American Goldfinch-Male

Our breeding Goldfinches started showing up the middle of last week. By the time I took this image, I counted 13 in the apple tree at once. We are blessed with an abundance of these and they quickly reach numbers we can’t really count. This was the only one I could get an image of that seemed in full breeding plumage. The rest looked pretty decrepit since they weren’t fully transitioned.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

The upper left corner and right side were bright sky, so I painted in some of the color from the neighbor’s Douglas Fir that made up the center background-does it look realistic?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If backgrounds have been removed, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Sony A6500, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, tripod with ball head and sidekick, f/8, 1/640, iso2000, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Noise reduction with Neatimage, feather enhancement with Topaz Detail. Cropped to 11.5 MP.

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One of my favorite color combinations yel-blk. Excellent avian work here once again, Dennis…:+1:

The Finch stands out excellent from the BG. Although I normally like to give bird some space, in this case just having the bird a tiny bit larger in de frame might enhance the spectaculair colours even more. Have a good day, Hans

Send some this way!
My favorite back view, showing the back and tail feathers.
Nice, clean image and good BG.
Sandy

Excellent post, perch, detail, and background. I like the brilliant yellow. These Goldfinches showed up at my house about five days ago and have been hanging out around the Niger feeder. I’ve also seen some house finches and the usual assortment of juncos.

Good pose and detail. The background works for me.

Everything else has been said, Dennis. It’s definitely one of my favorite pose. You have handled the blacks and the yellows really well. Those are not always easy to process.