I headed out to the local park to see whether any red wing blackbirds were sorting out their territories. A few were around, but unfortunately were way too close. I brought the 600mm f4 with a 1.4x teleconverter as most of the blackbirds are usually about 100 to 200 feet from the boardwalk. Light was very poor and required that I needed to use a fairly open aperture. I ended up adding some canvas on the RH side for artistic purposes and cropped the image to 8x10. Overall, not a bad image, nor is it a great image. In my opinion, this type of image looks better with more space around the subject.
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Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Z9 600mm f4 = 1.4 x teleconverter (1/800 sec at f6.3, ISO 2500) Topaz DeNoise AI, Levels, contrast enhancement with curve adjustment, add canvas on RH side, crop for comp.
Hi Jim, This is such a classic shot of a red-wing blackbird. Love that you caught it calling! Because you have the eye, head, wing, and tail in focus I don’t miss the greater DOF you might have got with better light. You have also captured the shoulder colour and stunning ridged texture in the wing. Are you able to show more of the bullrush? I struggle with the colour of the background in my similar photos, as I am usually shooting in dull west coast light…it is almost a grey…is there a way to brighten/warm up the background? And isn’t wonderful to have proof that spring is coming!
Of all the bird calls, I think the call of the RWBB is my favorite. Maybe because it makes me think spring is right around the corner (of course, they’re singing all over the place in Western Oregon right now, yet snow and freezing temperatures are predicted for next week. Sigh.) Classic singing pose on the cattail. Nice wing spread, showing the red patches. I’m sure you’ll have other chances to get a shot more to your liking, but this one works.
I certainly wouldn’t complain about it being too close. This is a very classic looking pose by these guys. Great wing position, head angle, and a look at the red patches on both wings. That you got him calling is the icing on the cake. Well done.
Hi Jim
I am still working on photographing a Red-wing Blackbird with something like the quality of black control I see in this photograph. A singing Red-wing Blackbird, singing and sitting on a cat tail, with good feather detail and eye contact, is always a good day.
Peter
I think this is simply gorgeous – and gorgeous in its simplicity. I love the level of detail from the soft light. For me, the room in the frame is perfect – tight enough to show off the detail in the bird and cattails, but not feeling crowded in the frame. Balance feels just right.
