Taken a couple days ago during a bit of a snow storm.
Cropped from sides and a bit off top. I removed the top of the cattail so it did not project through frame.
50D, 500mm, f/4, 1/400, Av +2/3, ISO400. tripod.
Dave, nice moody image! I like how environmental the photo is - but feel there are a few distractions you might consider removing - the OOF blades of grass, for instance. I'm also going back and forth on the snowflakes as they are so small that they could also go either way. I very much like the position of the bird and cattail (nice job cloning it into the frame!). I think the midtones of the BG could be brought up a bit more to lighten the image up a little bit without really sacrificing the mood you've created. You did a good job on exposure, though...no spikes on either end of the histogram and that's tough with this black/white bird.
Thanks for the comments. They are really appreciated.
I had toned down the bg a bit and perhaps too much. I felt it distracted a bit from the little bird.
I had also toyed with the idea of removing the spiky blade in lrc. I felt a bit uncomfortable doing that so toned it down quite a bit. In hindsight I think there are a few that could have been removed with some practice.
Quite the character! The pose nicely evokes these guys' sometimes playful demeanour:) Good job in shortening the cattail tip, but I would have been OK for it to project through the frame. The overcast conditions hgelped you nicely on the exposure, which you've nailed.
One thing that is great about this species is its ease in attracting to perches. If you prefer a "cleaner" BG without having to do some post processing removal it is pretty to do so...here you could physically remove the background branches and then wedge some black oil sunflower seeds onto the back of the cattail to lure it back on.
Chick a Dee
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