Mockingbird and Beautyberry

ChasMcRae · 10-11-2010, 08:11 PM

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**Jeff Dyck** · 10-11-2010, 08:42 PM

Great perch, nice detail and the berry in the beak is perfect. I find the colours to be overly saturated - I think the image would be improved by generally desaturating the whole frame.

**Stephen Stephen** · 10-11-2010, 09:56 PM

NIce image espcially with the berry in the bill. I agree with Jeff about the saturation. I better HA would have been a real bonus.

**Martin Wallis** · 10-12-2010, 04:43 AM

I like the saturated colours. It contrasts with the BG and really pops. Very sharp, good exp

**Pieter de Waal** · 10-12-2010, 09:39 AM

I like this image, allways partial to images that include habitat and in this picture the berries create an excellent perch which arches in sympathy with the bird. Sharp image with clear detail and the saturation is fine for me. I might just reduce the contrast slightly.

**Chris Zink** · 10-12-2010, 10:34 AM

This is a great action shot. Just as an artistic comment, this would look dynamite with a very dark, almost but not quite black background.

**ann shiller** · 10-12-2010, 05:35 PM

Love the colors, the pose, the clarity.

**Daniel Cadieux** · 10-12-2010, 07:37 PM

Wow that is a very cool perch!! I'm OK with the colours, but it is the contrast that I find strong (as per Pieter). I might have been tempted to photograph this wide-open to blur the BG even more. Ditto HA, but the berry is a real nice bonus. Quite an appealing image!!

**Gary Esman** · 10-12-2010, 07:54 PM

Like the perch, intensity in the eye and berry in the beak is awesome. Do agree with toning it down a little. TFS.

ChasMcRae · 10-12-2010, 08:08 PM

Thanks for all the comments.
I assume(dangerous to do) by toning down you infer backing off on the contrast ?
The berries are true color and the bird is basic black and gray. The background is wet pine straw which I did jazz up a little ,but harks back to my Velvia days. Pine straw however does jump out as a background very well in low angle light so always has a pleasing look to me.

**Randy Stout** · 10-13-2010, 07:14 AM

Chas:

Late to the party, but I really like the comp, perch and the birds pose are really nice.
Put me in the camp of a bit too much contrast. I would have thought oversaturated too, but you know the true colors of the beeries.

Cheers

Randy

**Morkel Erasmus** · 10-13-2010, 07:19 AM

love how this pops! beautiful colours, detail and I actually dig the contrast :)

**Karen Summers** · 10-13-2010, 02:11 PM

wow a stunner I wouldn t tone down the colour it is lovely really makes the image pop wish I could get that perch here

**Arthur Morris** · 10-13-2010, 02:36 PM

Chas, Was this a set-up? I love the basic concept and colors and the head angle is not bad at all. A bit more toward us would have been a plus.

My big concern is one that nobody has mentioned: there is too much room behind the bird, the image looks way right heavy to me. (I guess that that is why I asked if it is a set-up.)

**Randy Stout** · 10-14-2010, 08:19 AM

Artie:

Given the basic elements Chas had to work with here, and the pose the bird struck, other than cropping in a bit tighter from the left, how would you change things to rebalance it?

Randy

**Arthur Morris** · 10-14-2010, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by Randy Stout

Artie: Given the basic elements Chas had to work with here, and the pose the bird struck, other than cropping in a bit tighter from the left, how would you change things to rebalance it? Randy

If this were not a set-up, I would have probably pointed the lens a bit to our right. If it was a set-up, I would have tried to raise the angle of the branch a bit; that would have made it easier to point the lens to the right and come up with something pleasing :)

Only Chas knows....

**Randy Stout** · 10-14-2010, 08:58 AM

Artie:

Thanks for your thoughts. Always helpful for everyone to think about the composition in camera, versus trying to fix everything in post. Esp. if it isn't a setup, in the excitement of the moment, we tend to forget some of the more subtle things that make a winning image.

Cheers

Randy

**Arthur Morris** · 10-14-2010, 09:19 AM

You are welcome. Just sharing my thoughts based on 27+ years of doing this :)

**David Billingsley** · 10-14-2010, 11:48 AM

I love the picture as is regarding saturation and contrast, but I agree with Artie, it would have been nice if the subject could have been to the left side in the frame.:)

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