Female Violet-green Swallow Portrait

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

Female Violet-green Swallow Portrait
Female Violet-green Swallow Portrait1500×1093 529 KB

Image Description

Just a portrait of this little beauty. She posed on this perch and gave me a lot of different head turns to choose from yesterday. I liked the eye contact and view of the head coloration that this one provided. The violet is pretty well hidden from this angle and requires the right light to really show up well.

Type of Critique Requested

  • Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.

  • Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

The sun was out and birds were everywhere yesterday morning, so I grabbed my camera, went outside, and a fog bank rolled in, hence the white background. I brought the brightness of the bird up quite a bit to make the colors match what I would have seen in the sun. I wasn’t trying for any great message or story here, just a nice portrait.

Technical Details

Sony A1, FE 200-600 + 1.4 TC @ 840 mm, Monopod with Sidekick head, f/11 (to get the whole bird in focus), 1/1000, iso 2500, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 6060x4416. Taken yesterday at 9:29 AM.

2

I really like this one Dennis. Even more because of the white sky/background. It brings out the bird so much more strongly. Wonderful pose, terrific sharpness. A wonderful shot.

3

Wonderful pose delightfully sharp detail! She has a look of determination. And you are probably in her way. These little critters can be dangerous, you know… :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

4

I don’t think I’ve ever seen these birds before so thanks for introducing me to one. Green is relatively uncommon in N.A. songbirds so certainly different. And those wings! Like scythes. The floofy breast feathers are a nice counterpoint to the smoothness of the wings. Plus you have some tiny toes, too. Nice. An appealing portrait - well done.

1 Like
5

With the white background you have an excellent portrait. The color shines and there’s excellent detail. Nice pose as well. Haven’t seen any around here yet, guess they’ve bypassed Oregon and headed straight for Washington.