Common Grackle

[Danny J Brown]

Up close and personal with a common grackle. Shot at St. Louis' Forest Park one day when I was in pursuit of rusty blackbirds.

Canon 40D; Canon 500/4 + 1.4 TC; 1/400; f/5.6; ISO 200; Gitzo Gt3530LS w/Wimberley II.

[Tony Whitehead]

Great detail and iridescence in the ruffled plumage, Danny. Cropping a little from top and right may be worth a try. I like the monochrome BG and how well it matches the iris - what was in the BG to give that look?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Sharpness, eye contact and iridescence look very good, I only wish the perch were a bit smaller.

[Ken Lassman]

Beautiful detail and pose Danny. Really like the ruffled feathers and the killer BG. I agree with Tony about the slight crop from the right but personal taste is deciding factor. Also really like the texture of the perch. Nicely done....this Grackle looks better than "common". TFS

[Lorant Voros]

A common bird nicely captured. Like the sharpness, puffed up look, colors and clean BG. Vell done.

Lorant

[Daniel Cadieux]

Awesome job on the exposure and details here! Good pose too, and the BG nicely offsets the grackles colours. The perch is somewhat thick, but at least its got nice character to it.

[Stu Bowie]

Danny, excellent work on the exposure, and you have captured wonderful irridescence. Sharp, and I like the angle of pose.

[Fabs Forns]

Excellent job getting the plumage to shoe so well, nice pose, soft light and composition.

[Danny J Brown]

Tony - I always tell people that I remember everything about every image I save on my computer but for the life of me I can't tell you what the background in Forest Park was the day I got this grackle shot. I remember exactly where I was sitting when I made the shot so the next time I'm in the City, I'll stop by and find the answer to your question. I know it wasn't sky but that's about all I can say for now.

Thanks to everybody for your comments on the grackle!