Western Bluebird Pair

I have a lot of pictures of Bluebirds, but very few with a pair where both were in the same focal plane and I didn’t have to do any post processing magic to make them both look in focus. This is the same perch and session as the Juvenile I posted a few days ago.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Anything. I did little besides crop this and enhance feather texture a touch.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

The composition was really difficult for this one. I didn’t have any additional canvas on the right and I thought about adding some there, but it didn’t look right. finally, I lopped off the left a bit and added to the top. Not sure if it works and would be interested in your opinions.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Sony a6500, FE200-600 @ 324 mm, tripod with ballhead and Sidekick mount, f/8, 1/1000, iso 2500, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Neat Image for noise reduction, Topaz Detail 3 for enhancing feather structure (I had to back way off my normal settings to avoid making the female’s plumage look overdone). Cropped from the left and added canvas to the top. Final size is 4702x4454… Taken June 16th at 7:30 am. Taken at a mealworm feeder.

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3 Likes

Very nice capture Dennis, lucky you they both decided to land together in that position. IMO, I think how you have managed the composition works really well.

Really nice image, Dennis. I would not have left that much room at the top, but that’s just a minor preference. Well done!

Nice one Dennis - the composition looks good to me. I like the diagonal going through the frame and the room top and bottom works for me. Nice poses on both birds with good eye contact and sharpness. Well done.

Wonderful to get the two together, both sharp and with matching poses. The colors look perfect – it’s so easy to overdo the male’s blues. My taste would be to not have so much room at the top – I’d think about cropping back halfway to the female’s head. I’d also crop a bit more from the left to get rid of the small detail on the branch at the corner, which would also avoid the perch exiting the frame right at the corner. Small nits for a wonderful image!

Nice portrait. I agree with all the raves and suggestions of others.
I am struck by how unusual it is to get a full look at the back colors, good sample of the breast colors, and eye contact with catchlight. Very uniqie