Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
So another Christmas has come and gone and I haven’t found a Partridge in a Pear Tree. (If I tried harder I might get a Pigeon in a Persimmon Tree.) But I got some last-day-of-the-year shots yesterday, and found no birds today, with dismal clouds. There are usually a lot of Cedar Waxwings after these berries and just an occasional Robin, but this year it’s been lots of Robins and just a few Waxwings.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Some global tonal work in LR and quite a bit of BG detail cleanup in PS.
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2 Likes
Wonderful image Diane - love the action captured with the berry being tossed in mid air. Nice to include the grouping of berries still on the tree. Exposure and colors look good to me.
Terrific shot, Diane. I might zap the lonesome branches in the lower right.
Excellent action shot of the robin, Diane. I’ve seen this kind of tongue structure on other birds, but didn’t know robins had it as well.
Thanks, @Allen_Sparks, @Don_Peters and @Dennis_Plank! The Waxwings toss the berries higher than the Robins, who seem to mostly just grab and gulp. Maybe because they are bigger?? I occasionally see a little Butterbutt in the tree but haven’t seen it try to grab a berry – it’s much smaller than the Waxwings and the berries look too big for it, but I’m hoping to see if one will try.
I have some really disgusting shots of both the Waxwings and Robins using the back of their tongues to cram berries down their throat, because I didn’t get off the shutter button fast enough. The tossing action is too fast for 20 fps – it’s rare to get the berry in the air, and it’s only for 1 frame.
Don, I thought about pruning those branches, and the ones right behind it. I’ll see about a RP – off in a bit to see if there is any action on the tree. It will be cleaned out soon and this may be the last decent light day before they finish it off.
Here are a couple showing how they catch the berry in the back of the mouth and use the back of the tongue to cram it down their throat. GAG!
Pretty cool images, Diane. I’ll bet that little notch helps pull worms down nicely.
These are really cool shots of the robin Diane. The colors of the bird, the berries and the sky are really, really good for reality. Nice job.
Wow @Diane_Miller - the reposts are so good!!!
Thanks, @Dennis_Plank, @Ed_Williams and @Karl_Zuzarte! For every even-half berry toss I caught, I have several more disgusting gag shots of them choking it down before I got off the trigger. I’ll spare you any more.
