California Gnatcatcher

[Bill Holsten]

This is a rare capture (for me). The California Gnatcatcher is on the Audubon Watch List. I photographed this female in January 2010 at San Elijo Lagoon in northern San Diego county.
EOS 7D, 1/1250", F/6.3, ISO 400, 300mm F/2.8 + 2.0X. No flash. Hand held.

[Fabs Forns]

Hi Bill,
Big welcome to BPn!!!!
Hope you can feel right at home with us and that we can help you improve your photography.
Very nice capture, with excellent EXP control and nice composition. Plenty of detail, nice head angle and catch light.
Thanks for sharing this one.

[Gerrie van Vuuren]

Like the pose, detail, colours, BG & composition. Well done with this one Bill!

[Mike Fuhr]

Very nice -- I like the placement of the bird in the frame, nice detail and buttery background. I even like the leaflets growing along the branch which leads your eye to the subject.

[Doug Brown]

Welcome to BPN Bill! I was hoping you'd show up here at some point. Excellent shot of a rare bird! Look forward to seeing more of your images, especially the ones from Costa Rica. :)

[Tony Whitehead]

Welcome, Bill. Excellent first post. Only comment is that the plumage on the shoulder looks a touch sharper than the eye and head - Lovely pose and BG.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Big welcome Bill . Lovely first post with a wonderful composition and BG. Excellent detail and great eye contact. Fine work and will look forward to seeing more. TYFS.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Welcome to BPN, Bill! Very nice first post of this not often seen species. I like the perch, look-back pose, sharpness and BG and might tone down the highlights on tail and perch a bit. Another option would be to selectively sharpen the head a tad. Keep them coming!

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Big UK welcome to BPN Bill! Lovely first post - what a sweet little bird - lovely detail and BG. Well done! :)

[Charissa]

Excellent shot Bill. Nice detail, BG and colors.:)

[Colin Knight]

I like this very much! Nice comp, sharpness and BG. What I don't like is the branch in the URC. Thanks a bunch for sharing!

[arash_hazeghi]

nice bird on a nice perch against a cool BG. critical focus point seems to be on the wing, I would sharpen the head selectively.

[Hendri Venter]

Great image to open your account Bill. I like the detail and clean BG.