Sprucing Up

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

This is one I ran across from fall of 2017. The Chestnut-backed Chickadees were about through with the fall molt, but you can still see how ratty the tail looks and from this angle it looks like the wing feathers aren’t fully grown out. The bird was fresh from the bath.

20170924Copse_7D20057-Editlarge%20npn
20170924Copse_7D20057-Editlarge%20npn1400×1200 996 KB

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Anything you might notice. I removed one small branch sticking out the back of the fork and rather severely out of focus.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

I used a fairly sever curves layer on a midtone luminosity mask of the chickadee and added a bit more saturation than I normally would to get the bird to really pop. Did I go too far?

Any pertinent technical details:

7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, tripod with ball head and sidekick, f/7.1, 1/320, iso 1600, aperture priority, pattern metering, -1 EV to keep from blowing out those white cheek patches. Taken from my permanent blind. The perch was above my bathing pools. Processed in LR & PS CC. Noise reduction using Topaz Labs AI Clear.

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
2

Cute pose, very nice Bg, perch a tad large but nice closeup look at these little birds.

3

Delightful little fellow - nice pose and love the ruffled feathers!
Sandy

4

This is a delightful image, indeed, Dennis. Such wonderful pose, and great detail and color.

5

I love this wet look detail and the fluffed up feathers. Beautiful shot. I don’t think you went too far with the saturation, but I’m also not familiar with the colors of this bird. I just like the photo. :slight_smile:

6

Hi Dennis,

The saturation on the chickadee looks good and I like the texture of the wet feathers. I like this one as presented…Jim

7

Wow. Just gorgeous. I have some catching up to do. lol