Male Red-wing Blackbird

[Stephen Stephen]

The male RWBBs have showed up in force here over the last 3-4 weeks. They are staking out their territories near any frozen pond, marsh and stream they find.

I created this image yesterday morning, with my (then 3 day old) Canon 40D, as this one was displaying. One OOF branch cloned out near the tail. I didn't capture the full wing flare that they sometimes perform but I'm still pleased with this image. The feather details tend to get lost in the red & yellow epaulets when they flash them.

The head/eye could be a little sharper but this fellow leaned forward a bit when he called.

Canon 40D Sigma 50-500mm @ 500mm, ISO 320, F6.3, 1/400 sec. with Fill flash. Cropped to about 45% of full frame.

[Arthur Morris]

Nicely done and nicely framed. It is sharp enough for me. You could try de-Sat-ing the reds about 15 points and getting rid of the cyan in the sky.

[Gus Cobos]

Stephen,
Very nicely done, love the detail on the wings, and the pose...:D

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Love this singing pose Stephen and especially with reds showing so strikingly. I have tried to get this type of image but as yet have not been very successful. Thanks for shaaring !!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great pose and details. It looks a bit overflashed on my monitor.

[Maxis Gamez]

Love the pose and expression. The blacks don't look black but I'm sure you can fix that using levels.

[Stephen Stephen]

Thank you Artie, Gus, Judy, Axel and Maxis for you comments. Here's a re-worked version where I've desaturated the reds, brought out more black and tried to reduce the Cyan.

I'm not sure that I've succeeded in the last point Artie. It may also be that my monitor needs to be re-calibrated or, I need more practice on PP..

[Glenn Bartley]

A classic RWBB. I like the reds better in the repost but the sky was better in teh first for me.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Stephen, Yes, the reds are much better in the repost but the sky color has deepened a bit. Like Glenn, I like the sky in the ORIG a bit better. (They are close.)

[Stephen Stephen]

Hi Stephen, Yes, the reds are much better in the repost but the sky color has deepened a bit. Like Glenn, I like the sky in the ORIG a bit better. (They are close.)

Thank you Glenn and Artie (again) for your comments. I can definitely see an improvement in the details in the reds but as I indicated in my repost I was struggling a bit with the cyan. :(

Perhaps I'll try again when I get home.

[Arthur Morris]

YAW Glenn. I always wonder where those cyan skies come from... I never see them when I am out there...