This is been one of my nemesis birds this fall/winter. It just hasn’t been around when I have been until today. Now I only have to catch a Spotted Towhee. It was quite cloudy when I took this and the iso was was moving back and forth between 5000 and 6400. It does get darker and I limit my iso to 12,800 on the auto iso. But this is pretty typical winter light here in Washington and it does lead to image quality issues.
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Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Iso 5000, 400+1.4 X at 560 mm, F5 .6, 1600, A7r4, fill flash, 50% of full frame
Image quality looks pretty good in this one, David. Nice crisp plumage detail. I’d be tempted to go out with your pruners and get rid of that rear branch on your perch (or rotate it so they’re both parallel with the focal plane). I finally got a couple of shots of one a week or so ago, but I’m not really happy with them. There are at least two around, so I should have more chances.
Great catch – love the color and detail! I think Dennis has a good idea about the perch. Might be nice to keep the very interesting lichen in the focal plane.
Image quality looks pretty good to me also. As does the light work. If it is a perch I would try rotating it first to see if that works. The little piece sticking down may add a bit more presence to it. I also like the suggestion of keeping the lichen in the focal plane. And good luck with the Towhee.
