It’s interesting that the bullies of the feeders, e.g. Jays, will flee if you get within their eyesight. Same is true for raptors. But these tiny birds seem to tolerate us humans better. This little guy landed on a branch ten feet from me. Intent, perhaps, on the sunflower seed (between his feet) he snatched from the feeder.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I’m not happy with the branch coming at the viewer, but attempts to remove it didn’t look good.
Aesthetic : Love the color palette and the perch with the moss. Really provides a nice setting. Yeah, the branch coming out isn’t ideal, but doesn’t really bother me much.
Very sweet and relatively brave little birds compared to jays who serve as watchmen in the forest, sounding alarms all over to warn everyone within earshot. Chickadees don’t have this role, but I love the grab, perch and hammer routine they do. Very different from say, finches, with beaks that can open sunflowers without hammering. Darwin’s famous finch study comes to mind. The branch coming at me is blurred enough that leaving it in isn’t too awkward, the bird is so sharp and engaging that we hardly notice at first. It seems a trifle warm to me, but that may have been how it was. Nice portrait of a favorite feeder bird.
Allen, what a cute one. Very similar to the Carolina Chickadee, and they too are very tolerant of us humans it seems, in comparison to the rest of the larger birds. The Caronlina Chickadee was just checking out our nest box that I have for the Bluebirds, so not sure who our renters are going to be this year. The Bluebirds and the Sparrows have checked it out too. I’m hoping to submit one soon. Not going to be nearly as good as this one of yours, and I love the BG and the perch he is on. The limb doesn’t bother me. Great shot.
Allen, these little birds are one of my favorite backyard visitors and you captured some great detail in the feathers. I am always annoyed by little branches sticking out in my images but I too have issues removing them and sometimes leaving them is better. The branch did not draw my attention until I read your comment about it. Perhaps that is because it is pretty much the same color as the branch behind it and blends in. I might consider warming up the color very slightly and perhaps use an adjustment brush to bring out the small light in the eye. Overall, nice composition of the little bird!
