Bluebird Bringing Home the Bacon

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
1

I was poking around in old files this afternoon and came across this antique from 2008. It was the first year we had Western Bluebirds nest on our property and for some reason they chose a totally inappropriate nest box. It was one designed for swallows and had a hole in the bottom of the box. It was supposed to be an anti-Starling design. These Bluebirds used it to raise three broods that summer and they always had to fly up into it. This shot was an accident and properly exposed for the background, but the bird was very dark, so I took it the rest of the way and brightened the background (basically a curves layer). I don’t really mind the slight softness from motion blur, but that’s just me.

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IMG_6687-Edit1600×1067 505 KB

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Canon 40D, 500mm f/4 ISL + 1.4 TC, tripod, f/9, 1/1000, iso 320, aperture priority. Processed in LR & PS CC. Just a curves layer in PS and a content aware crop that took a touch off the right and bottom and added to the top and left. Taken July 3rd 2008 at 8:51 pm.

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2 Likes
2

Well composed with pleasant color in the background. I like the light shining through the feathers of the wings.

3

Dennis, this is a neat, unusual view. The background color is very inviting and the bird’s shape, motion and nesting material tell a fine story.

4

Thanks, Mark. In this case, the nest was long built. That’s a spider in the beak, though it does look like it could be grass.

5

Such a wonderful photo Dennis. I really like the way the bluebird’s wings are almost transparent. For me, this adds to the softness of the whole composition.

6

Dennis: A fortuitous accident indeed and a really nice result. I’m very ok with the wing movement and I especially like the wing position. A tip o’ the :billed_cap: to you sir. >=))>