Gray Catbird + Repost for Crop

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

Gray Catbird
Gray Catbird1500×1229 568 KB

I was surprised to see this bird still hanging around NE Oklahoma on December 8, 2022. They are usually on their southward migration by September and October. I was lucky I happened to have my camera with me while I was outside, as he didn’t stay around long.

Type of Critique Requested

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

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

I wanted to get this shot as it’s very unusual to see this bird in Oklahoma this time of year. I shot this with my old Canon 60D and 70-300 Zoom, so the techs are probably not the best. Still, I feel like it’s a pretty decent photo.

Technical Details

Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm IS USM Zoom, f5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 800, Hand Held. Processed in ACR and PSE 2020 for exposure and cropping. Topaz DeNoise applied.

_MG_2827 Gray Catbird-1
_MG_2827 Gray Catbird-11500×1200 573 KB

1 Like
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Pleasing environmental view of this catbird. Nice pose. I like the diagonal elements and the colors.

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Thanks @David_Schoen. I appreciate the feedback.

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A nice environmental look at the catbird. I like that you’ve included so much of the tree. I wonder, though, about cropping to remove the dark background on the right.

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Thanks, Allen. Actually, after posting this I, too wondered if it would be better minus that tree on the right. I’ll post that version.

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I like the crop on the re-post, but the image is darker and I think I prefer the lighter version.

1 Like
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This is a lovely portrait. Sometimes its fun to come in after so many other comments and get to see a re-post. Because of the diagnoals and colours of the tree and other background I appreciate the second crop best. I too think the second post would benefit from brightening the bird a tad in relation to the background (or is it lightening the background in relation to the bird). LOL…something to make the bird stand out against the background.

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Thanks, @Robena.Sirett . Yeah, the repost is a tad dark, though I don’t know why. I used the same TIFF file for the second image, and all I did was some content aware fill on that right side. Oh well, I’m sure it’s some kind of operator error… :wink: