I was at Bosque del Apache earlier this month and spotted this shrike across the road and railroad tracks from the crane pool one evening. It turned out to be quite cooperative and gave me some reasonably close opportunities.
Anything.
Sony A1, FE 200-600 @ 600 mm, monopod with Sidekick mount, f/6.3, 1/320, iso 1600, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 2432x3272. Taken December 9th @ 4:56 PM.
Hello, I love the palette of this photo! There is a soft warmth in the greys which is very pretty. I also like the vertical crop which conveys a sense of height. The variation in the lovely background gives depth. There is enough detail in the bird to show the texture of the feathers. I think the scene would be even more appealing without the lone stick in the lower right corner, but I also don’t mind it.
Nice detailed look at the shrike. I like the balance of colors with the white above the white breast and the grays below the gray back. And, speaking of balance, my thought would be the sticks on the right balances the image.
Ooooh I love it! Have only ever seen a shrike IRL one time and it was far too distant to take a photo, never mind one this good. My one suggestion would be to use a radial filter or similar to open up the shadows in the eye and the little mask just a tiny bit. Wow, this is a beauty.
What a cutie!! Stunning pose, setting, color and light! For me, the stick in the LR provides balance and context. The dark BG behind the white chest and the light BG behind the dark head is a classic portrait technique!! This little guy or gal is a trained model! I love the frame, too.
Expanding on @Kris_Smith’s idea, I had to wonder about a little digital fill flash…
Dennis, we have Loggerheads frequent our yard, especially in the winter months. I guess he finds his meals better in our yard during the winter than elsewhere. I find them skittish though. I have only been able to capture shots of them through the window. If I go out in the yard he is gone!
This is a fine look at him. So glad he allowed you to get reasonably close to him. I like what @Diane_Miller did with it. I do find getting the eyes bright enough is difficult to do with him having black around the eyes as well. Nice shot!
I like what you did with it, Diane. I’ll have to play with it some more.
