Dickcissel 2

Another image of a dickcissel singing in the field of yellow wildflowers - bird a little smaller in the frame this time and a different perch.

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Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Canon 90D, Sigma 150-600C
ISO 640, f8, 1/1000s, hand held

@allensparks.wildlife
2 Likes

Another beautiful image of this species in full song, Allen. I really like the perch and that background is just wild. If you go out again, I’m wondering what it would look like if you stopped down a fair amount. I’m thinking that just a hint of structure in the background would make these images even better.

Excellent capture, Allen. I like the bg but was wondering the same thing as Dennis; would it be even better if it wasn’t a solid bg? Maybe not. It might detract from the bird.

On looking at the image again, I am seeing a hint of structure toward the bottom and I do think bringing out a bit more would be interesting.

What a great shot of a very colorful subject. Toning down saturation in the background a bit might be good.

Beautiful image, Allen! I must say I like the yellow background since it complements the yellow stripes across the birds head. Maybe a tad more structure in the background could have lifted it even more, but then again that could also be a distraction. It’s a fine line.

@Dennis_Plank @Phillip_Kaspersen @terryb @Stephen_Stanton

Thank you for the comments!
I did consider stopping down more but I wanted to keep the shutter speed quite fast because the birds heads and beaks vibrate strongly while singing. I was worried about motion blur on the head at a slower speed. I could have increased ISO but I like to keep it fairly low on my crop sensor body.

More structure in the background might be another interesting take but I am pleased with this rendition also.

Thanks for the suggestions - something to consider next time I photograph these.

Hi, Allen, I love this one even more than the previous one - love that you gave the bird some more space ! Nicely executed ! Cheers, Hans

I like the brightness and moodiness in this image from the color. Beautiful singing pose.

HI Allen
I agree with Hans, adding space made this Dickcissel shot a more pleasant photograph.
Peter