Taken at the Nisqually NWR in western Washington. This tiny guy just popped up in front of me and left in a matter of a second, so I had little choice in composition, and should have had a fair amount of + exp comp, but such is life. I did some spot lightening of the bird as well as a bit of sharpening. I also toned down the maple a bit. This is my first capture of the golden-crowned kinglet.
I did not do any nr since I didn't want to lose detail and felt the noise wasn't too bad.
Canon 40D 400mm f5.6L 1/250s f5.6 ISO 1250 ec 0 partial metering hand held and lucky
Three days last week were spent trying to get a shot of one of these and I have yet to succeed . Congratulations on getting the shot. Yes, the background is an issue but also the face and eye seem soft to me. The bough, feet and tail are sharp enough. It could be the ISO is a bit too high or more DOF is needed. Trust me, I'd be pleased if I got this.
These Reguluses are tiny, but as far as getting a great shot of them is concerned, they're Big Game. It ain't easy. I spent days following a flock of Regulus regulus (goldcrest) in a park here in Shanghai and came away with just two BPN-worthy shots. (Search "goldcrest" top right for a look-see.) A Regulus simply will not--cannot--keep still. Your offering here is a valiant effort.
Tough little bird to capture Terry. You did pretty well. I feel your pain shooting these guys and have a few what I would call decent captures of thr golden and ruby crowned myself. A little work on the eye will go a long way to percieved sharpness here. Well done on an illusive little one.
TFS
Todd
Mike, Craig, and Todd, thanks very much for your encouragement and suggestions. Looking closer,
I'll do a bit more spot sharpening on the eye. Thanks again!
Terry
Thanks for that, Todd - looking at the details of the eye/head there's lots of noise - I'll play with it some more - I agree with you, its easy to overdo the catchlight.
I appreciate the help!
Terry
Golden-crowned Kinglet
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