After two hours birding and shooting, I found a bench to rest on, somewhat frustrated by my inability to photograph an amazing bird when this Indigo Bunting landed about 15 feet away long enough to for me to compose and shoot. As fast as he was there, he was off, deep in the brush again.
Specific Feedback Requested
With birds, especially passerines, I try to incorporate the background into the image to some degree, which means I try to limit my cropping. The leaf in the upper right hand corner bothers me, but I didnāt want to crop more and while I could clone it out, I chose not too. (I get that cloning could be an easy solution). Iām just curious what folks think of that leaf and/or are there other parts of the image that I am missing because of my infatuation with the leaf. Thanks.
Technical Details
ISO: 2500. (It was set to automatic because I was in the forest shooting birds in variable light)
SS: 1/5000
Ap: f/5.6
Focal: 400 mm
Shot on Canon r5 with 100-400 zoom lens.
5 Likes
Hello @TonyBaldasaro
Welcome to NPN. Glad to have you here.
What a wonderful introductory image. Iām a HUGE fan of avian images showing the environment. This is awesome. Such a beautiful background to set off the Indigo.
We look forward to more of your images and for your particiaption commenting on the work of others.
1 Like
Thanks Keith. Iāve known about this community for a long time - happy to finally be a part of it.
1 Like
Hi Tony! Welcome to NPN! As Keith said, this is a wonderful first post. The colors and detail are excellent, as is the background. Well done! I look forward to more of your work.
1 Like
Nicely done, Tony . Hereās your third welcome to NPN. The brown leaf doesnāt bother me even after you pointed it out. I think the other leafs on the rt. side of it help to blend it in. I love Indigo Buntings, but itās almost impossible to catch them still and theyāre to fast and unpredictable in flight. The colors give a very cheerful feel to this photo. Looking forward to seeing more of your images.
1 Like
Thanks Donna. I stop and try to capture an image every time I see one, but they rarely stick around long enough to get a good one. This was totally a fluke - but happily accepted. Thanks for your feedback
Hi Tony
I love it. The leafs in the upper right have color matching with a leaf just below the Indigo and the framing work, because of the over all coloring in this photograph. Nice work.
Peter
Hi,
Welcome to NPN. Sometimes the best strategy for getting the most interesting bird photos is to sit and wait. And that you did and captured an ideal image. Comp and color are quite good and I like this one as presented. Well doneā¦Jim
1 Like
Beautiful setting, Tony, with the bird starring in it all. I do love the wider-set-up frames as well, for the reasons you mention. I wouldnāt change a thing. And a well-deserved EP! And welcome, of course. Greetings from The Netherlands, Hans
1 Like
Thank you. I didnāt realize EP was a big deal, so thank you for pointing that out to me. Iām new here, so this is all new to me.
I always tell folks that you can either move and āchaseā birds or sit and wait for them to come to you. My experience tells me that both require patience, readiness, and often times, similar results in terms of finding and photographing birds.
1 Like
Hello Tony and welcome to the community! This is a lovely photograph, made ever more special to you by the fact that after other attempts you were āgiftedā this amazingly beautiful bird! You did very well with the background, just enough in focus to give environment to the story. Itās also well placed in the overall frame and the leaves surround it nicely.
Birds take so much patience, especially the smaller ones that tend to flit about in the bushes so much. I look forward to seeing more of your photographs.
1 Like
