Ruffed Grouse Hail Mary

What technical feedback would you like if any? Well, this image has a lot of issues with it and the lighting was horrible and I shot with almost 2 stops of compensation, but not enough. The grouse popped out in front of our car and started to display. Unfortunately, the 600 and TC were on the camera so no time to switch and I ran back and started firing off shots handheld.

What artistic feedback would you like if any? Does the square comp work?

Pertinent technical details or techniques: D500 850mm (600mm f4 +1.4x TC, 1/1000 sec at f6.3, ISO 1250). I used Topaz DeNoise AI, Topaz Detail, broad midtone Luminosity mask, and Topaz Detail, and Brightness & Contrast. The BG is the dirt road and shadows from the overhanging trees. I’m hoping to get a 12x12 print out of this one as it is the only new bird that I saw on the trip. Thank you and processing suggestions please…Jim

(If backgrounds have been removed, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

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Nice catch, Jim. The road makes a good background. When you said you had two stops of compensation, but it wasn’t enough, did you mean the bird was still underexposed? The reason I ask is that the only real issue I see with the image is the amount of noise in the bird, particularly evident in the dark ruff and the eye. Also, did you use noise reduction on the bird? I know a lot of people who won’t, though I do it as part of my work flow. That could make a big difference if you had to bring the exposure up.

The square crop works for me.

Nice portrait of the grouse. Square comp works for me. Personally, I’d probably try to eliminate the dark bands to the right of the grouse. Always fun to get a new bird. Congrats.

Jim, I believe this is a Ruffed Grouse rather than a Dusky (which does not raise a collar during its display… and which is how the Ruffed gets its name).

It’s a nice close portrait depicting this behavior, which is not frequently witnessed from my experience, and I like how the bird is offset against the light background. I don’t mind the square crop, though I feel there’s a little too much empty space at the top.

Max

I think that you are correct and this may be a ruffed grouse. Ruffed grouse are present in the Tetons according to the checklist so I’ll strike dusky grouse from my list. Thank you for the correction…Jim

You will find both species there. The Duskies are interesting, as they can get bold and aggressive. I’ve had them hop up on my car on Signal Mountain in the Tetons (they took great interest in their reflection in the sunroof and windshield), and I’ve also been attacked by one in Yellowstone. It stopped in the middle of the road, and since I didn’t want to run it over, I stopped and stepped out of the car… only to have it sneak around behind the car and start pecking my leg from behind!

Fascinating characters, and again, I commend you on nailing a challenging photo. I’ve seen very few Ruffed grouse displays over the years.

Max

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Wow, what a shot, Jim. I am not familiar with this bird, so I’m sure enjoying the display that you were able to capture. You did well to handhold a 600 mm with TC and get this! I do well to handhold a 400 mm w/o TC on! So glad you were able to capture this behavior, especially since it seems to be rare to witness it.

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It is funny–I totally forgot about ruffed grouse being out in the Tetons. Apparently, I did not look like a grouse to this guy and he left me alone. They are goofy birds.