All the identifying features point to this being a Swainson’s Thrush; prominent eye ring, whitish throat bordered by a dark brown stripe on each side, russet-colored back and wings. This little guy loved raw, blanched peanuts. I haven’t seen him now for several days. Probably continued his northward journey.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm IS USM @ 220mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 1000, Hand Held. Processed in ACR and PSE 2020 for exposure, sharpness, and cropping. Topaz De-noise applied.
What a beautiful shot! The detail is exceptional to my eye. Not an expert on Swainson’s but its interesting to see a thrush without wing bars. I think this is a great image. Only feedback would be to consider burning the white rock he’s standing on as its pretty overpowering in the scene. There’s a leaf creeping in on the left side of the frame that could be easily removed. The aspect ratio is very personal to people, but I’d be tempted to crop a bit from the bottom as the rock he’s standing on carries a lot of real estate in the frame and again is a bit overpowering for men eye. Regardless, this is a great shot and I’d be thrilled to have this in my portfolio.
This is excellent…the pose showing those ID features really brings it to life as a distinct species. We have…either wood or hermit thrushes here…I forget which and so maybe I can try for some shots. They’re not very shy.
Me too @Kris_Smith! I love seeing birds feed…for us, the local bear population prevents us from having feeders out. They will bring it down in a second and trash your backyard. It’s best they get their food the “regular” way so we choose not to “feed” them with our birdseed
Excellent pose, head turn, and setting. You did a very good job on the detail and I really like the eye contact. Could it be a better image? The dark oval above the head of the bird draws my eye away. I think you could also darken the lighter areas on the perch. I think it would be a challenge to get rid of the dark oval on the leaf but you could do it using the healing brush very selectively and carefully. Despite the small issues, I think this is one of your better images.
Hi Terry
You Thrush is read for its close up. The Thrush has vary nice coloring and detail. The eye sells the photo. As for cropping, I think you could look at cutting the rock in half and slide the Thrush a little to the left. There must be something in ACR or PSE that can lighten that dark spot.
Nice photograph.
Peter
This is what I would do. Basically, I did a small crop to decenter the position of the thrush. I use the patch tool to remove the dark spots. I darkened the white on the granite? And then I brightened the bird a tad.
An excellent image, Terry. Great pose and I like the way the perch mimics the bird colors albeit a bit more brightly. I also really like the leaves coming down from above. I do think David’s rework addresses most of the minor issues that others raised and is a good idea of where this image might go with a bit of extra processing work. Well done.
Thanks @Jim_McGovern@Vanessa_Hill@Kris_Smith@David_Schoen@Dennis_Plank. I appreciate and value all your comments/critiques/suggestions. I like the rework you did @David_Schoen, with the exception of the rock. Whereas mine might be a bit bright, your rework is a bit dark, IMO. Maybe somewhere in between? Thanks, again, all.
