Adult (or breeding?) male
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Just wondering about the top bird, if he is a yearling still getting adult plumage? (I don’t even know if yearling is the right term for birds, but it’s way too early for fledglings so he must be at least from last year’s offspring.) The youngsters resemble females and they head back south by early August so I never see them with much development, and this is the first year I’ve noticed this feather detail. They have been pretty scarce here in the past but I’ve seen a few more in the last couple of years.
The second image for comparison is an adult (presumably breeding) male, which is what I have normally seen along with the females and fledglings.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Very little done in LR – some global tonal adjustments to tame the darks. Junior was denoised in PS and Papa in LR – for no reasons except that’s where I noticed more noise than I liked. Cropped from the sides, in LR.
Diane, I’m loving your bird photographs! These and others are wonderful portraits.
A note about identification: the Cornell Lab has a terrific app — Merlin — that I just added to my iPhone. It can identify songs and other characteristics. It might answer your question about the first bird.
S
Sent from my iPhone
| Diane Miller Nightscape & Astro Moderator
April 30 |
Adult (or breeding?) male
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Just wondering about the top bird, if he is a yearling still getting adult plumage? (I don’t even know if yearling is the right term for birds, but it’s way too early for fledglings so he must be at least from last year’s offspring.) The youngsters resemble females and they head back south by early August so I never see them with much development, and this is the first year I’ve noticed this feather detail. They have been pretty scarce here in the past but I’ve seen a few more in the last couple of years.
The second image for comparison is an adult (presumably breeding) male, which is what I have normally seen along with the females and fledglings.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Very little done in LR – some global tonal adjustments to tame the darks. Junior was denoised in PS and Papa in LR – for no reasons except that’s where I noticed more noise than I liked. Cropped from the sides, in LR.
Thanks @Susanna_Euston! Merlin only told me it was a Black-headed Grosbeak male. But just now I decided to try asking Mother Google what a yearling male looks like and got an answer that pinned it down. Seems it takes 2 years for the males to fully develop their plumage. So I’m guessing this one is a year old and will develop full adult plumage at the next molt in late summer?
Great! Glad you found the information. “Mother Google”… 
Susanna
Susanna Euston Photography
Fine Art Landscape Photography
Photographic Artistry Training
Email: Susannaeustonphotography@gmail.com
Website: http://www.susannaeustonphotography.com
Tel: 828.329.1811
“We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds,” ~ Arnold Newman
Sent from my iPhone
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| Diane Miller Nightscape & Astro Moderator
April 30 |
Thanks @Susanna_Euston! Merlin only told me it was a Black-headed Grosbeak male. But just now I decided to try asking Mother Google what a yearling male looks like and got an answer that pinned it down. Seems it takes 2 years for the males to fully develop their plumage. So I’m guessing this one is a year old and will develop full adult plumage at the next molt in late summer?
Hi Diane
Both photographs show great feather detail, coloring, and nice eye contact.
Peter
Excellent feather detail in both birds, Diane. The background lets the birds pop.
Really nice images Diane. Both show fine detail and color with engaging poses. The second image is my favorite with the humpy perch and upright pose. Well done captures on both.
Nice images, Diane. I would go with 'yearling" male on the first image. For reference, the bird banders who really agonize o0ver these things use “after-hatch-year” usually abbreviated AHY and said that way.
Thanks, @Dennis_Plank ! Someday I’ll learn the right terms.
