In many parts of the country Juncos are known as “snowbirds”, hence the title. I thought I was about done with this species for awhile, but I couldn’t resist this one with snow on the tip of the beak. I also liked the way the falling and the fallen snow rendered in this image. I do wish this specimen had given me one of the incredibly cute head turns that this species has in its repertoire.
Specific Feedback Requested
Anything
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Sony A7Riv, FE200-600 @ 600 mm, gimbal head mounted to blind, f/8, 1/500, iso 1600, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Noise reduction with Neat Image, snow and feather enhancement with Topaz Detail 3. I raised the brightness of the entire image in LR until the snow started to lose too much detail then brought down the highlight slider way down to bring detail back to them. In PS I added detail to the bird and to the snow in separate layers using the Topaz Detail Plugin (now outdated, but I like the interface and results, so I stick with it). Cropped to 7292x5262. Taken February 13th (yes I know I’ve been posting old stuff-I’m getting out again tomorrow!).
Dennis, this contrast of snow and bird is gorgeous; in fact, I like everything about this shot. One question: would you ever consider adding a catchlight to a bird’s eye? This might work here.
Dandy photo. The falling snow and what looks like a full flake on the tip of beak really add a lot to the image. Interesting what you did processing the snow and it really worked well.
Hi @Mike_Friel. I think I’ve added one once or twice. I’m not very good at it, though it shouldn’t be hard to steal one from another image. I don’t have any moral qualms about it. My attitude is that I’m doing art, not documentation.
Hi Dennis, lovely image. The texture you captured in the fallen snow is really nice. Fine details on the bird and love the snow on the beak as you mention. The snow still falling adds a lot. Well done.
Looks good Dennis. My only suggestion would be to slightly bump up the darks on the junco’s head so that the eye shows up better. Other than that, the snow features go well with this bird. Well done…Jim
Very nice photo, Dennis! I love the snow on his head and beak, so cute! Really nice background colors that contrast the Junco well. Usually they’re in a place where they almost match the background! Beautifully captured!
Hi Dennis
Vary nice looking Juncos. I agree with Mike and Allen about high lighting the eye. (maybe using a brush and razing the exposure?)
Nice work
Peter
