Pheasant Under Glass

[Doug Brown]

More accurately, Pheasant Under the Watchful Eye of Glass. During my recent California trip I spent a morning with BPN member Dan Brown. As we pulled into a parking lot that morning, we spotted a Ring-Necked Pheasant. My experience with these birds is that they are quite skittish. But this one actually strolled right up to our car, and it didn't bolt when we got out with our big lenses. The low angle was the key to this shot; otherwise it would have looked like a pheasant standing in a gravel parking lot! Reds are bleeding edge, but I think there's detail throughout.



Canon 5D Mark II (Arash's), 600mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO 800, manual exposure, hand held

[Doug Brown]

Forgot to mention that I did a little clean-up work on the beak.

[Dan Brown]

Great work Doug! Love the BG! I didn't get any "head shots". The reds are vivid but detailed and your bill work is clean! This individual was very strange the way it came right up to the car? My guess is that he may have been a pen-raised escapee and was looking for a handout?

A great morning shooting birds and "the bull"! BTW, I missed my target bird over at Half Moon Bay!:(

[Andrew Merwin]

Amazing detail Doug. You're right, the BG & perspective is very good. I wish the pheasants around here were as cooperative.

[Ken Watkins]

I have no idea what the coliurs are really like so I find it a bit difficult to comment on them. Nevertheless it certainly bursts from the screen. Great BG

[Myer Bornstein]

Excellent headshot on this pheasantI like the colors and the eye contact of the pheasant. Yes, I agree these are usually very skittish birds and hard to photograph

[Bill Jobes]

Love the sharp eye and the vivid colors, even under the bright, contrasty light.

I'd consider violating the 'rule of thirds,' and recompose the image to place the bird with a slight cheat toward the center. The unusual vertical-dominant image lines could make this work well.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Doug,
You did a great job with the colours and the details are gorgeous too. I like Bill's cropping suggestion. The BG colours complement the bird really well :)
Nicki

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Terrific colors and details. Superb BG.

[Stu Bowie]

Doug, amazing colours, and I really like the sharp feather detail. Killer BG, and would maybe add a touch of space at the top.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hola Doug!
This seems like a proud pheasant! love the BG, I'm so glad you could get it instead of the gravel! very colorful bird and great light.

[James Salywoda]

Gorgeous! You knew I liked it when I saw it on your website the colors and details are stunning.

[Craig Brelsford]

I love this species, I love your background, I love your colors, and I love your crop. The ring-necked may be the most common pheasant but it's also among the most beautiful. Lightning definitely struck when your pheasant approached; here in China, where ring-neckeds are native, they are among the most fearful of birds.

[Doug Brown]

Thanks folks!