Face to Face with a Snow Partridge at 15,000 ft.

[Craig Brelsford]

A snow partridge calls out in alarm on a ridge more than 4600 m (15,000 ft.) above sea level in Sichuan, China last month. I've chosen a wide crop to illustrate the dramatic setting in which these birds live.

Device: Nikon D300
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
VR: ON
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 500

[Randy Stout]

Craig:

That is a long way to tote a 600!
Well exposed, nice calling pose.
I like the rock he is standing on, but fine the huge slabs coming in from the right a bit overpowering, they almost give me the feel they are going to fall on him.
The bird looks a bit soft on my monitor. He is also very centered in the comp.

It would have been fun if he had turned the other direction, looking out to the left, with of given you some more crop flexibility, comp. options.

Kudos however for getting to this fellow, I am puffing just thinking about your climb.

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Killer bird, setting, EXP, and calling pose. Lots of ideas here with the crop.COMP. Please post the full frame ORIG. Head angled away and rock through the chest are less then ideal.

[Craig Brelsford]

My pleasure, Arthur . . .

[Arthur Morris]

Thank you sir. I went with an out of the box, wider, let's see more habitat crop.

Where are you from originally? How did you wind up in China and what are you doing there?

[Arthur Morris]

It looks as if I lost a few pixels along the way but the repost gives you an idea of what I was thinking. With your original larger crop the image quality held up well. I'd welcome a final version with your pixels and skill based on my suggested COMP. :)

[Craig Brelsford]

Artie, here's the shot cropped as you suggested. I'm happy to give it a try, but I find jarring the bird looking into the short side of the composition. Anyway, I was born in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) in Pennsylvania. I started an online editing company (www.precisionedit.com) and was originally based in Europe (Netherlands). Now in Shanghai and am proud to represent China on birdphotographers.net.

[Arthur Morris]

You left a lot more below than I did. As for the space behind the bird, it is my best option here as you need the whole rock shelf, and, it gives a sense of high mountain habitat for me. You however, are the artist. Your original crop cut both the rock shelf and the greenery below the bird. I always have suggested that if an element is worth including in the frame, it is best to include the whole thing with a border....

Thanks for the info.

[Craig Brelsford]

Thanks for the insights. You're right; I left more at the bottom. I'm actually getting used to your crop and am liking it more and more.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the insights. You're right; I left more at the bottom. I'm actually getting used to your crop and am liking it more and more.

You would like it even more with the rest off the bottom :)