Maybe to you this may look not that special, but to me it is. Since ages I shoot these birds in early Spring, so my library if stocked with enough images of this bird as it is. One image was still missing: one in early morning after a relatively cold night where the breading puffs of the bird can be seen. This morning, escaping our ‘intelligent lockdown’ for a moment, I managed some shots - still room for improvement - but for the moment happy as can be… Thanks for any comments. Cheers, Hans
If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
I have Eastern bluebird photo that was taken in similar light. Your comp is quite good and the highlights are well controlled. I really like the vapor of the breath of this bird that is visible in the shot. This shows that a cold morning will not stop a bird in song. Awesome shot…Jim
Great capture of a moment. This really works for me with “icing on the cake” being its breath. The only thing I would look at would be to crop a little more off of the top.
Hans: A lovely bird with some very nice light and of course the puffs. All very nice.
My immediate reaction was then overcome by the composition and how tight the bird is in the frame. I wanted to see what it might look like as a horizontal with more room. I did a little PS work with content aware cropping, some minor cloning, some minor dodging on the bird and came up with this option. With this option I would have wanted to pull some off the bottom but didn’t want to eliminate your watermark, so I didn’t do any more.
Thanks @Jim_Zablotny, @Allen_Brooks, @Dave_Douglass, @Bonnie_Lampley and @Keith_Bauer for your comments and suggestions. Thanks, Keith, for working on the image (you could have easily cut away my watermark, no problem) - I like what you have done, and luckily I do have taken some horizontal images as well, may post one later on - but I liked the puf better in this image (the horizontal ones are minutes from this one) … Cheers, Hans
Hans, this is a wonderful image, with sweet lighting, and that puff of vaper is icing on the cake for sure. I think Keith’s crop does work nice, as it brings the bird closer into view, which is nice. Great shot. Worth being out in the cold for, I would think and I don’t like being in the cold.
Hi Hans,
Very interesting behavioral capture - really sweet! Love the rim lighting while still maintaining good detail on the bird - well done! Agree with more room on the left.
I am most impressed by the lighting in this image. The lighting on the bird especially the phosphorescence/luminescence of the blue plumage and the wisp of exhalation really make this image quite special. I find the body of the bird especially the wings in shade to be a tad dark. I don’t know if a little contrast adjustment in that one area would bring out more detail. Certainly looks good as a large image. The golden hues on the in focus and out of focus parts of the plant are also quite appealing. Really nice job!
Really creative idea. Love it. I regret not getting any blackbirds in similar lighting this year. I think I like the vertical better with a bit more room on the left. If mine, i’d try and clone out the two most prominent out-of-focus stems in the foreground, especially the one touching the bird’s breast. Looking forward to more from this encounter!
Beautiful, Hans. I really envy you this species. This was one of our targets in Nome a couple of years ago and I was thrilled to get a few shots let alone something as artistic as this with that beautiful backlight. The puff of breath is exquisite. I think I only have one image with that and it was from my very early days of bird photography and not a very good an image otherwise. Congratulations.
A terrific subject - I too am envious of seeing and photographing the species. The perch adds a lot to the image for me. I like the lighting very much. I agree with Keith on the alternative composition.
Hello, Hans - I think this is a very special image, for many of the same reasons as some of the others who have commented. I like the light like a halo around the bird and how it illuminates the plant. The very slightly open beak catching the illumination too and the breath. I think you have the composition just right. I can see what is meant by the suggestion to crop a bit off the top, because there is nothing there, but, on the other hand, I can see that this gives the entire image a necessary balance.
I love this back-lighting shot, Hans! You did an excellent job of holding the detail on the shadow side and the breath vapors are a really big bonus. It adds the dimension of a cold temperature that otherwise wouldn’t have been obvious. I agree with others about the top crop but would also suggest keeping roughly the same proportions and cropping a little off the right side also. I like the vertical format for this scene and would want to keep it.
