SAGE GROUSE IN WINTER

[gary ellwein]

I encountered 25 - 30 of these birds on a recent trip over the mountain to Jackson, Wyoming. I have not seen more than a few scattered birds in a long time. They are in decline over most of the west due to habitat loss. The image was taken late in the afternoon on a heavy overcast day with intermittant snow. The birds did not flush as long as I stayed in the truck. The trick was finding a subject that would give something other than a butt shot. This guy was my star. The birds were feeding continuously on the tops of sage brush poking out of the snow. Nikon D7000, Nikkor 600mm, f5.6, 1/000, iso 640, manual, bean bag on truck door. The original was under exposed 2/3s stop. PP consisted of a little dodging, eliminating a blue cclor cast and usm. AS always C & C appreciated.

Gary

[Kerry Perkins]

43 views and no comments? Please help out with the critiques my friends! It is not reasonable to expect replies to your own posts if you don't contribute to the posts of others.

Gary, this image looks great to me! I really like it. Good job on the exposure under difficult conditions. I would probably have made the decision that you did - to underexpose a bit rather than blowing the highlights. I really like the pose and eye contact. Good on ya for braving the cold...

[P-A. Fortin]

Cold? Come on, you see some vegetation. This is a summer day at the beach for me!

Nice technique there. I always have trouble taking images of "darker" birds on the snow. I like seeing the foot of the bird, makes the image look more dynamic to me.

I might have crop a bit differently to have the head a little bit more to the left of the frame. But that's a minor issue to me. This is a nice image of a nice bird.

[Cathy McEntee]

Hi Gary - what a neat looking bird and what an opportunity to have encountered them. The image is beautiful-- the foliage and snow blend so well with coloring of the bird. Nice job with the exposure.

[John Chardine]

Love this one Gary. I like the way the veg. frames the subject. If you wanted to brighten up the subject a little you could use some fill light in ACR (assuming you shoot RAW). I would crop a little off the bottom and left. Great to see this species too!

[Doug Zoern]

Striking! I love the simplicity of the colors. When I saw the thumb I was very interested in viewing the full image and I was not disappointed. Wonderful.

[gary ellwein]

Thanks to all for your supportive remarks and suggestions. The repost incorperates your suggestions. I selectively lightened the bird a bit. I did not want to overdo it. The image reflects the low light of a dark heavy overcast late afternoon. I also took a bit off the left side and bottom.

Gary

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gary - repost takes cares of my very minor nits (spot at the bottom and very slight blue to the snow). Beautiful image, well captured and processed. Congrats!

TFS,
Rachel