feels like spring

[pat lillich]

I'm loving trying to catch pics of the bushtits - they are such quick little birds, it makes a great challenge.

this one happened to land near the top of a tree that has bloomed early.

1/1250 sec at f/5.6, iso 400, 500 mm f/4 lens, handheld, manual, 1dmk4

large crop in LR, oof branch on right, and clump of flowers on lower left cloned out.
nik tonal contrast and sharpening in cs5

I'm always challenged on crops and composition. would like to know if you think this works. I doubt that i'll ever be able to get close enough to these guys to fill the frame.

thanks!

[Cathy McEntee]

Sweet image Pat--love the pose, nice ha & background. The flower on the perch is a cherry on top!

[Kerry Perkins]

Pat, I understand the challenge posed by these little birds. Well done to capture one at all, let alone with lovely environment like this. Very nicely done! The crop is difficult, but I don't know what I might have done differently. At any rate, it is a lovely portrait of an elusive bird.

[John Chardine]

I agree, this is very nice. Good detail in the feathers and great eye contact. If you wanted the flower in focus too, one easy trick is to photograph it in focus from the same position, after the bird has long-gone, and combine the two images. This is not easy to remember but can work very well.

[pat lillich]

thank you Cathy, Kerry and John. John - taking the 2nd shot would have been a really good idea - I'll try to remember. i kind of get caught up in the chase and don't remember to do the practical important things to improve the picture. They are such funny birds - have many shots of them hanging upside down from leaves and twigs - but they are so fast that most are partially blocked or blurred. now if i could just get a good shot of the pretty brown little bird that seems to move like these guys do....

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Pat,

The crop is unique but does distract my eye. I often use one exposure bracketing and shoot three frames. In this case maybe another picture in the sequence has a better view of the flower and you can get a slightly broader picture - might improve - might not.

Thanks for sharing this is a beautiful bird and it is critically sharp. The subject is well exposed and the techs look solid.