Loggerhead Shrike

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

An image from earlier this summer. This shrike was perched on top of sage brush, but flew away when a truck drove by past it. I was able to get a few images, but could not get any flight shots as the truck got between us.

Specific Feedback

I’d be interested to know if this is too bright. I wanted to get enough details on the darker areas without losing any on the whites. Also like to hear what you think of the composition.

Technical Details

840mm with lens balanced on my car window. 1/2500s@F7.1, ISO500. I shot this with a shallow DoF to render the background vegetation OOF. Cropped by about 25% and post processed for the web.


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A great look at this nice shrike ! The profile showcases that great beak nicely.
For a shot like this, F10 would have rendered the tail sharp, but still allowed a nice OOF BG.
I could see a vertical crop here with the long, narrow bird and elongated branches. As it is, this crop is pretty tight at the top and there is a lot of unneeded dead space to the right.
Nice catch!

1 Like

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I will try these out at the next opportunity.

A beautiful shrike for sure. The BG is nice and not overpowering with blue. You may want to try f10 for the next trip. The exposure is spot on and this is a very pleasing comp. Nicely done…Jim

Beautiful detail in the head, Govind. The oof tail doesn’t bother me much. As for composition, I think you could remove the topmost sprig of the green bush on the left as it tends to pull my eye. I’d also be tempted to look at a square composition, just pulling in the right side as I don’t think you need that much room to fly into with this rather vertical posture.

Great look at the shrike with a nice pose atop the bush. Not too bright; looks natural. The sky makes a nice background for the shrike. I could see a bit of a crop from the right, but basically I find the composition pleasing and, at least from my experience, shows the shrike in a typical setting.

Great view of this shrike. I can imagine him/her using this perch as a lookout hunting for prey. Details on the head and body look good and we get a great view of the downturned tip of the beak. Great catch. I could also see a crop from the right just a tad.