I was shooting photos of this very cooperative Lincoln’s Sparrow when I realized that the sunlit, out of focus waterfall on the background mountain was creating a strong graphical element that looked something like a hand of light. I decided to make use of it and positioned myself so that the hand appeared almost to be holding the sparrow. The bug in the sparrow’s mouth was a nice little bonus.
Gary: Great capture of the moment and seriously good vision. 
>=))>
Sharp has heck, beautiful pose on natural element, nice catchlight from the sun, bug in the mouth…I think its great. I actually would have preferred the absence of the OOF waterfall as it’s brighter than your subject and to my eye may be competing with it. I guess Id be tempted to burn down the brightness some, but I can see that it creates a “leading line” to your subject.
Quite beautiful capture of the little bird, at such a good moment, Gary. The lighting on the sparrow I love, I’m a bit less sure about the waterfall, though I see your reasoning for its inclusion.
Gary, not only is this a fantastic shot of the bird, the bug, and I believe it looks like some kind of green worm in the bird’s mouth, but to be observant and notice the shape of a hand in the background and used it to your advantage is just top notch. It looks like you got “handed” a wonderful photo opportunity, and you took advantage of it.
Excellent detail in the sparrow and perch and I like the composition, Gary. I’m not positive, but to me that looks like a Savannah Sparrow-I think I’m seeing yellow over the eye in the larger image.
Good catch, Dennis! In a 10 minute span I got 3 good shots of a Savannah Sparrow at that stump and then a single shot of what I was sure was a Lincoln’s Sparrow (we have both here). This was one of the first 3. Here is the photo taken at the same stump, only 3 minutes later with what looks like a Lincoln’s Sparrow:
Looks like it to me as well, Gary. Nice to have both.
Gary, two nice catches of small birds on an interesting stump. Both have great details. Your thinking behind the original post was very creative. The bug is a fine extra.
