Yellow warbler belting it out.

[Randy Stout]

Went in search of the somewhat rare ( for Michigan) yellow headed blackbird. Got a few images before he blasted off, but very low light. Had fun later with the yellow warblers along the ponds. This guy had a series of perches that he would land on to sing. So, Gary and I would just camp out and let him come to us.

Nikon D300 500mm f/4 at f/7.1 1/1000s ISO 500 Gitzo and Wimberley V2.

Post: CS4 curves, selective sharpen , large crop (65%)

The yellows were a bit of a challenge as can be expected. Sun was starting to get harsh. Wish that the dead leaves hadn't been on the bush, and that there wasn't a shadow from the perch on the body. Light was off to my right a bit as well, but I feel that the head turn helps mitigate that effect.

Advice always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

very cool Randy, nice colors and signing pose. might brighten and desat the sky a tad and sharpen a bit more.

great shot TFS

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great singing pose, angle and eye contact. I might sharpen the bird a tad more and lighten the sky a bit.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great pose, comp, and colours. I'm OK with the sky, but agree on sharpening the bird more - especially the face area.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks guys.

I will revisit the raw file and touch up the sharpening. The sky is pretty much as shot, so will probably leave it as is.

I appreciate the input!

Randy

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Randy, loved the pose, colors and the crop. Well done on a difficult subject.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, well controlled on the yellows, and just love the singing pose. The sky looks fine to me, and just another vote to selectively sharpen the head.

[LouBuonomo]

Bravo !! Love a singing yellow :)

[Matt Vosniak]

Randy I think you did an excellent job with the yellows in what looks like light that was getting tough. I really like the singing pose.