At the heron rookery, male redwing blackbirds were setting up their territories in the cattail marsh. Certain males puff up the red epaulets on the forewings while some like this bird leave them flat to the surface of the wing. I left everything in the frame as the upright cattail stems are essential to the scene.
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D500 600mm f4 (1/1250 sec at f8.0, ISO 3200, natural light) Levels, shadows & highlights, Hue & Saturation for reduction of cyans and blues in upper wingâŚJim
Is this a composite?
No
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This is a wonderful pose against that clean background. Iâm glad you got a sliver of red to give this some extra pop (though the shine on those upper wing feathers does that as well). I could see a very slight crop from the right, especially since the repetitive grass pattern doesnât continue behind the bird on that side (it feels âemptyâ over there), but in general itâs pretty close to perfect, Jim.
Wow, this image rings true. I would agree with @Max_Waugh last comment, ââŚitâs pretty close to perfectâ You really caught the territorial craziness with the wide eye gaped look of this one, a sensational expression on this Red-wing. Some fine shades in the black tones throughout. You had a great vantage point with your 600 mm. I like the comp and the crop as is. Nice work in processing for that creamy soft background. I donât know how far the reed stalks on the left are from the subject, but might see how they would look just little darker with a touch of texture rather than the three blocky white shadows. But that is pretty nitty of me. A beautiful bird image for sure, and a familiar Spring sight and sound for birders.
Amazing pose, Jim - and a very-well captured one of that matter. Love the soft tones in the image. I wouldnât change a thing. Congrats ! Cheers, Hans
Very dynamic image with superb diagonals. Excellent detail and exposure on the black plumage. I might clone out the reed just below the front of the lower wing.
Hi Jim
Your are at least four photographs up on me, All my shot came up with no detail black birds. The wind spans, detail in the blacks and eye contact are vary good. I agree leave the cat tails. Nice work
Peter
Ps
Did you use a spot meter on this shot?
Thank you @Max_Waugh , @Stephen_Stanton , @David_Schoen , @Hans_Overduin , and @peter for your comments and critiques. for @peter , I usually use matrix metering, but for this one I used Highlights Weighted metering with +2/3 compensation . It works perfectly for herons and egrets in flight on blue skies along with Auto ISO. I find that Lightroom slider adjustments for shadows and blacks work well for pulling out more details in dark areas tooâŚJim
