Rose Breasted Grosbeak

[Robert Strickland]

I had three Males and One Female come into my backyard.

Canon EOS 7d with EF500f4L IS lenswith 1.4 extender
!/250,f5,6, ISO 250

[James Fuller]

I'm a big fan of Grosbeaks, I would have raised the ISO for a faster shutter speed, bird looks soft to me.

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely pose, Robert. You have a terrific BG here. I wish for a little less space on the bottom and a tad more on the top if you have it. James raises a good point. Your bird looks a tad soft to me as well. You really don't need any less than 400ISO for this this type of photograph esp with the wonderful NR programs out there. A higher ISO would have allowed you the speed you most likely needed to get this bird sharp in the frame. Also remember to consider that a 500L with a 1.4TC is going to be sharpest at F8.

[laurie golden]

I would to love to photograph this bird. I think his face is sharp and that is what counts. Maybe a little more DOF would help with the rest of the bird. And if he comes back, give him a darker perch.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I have to agree a higher ISO and shutter speed would have resulted in a sharper image. I have been guilty of trying to go for low ISO and shutter speed on small birds - when it works its great but more often than not I got slight subject movement. When I look at the eye i get the impression the image may be a little sharper than fist impressions afford, perhaps a little more sharpening would help, I would also try to get a little more detail in the dark plumage and bring the brightness down if possible on the perch.