I was out “chasing” a warbler oddity in a local neighbor park and could not pass up the opportunity to shoot this White-Crowned Sparrow basking and posing in the mid-morning sun on some Aloe branches. The black background was a wall in shadows.
I like the Aloe perch and the sore toe. What about the black background? I think it works pretty well with the gray breast and belly.
Nikon D7100, Nikkor Lens 200-500 @500 f 8 @1/2500, ISO 800, Handheld
Love the image. I may be partial but I love the black background.
being picky but what if you crop out the lower left. The high light drags my eye away from the bird.
Steve
Beautiful photo image. I also think the black background helps bring out the details of the bird.
Agree with @Steve_Rosendahl about cropping out the green highlight. While you’re at it, if you cropped out the upper leaf and the other bit of leaf it would raise this to a new level. Surgery to wing and tail might be tricky, though.
@Steve_Rosendahl @Dean_Salman @Mike_Friel Thanks for your comments and feedback on the image. I have another angle of the bird that has virtually no soft green highlights from a slightly different angle. The pose is a little more upright and does not have the wing feathers. And for that reason, I am not sure I like it as much. But will probably work on the “surgery” you suggested Mike.
I actually prefer the first image to the second image but I would still crop in from the left side and make this more of a rule of thirds image. Nice job on the detail.
On my, Stephen! This is a beautiful portrait of this little bird! Love the curve of the aloe plant that he’s on. Like everyone has already said just a slight crop from the left and it will be perfect! Great capture!
