I live in an area where there’s no hunting and I get to enjoy the relaxed local wildlife showing up. This guy was part of a flock that came thru our backyard and he decided to take a little break. I imitated a turkey’s call with a “putt-putt” sound to get him to turn his head for me. Click.S
Should I have cloned out some of the BG clutter? Cropping?
Z9, Nikon 200-500 lens, monopod, 1/2500th, f 8.0, 750mm, ISO 12800, cropped to 4072 x 3036, Photo AI
A fine look at this guy, Dave. The feather layers captivated me right away. I don’t mind the background at all. The colors add to the scene, for me. Perhaps just a tad bright, but not distracting.
Nicely done.
Wonderful image, Dave. I am so happy to see he survived the Thanksgiving season! Great idea to get him to turn his head a bit. Nicely done.
Terrific look at these wary and secretive birds. I especially like that he’s sitting down, that’s pretty unusual. You’ve caught so much color on this guy - I love the slight blue iridescence in their feathers. Agreed that how you got him to turn was pretty crafty and just makes this shot. The background is a trifle bright, but what can you do? I think you’ve toned things down well and it doesn’t look gray or forced.
Nice portrait of this beautiful bird, and (as others commented already), the head turn makes it special.
The crop is fine, I like to see something of the surroundings. Nice colors as well. No problem at all with the BG.
Hi Dave, nice portrait and I think the setting adds some interest as well.
Lovely and unusual capture! No nits from me. Crop and BG look good, with pleasing colors that are not blown out.
The ones around here will spook at the slightest move. If I had tried a shot like this, he would have been in the next county before I could hit the shutter.
Ha! They seem to be semi-tame here. They’re not hunted, and they are fond of pecking on the birdseed under our hanging feeder. They’re fairly friendly.
I got a few head shots a couple of years ago when I was in my blind shooting birds at the feeder and several young toms wandered by. I saw a head waving around and managed to aim at it and get a couple of interesting shots before they panicked and ran.
I can’t imagine them being hunted here, either – beyond a small neighborhood of about a dozen 5-10 acre parcels, we’re surrounded on 3 sides by undeveloped land and nature preserves. But maybe that’s the problem. There is a flock on the edge of town that seems to be tamer, but with poor prospects for a natural setting for photography.
