The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic + Technical
About This Image
I was in Spain, chasing eclipses. Vultures on cliffs lured me to a small patch of semi-wilderness. During my walk I was accompanied by this small red tailed bird, who did not seem afraid of me and my companion. This is my last (and I think, best) picture of it. It took some time to watch its behaviour, find out which seeds it was after and finally catch it in a watchful attitude. A very nice experience that I hope to live again soon.
Feedback Requested
I used the largest aperture of my lens at full zoom and the lowest ISO possible. Since the bird was mostly still, I could use 1/100". The background is not as smooth as I had wished, but catching the bird inside ‘its’ thicket turned out much better than standing on a rock.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon EOS R6
Lens: RF200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM
Focal length: 800mm
Shutter speed: 1/100s
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 1250
Hi Xavier
It s a lovely image and catching it in a realistic bower is lovely
The area behind the birds head is very bright and I would darken it a bit if you can, or if you agree.
I may have been a little strong on the darkening
Hi Xavier, nice catch with fine details on the bird, good look at the eye and the colored tail feathers. The environmental aspect of this image adds another layer of interest. As far as dark vs light background, for my taste I think I’d like a version that split the difference between the two. Nice image as is though.
A beautiful job on the bird ( a search produce “Black Redstart” as the likely ID. This would be a female or juvenile). I understand the desire for bringing down the bright area on the left, but I would be very gentle about doing it as I don’t think it needs to come down much.
I agree with @Dennis_Plank that this is a black redstart which is found in Spain. You could darken the bright area in the BG slightly if so desired. The nice thing about that portion of the BG is that it allows the head of the bird to stand out nicely. Well done…Jim
What a beautiful catch and image of this one. I agree that the surrounding vegetation, while pretty chaotic, is providing a wonderful environmental aspect, creating an even better nature story.
I do notice some selective reverse vignetting, or dodging(and blurring?) around the frame. This is very effective. Of course helped out by the shallow depth of field.
I do also favor the brighter bg. Beautifully captured!
Thank you Lon, for your very precise comments. Very useful as usual. The reverse vignetting is due to very unsharp foreground elements that were lit by direct sunlight.
Thank you all, for your reactions. I personally found the bright spot behind the birds head added to the picture. It took several attempts before its head was placed at the right spot.
