Rose-breasted Grosbeak

[Bill Dix]

OK -- so I know this is the oft-maligned "belly shot". But for this species it does have the advantage of showing off his signature rose breast. Removed several distracting leaves. I wish the leaf that intersects his lower mandible weren't there, but I chose to leave it rather than unbalance the stem. What do you think? C&C appreciated.

D7000 | 500f4 + 1.4TC | ISO 1250 | 1/800s @ f/7.1 | +1.0 EV | monopod

[jack williamson]

I like it Bill. I don't mind the belly shot on this one for it is a good pose that does show off that red.

Exposure and sharpness look good and I am liking those high iso low noise shots from that D7000.

Jack

[Joe Brown]

I like the pose and composition. I agree it really does show the best side of the bird.
The oof leaves in the upper right bother me some. They almost look like they are in the foreground. I wonder if the exposure could be a tad brighter.

Joe

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Jack and Joe. The oof leaves in the background could easily be taken out, but I opted to leave them in. I suppose the image, or at least the bird, could be brightened up a bit. This is probably a case where fill flash would have been in order.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Bill, I like this capture and pose and the habitat does a nice job of framing the bird. I like the lovely green of the leaves and don't mind the ones in the bg at all. I agree that a wee bit of fill flash would help, as there is that bit of shadow on the body. A really nice looking bird! The crop feels a little tight to me on the bottom, but not much.

[Bill Dix]

Hi Bill, I like this capture and pose and the habitat does a nice job of framing the bird. I like the lovely green of the leaves and don't mind the ones in the bg at all. I agree that a wee bit of fill flash would help, as there is that bit of shadow on the body. A really nice looking bird! The crop feels a little tight to me on the bottom, but not much.

Thanks Kerry. I agree it's a bit tight on the bottom. That's the edge of the canvas, but it wouldn't be difficult to add a tad.

[Stan Cunningham]

Nice shot Bill, I'm like Kerry and think a little canvas below might help.
I'm curious, I'm betting IF I USED fill flash I would have blown out the whites, even at the -1.6 stop reduction I use. What would you have used, especially with such a light bird?

[Bill Dix]

Thank you Stan. I'm not skilled with fill flash; I've had a limited number of successes, a bunch of blown shots and lots of "flash eye" shots since I don't yet own an extension. I own an SB-700 and Better Beamer, but don't usually have them with me when I need them (like here). If I had used it, and if the bird had sat still long enough for me to set it up, I probably would not have used the BB since I was pretty close to the bird. I would have set the camera exposure to expose correctly as if I were not using flash, and then set the flash at a -2.0 or so. That would have been a total guess based on what little I've gleaned from folks on BPN postings. I guess I need to go out and practice on my backyard birds.