there was a bit more DOF, which of course is pretty tough when you are in so tight with so much mag. I think you could have pushed the ISO with that body to maintain your shutter speed and gain a stop or two in aperture.

Might consider smoothing the BG a smidge more, For some reason the vertical line in RUC draws my attention.

I have got to get to Texas!

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

This bird is a full color palette!

[Arthur Morris]

Pretty tough he says.... Approximate d-o-f for the set-up above is less than 1/4 inch at f/8, and about 3/8 inch at f/16. And that is total d-o-f in front of and behind the point of focus. Going to ISO 3200 to gain about 1/8 inch more in focus makes zero sense to me :) Folks do not realize how little d-o-f there is with big lenses at point blank range....

[joshua LaCelle]

The DOF does not bother me at all. Nice colorful bird there.

[Michael Wolf]

Superb capture. It looks as though blue paint was poured over his red body!
Love it

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all. Here is an interesting note: when I look at my male Painted Bunting images as they come out of the camera, the blue of the head always has a magenta cast. As I am converting the image in ACR I go to the HSL (Hue/Saturation/Luminance) tab, hit Hue, go to the Blue channel, and move the slider to the left to reduce the magenta in the blue. After doing so, the Blues look completely natural to me. (It is rare that I ever mess with a Hue slider...)

[Mike Milicia]

Great head on pose, comp, and detail!
Wild colors! Does indeed look like he's just been dipped in paint.

Looks like it could use some CCW rotation?

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Great looking bird and image.
I also love the different colors that this little bird has. Are those water droplets on the head?

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Simply gorgeous. Love the head on pose, low angle , reflections , the swirls in the water, the water droplets on the head and the lovely composition. Fine capture Artie.

[Jason G. Harrison]

Really like the over all image. You noted how you deal with the blues on the head. Not sure if they differ from place to place, but all the Painted Buntings (male's that is) I have seen, the head color is much darker, not so light of a blue. That is just what I have seen here...the final judge...is you, and if your final product matches what your "eyes" saw...then your spot on.

I wish I had more chances at these wonderful birds. Thanks for sharing these images with us.

Jason

[Tobias Hayashi]

Excellent shot, what a colourful bird! As mentioned before, dof is a bit of an issue, but nothing too major for me. Pity the full reflection isn't included in this image; seems a bit cut off to me. Flashed used to great effect, well done.

[Arthur Morris]

Excellent shot, what a colourful bird! As mentioned before, dof is a bit of an issue, but nothing too major for me. Pity the full reflection isn't included in this image; seems a bit cut off to me. Flashed used to great effect, well done.

Thanks Tobias. D-O-F is not any bit of an issue for me :) (See my comments in Pane #4.

As for the rest of the reflection, if you look closely at the llc you will see what looks like red dirt, the edge of the pond. Thus, there was no head reflection to include, only o-o-f red dirt :)

[Randy Stout]

Pretty tough he says.... Approximate d-o-f for the set-up above is less than 1/4 inch at f/8, and about 3/8 inch at f/16. And that is total d-o-f in front of and behind the point of focus. Going to ISO 3200 to gain about 1/8 inch more in focus makes zero sense to me :) Folks do not realize how little d-o-f there is with big lenses at point blank range....

Artie:

I am always happy to help set up an important teaching point. :)

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Artie: I am always happy to help set up an important teaching point. :) Cheers
Randy

Thanks for that. A good straight man always helps :)

Most importantly, you do not take things personally! Your help is and your comments are always appreciated.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks for that. A good straight man always helps :)

Most importantly, you do not take things personally! Your help is and your comments are always appreciated.

Actually Artie, my feathers get ruffled at times too, but a quick preen(mental of course) and I am good to go. I am here to learn:)

Randy