I did not do much to this photo other than some sharpening of the bird and using noise reduction on the background. I wasn't sure if the small green stalk and leaves in the lower left should stay as it possibly balances the green leaves on the right or is it a distraction and should be removed?
Canon 20D (my back-up), Canon 400 DO IS, 1.4x, 1/500, f5.6, exposure compensation +2/3, ISO 800.
Well exposed, sharp, nice pose, displays the wing marking very well.
The bird is so strong, that I don't think the twig on the lower left effects the balance much. I might try a version with it removed to see if you like it better, or alt. do a moderate vignette on all the corners to tone it down a bit.
If you have more room, top or bottom, you might try moving the bird off the horizontal midline, just to see what you think about its effect on the comp.
What a great bird to get Nancy. I remember seeing them at Point Pelee and othe places but haven't set eyes on one for years. I think you have a fine image here. I would like to see the face lightened up a little. I'm fine with the veg at LL which balances the the veg at the right. A good exercise might be to remove all the veg just to see what it might look like. A quick evening out of the BG and you would have a classic portrait of this warbler.
Hey Nancy. Great bird and image. Your best in avian by far. Perfect head angle, nice exp, detail in the dark face. The stalk llc should go only because it is ugly... Great pose and head angle. Way to go!
Where???
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Here is the photo without the ugly stalk in the LL corner. How do I do "a quick evening out" of the BG? I photographed this migrating warbler during the "Biggest Week in Birding" in Ohio at MaGee Marsh, May, 2010. There is a 1 mile boardwalk through a small woods that is a migrant trap for songbirds before they attempt to cross the large expanse of water of Lake Erie. Be forewarned - thousands of people come to this boardwalk every spring to enjoy close views of the migrating songbirds. I managed to photograph this male warbler in a dense crowd of probably a hundred adoring bird watchers. This was hand held as there is absolutely no room for a tripod (I tried!). You can break out of the crowds and find easier places to photograph, it's just that the crowds happen to be where the cool birds are.
Much better. Now just a small crop from the top and the bottom. I figured McGee....
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Nancy- Nicely done. The BG is very nice as is but you could use the clone tool at about 30% opacity and a 0 hardness (i.e., soft) bruch and clone in some green over the bright area at the left and under the bird. You can also use the dodge and burn tool to lighten and darken. I protected the lower belly, legs and perch with a Quickmask to burn-in the light area there. He's a quick "take" on what I mean.
Beautiful shot. I really like the soft lighting as it really brings out the soft details. I like John's treatment of the BG and prefer the image without the branch in the bottom left. Nice pose, great colors and contrast. Nice catchlight in the eye. Excellent capture!
Lovely image...I think somewhere between the your 1st post and Jhons rework would be better. `Yours had better detail and Jhons had slightly more natural color but a touch more sat would work...I like it