A new Suit of Clothes

Things have been very slow around here bird-wise except for Goldfinches. I spent three hours in my blind a couple of days ago and only had four species show up. The Dark-eyed Juncos are in all stages of molt right now. Some of them looked pretty bedraggles and a couple, like this one, were in nice new plumage.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Sony a6500, FE200-600 @ 470 mm, tripod with ball head and Sidekick mount, f/8, 1/400, iso 2000, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 5095x3321. Taken September 5th at 9:28 am under overcast skies. The background is a camouflage tarp about 10 feet behind the perch.

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1 Like

Same here – not much variety, with mostly Juncos and Oak Titmice , and the ever-present Acorn Woodpeckers. I captured a nicely-dressed one like this today. You have good detail and soft light, but for me, the eye doesn’t need to be so close to center. A crop from the top and right would remove some of the BG, which is a good idea but of limited interest. I rarely have the feeling that a bird in a static pose needs a lot of room to move into.

Beautiful capture with good detail, Dennis. Our Juncos don’t have this much beautiful color.

Love all aspects of this photo, sharpness and color combinations. Impressed with the moss perch. Never thought of that. All blends so well.
Wayne

Hi @johnwayne. The moss perch was courtesy of a fellow local camera club member. I loaned her use of my blind one day and she brought down a bunch of nice mossy branches from her place which is in the deep woods.

Dennis, I sure enjoy your bird pictures, no matter what breed they are. Always a pleasure to view them. The moss certainly is a nice perch, and the oof BG really makes him stand out. I love how your bird pictures always looks like you were out in the middle of a woods or some place in nature (not your backyard). Very nice as usual.

Hi Dennis,

A very nice photo and this junco prepared well for the shoot. Everything looks good to my eyes and like this one as presented…Jim

Dennis: always nice to see the little birds getting their due. There’s excellent detail in the bird and the exposure is spot on. The bird stands out nicely against the oof background. Richard

The richness of the black plumage caught my eye immediately. Good idea to use a camo tarp as a background. This image is well composed with the mossy perch creating a nice diagonal. That said, I might have shot this at an additional f-stop greater to keep all of the moss in focus. The slightly soft area just below the birds tail does draw my eye due to its focus. Yes, that is pretty picky. Hope you and the birds didn’t have to evacuate over the last couple days due to the fire in your neck of the woods. Real smoky here on the inlet from the fires in Eastern Washington.

Just a beautiful perch Dennis. That was a great trade for both of you. Good head turn, nice catch light in the eye, good detail and colors, the exposure is spot on and the background is nicely blurred but with some definition. I might crop just a touch off the right side but just personal preference. Nicely done!

This is a gorgeous frame. The bird’s plumage is fantastic, and that perch is to die for. Details are spot-on. I think I’d prefer a little less up top and a little more below, comp.-wise.