Berry Feeding Finch

[Ted_Forman]

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Lately I have noticed a lot of little orange colored berries from a Mountain Ash tree on the ground in my yard. I suspected that birds have been feeding on them, and yesterday my suspicions were confirmed. A group of House Finches were all over the tree, munching on the berries. Rather than eating them whole like some other birds, they pierce the berries with their sharp beaks, and then eat the pieces that break off. I took this shot through a glass window, which I usually prefer not to do. It worked out in this case, as it acted like a blind and kept me from disturbing the birds and have them fly away.

Specific Feedback

General feedback is welcome. Are there any distracting elements that should be altered or removed, or any compositional changes that could help?

Technical Details

Canon R6 Mk ii, Canon RF 100-400mm lens @ 560mm
f/11, 1/640 sec @ ISO 5000
Cropped and processed in LR, with noise reduction and subject masking to increase detail and texture of the bird.
Topaz Photo AI for added sharpening of the subject.

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[Dennis_Plank]

Those mountain ash trees are bird magnets this time of year. I like the feeding action in this one. You might look at cropping in from the right to get rid of that fork in the branch-if you want to maintain the same aspect ratio a corresponding amount off the bottom would make any difference. For my taste the bokeh on the out of focus branch above the bird isn’t very appealing, so I think I’d remove the whole thing.

If you just set up a chair outside and wait a bit the birds should come in. I do recommend a tripod because the act of raising the camera can spook some birds.

[Allen_Sparks]

Hi Ted, nice catch of this finch munching on the berries. A fine behavioral image as is IMO but I think Dennis’ ideas are worth trying to further concentrate our attention on the bird and feeding.

[Ted_Forman]

Thanks @Dennis_Plank and @Allen_Sparks for your feedback and advice. I went ahead and re-edited the photo. Let me know what you think of this version.

[Dennis_Plank]

Bravo, Ted. I like this a lot better. Yes it’s a bit tight by some standards, but sometimes you need to go that route. This has everything needed to convey the action and setting and nothing extra.