Right outside my window there’s a small tree and bushes that a lot of birds like to rest in.
Anything
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
ISO 800
300mm
f/6.3
1/2000
Cropped about 50% and did some slight adjustments with shadows, highlights, whites, blacks and sharpened.
The Junco is nice and sharp, Vanessa, and I like the head turn. I think that tangle of branches could work if the light ere mellower and that out of focus green leaf weren’t in the way, but that leaf really draws my eye and I don’t see any easy way of fixing it.
Nice pose and detail in the junco. The surrounding colors blend in well with the junco, though as Dennis pointed out the leaf on the left is a bit bright. I wonder if you could clone the color of the leaf above the junco onto the bright leaf? Or maybe just try to clone areas in the right upper corner over the leaf?
I like the blurs and the intertwining branches. As @Allen_Brooks @Dennis_Plank pointed out I also wonder if a small crop with some cloning might be an option. Here is a quick example.
This is really nice, Vanessa. Yeah, the bright leaf draws the eye a bit, but the bird is sharp and the image is gorgeous.
@Dennis_Plank @Allen_Brooks @BenM @terryb
Thanks! Dennis, Allen,Ben and Terry for your input. Yes, I agree that leaf is pretty distracting now that you mention it! So I redid it with a crop, convert to black and white and a slight vignette, I tried cloning and healing and it just was too much and looked strange, but I’m probably not very good at cloning. So I thought I’d do a different take with the b&w…
I like your cloning job, I’m terrible at it. I haven’t had much practice.
Thanks so much, Terry, I’m looking glad you like it!
Thanks, Dennis! Let me know what you think of my b&w version!
Thanks, Allen! I think I have a long way to go to get good at cloning something like this! But what do you think of my b&w version?
I think junco’s make nice subjects for black and white conversion and your’s looks good. I’m thinking the white vignette clashes with the white chest and wonder how this would look with a dark vignette which might focus more attention on the junco.
The B&W did do a very good job of reducing the distractions, Vanessa. I’m not sure what other stuff you have in the surrounding area, but a slightly looser composition might suit this bird.
When I go dark it makes that leaf stand out again, but I might not be doing it right!
Do you mean like use the original image I posted?
Yes. Or something like that.
The original image (big leaf aside) is wonderful - the light, the sharpness, the pose all terrific. And I agree about the looser composition in the first. It gives the bird somewhere to move into in our imaginations. At least in mine. What a cutie.
