Several days ago we had some morning clouds and I had time to sit near the feeders for a while. This pretty lady obliged me with a nice pose.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon R5, 100-500 + 2X at 1000mm, ISO 800, f/14, 1/160 sec, tripod. Should have had a faster ss at that focal length, even with a sturdy tripod, but this nice pose was thankfully sharp. I love eye AF! Basically no adjustments in LR and in PS, only minor beak cleanup, NR (hardly noticeable at this size) and subtle edge burn. I think it may be a squeak too warm. Shot in daylight WB and not changed in raw.
And an edit with possibly more accurate WB and to see if the posterization noticed by @David_Schoen is improved. But now I see splotches of red on the left. The BG was winter trees with some cool gray lichen.
And with some Nik Detail Extractor on the BG to make the posterization a bit less obvious:
Fantastic color, pose, image detail, and background. I might move the whole bird closer to the left of the frame and add some canvas on the right side. Just another way to look at it. There is some cyan cast in the background on the right side of the image.
Thanks, @David_Schoen – now I see the cyan – it came from creating the JPEG – posterization in its attempt to deal with the subtle color gradation there. I’ve added a second version above and cooled down the WB a bit, which is probably more realistic. I think the low stratus was starting to lift by this time, so I’m not sure where the correct WB is. I need to put a neutral gray target there for an occasional reference shot as lighting changes. Anyhow, I wonder if there is less posterization here. It’s not apparent in the JPEG on my screen, but it may undergo more compression for display on the site.
Nice little female house finch, Diane. Some inspiring details in the feathers. The 2nd white balance image looks and feels more realistic, I am biased toward a bit of blue. Does your camera have an eye focus mode?
A gorgeous little bird! Great pose with a very nice matching background. Wonderfull feather detail.
I think, as you say, the first image could be a squeak warm. In the RP, I can also see the red has emerged on the left and on the perch? No nits, just an observation. I would be very happy to have this file in my folders!
Thanks, @glennie! I decided to try the same detail extraction on the BG in this one as I did in the Nuthatch I posted today. I put it alongside the original for comparison – it does conceal the posterization a bit.
BTW, here are two different views of the BG trees, about 200 ft away. Each time I go down the hill to sit at the feeders I’m not in exactly the same position, so the BG can vary a bit, but these are well within the likely framing. In the second you can see a hint of the very OOF perch this bird was on, but they were taken today so I might have been 2-3 ft to the side of where I was sitting for the Finch…
