Western Scrub Jay

I thought I'd try one without using the Shadow/Highlights option.

Just posting it as is for lighting. My hands did quaver as I skipped

the lighting adjustment, but I survived. Now what do you think?

 

 

BTW, if we leave the french doors to the backyard open, this bird

will fly into the houee and sit in the fake ficus tree. I have to

toss peanuts on the deck to get him out....and I have two dogs that

stare in disbelieve at the ficus tree.

Very impressive capture of this lovely bird and with perfect exposure here , details and so colorful

 

 

Wishing you all of the best my friend

Love the shot....lighting is good. Love the story also! I took a quick peek at your portfolio.....wonderful!

William, this is a very nice exercise. Composition, focus, and DOF are nice, good background too. The large twig on the lower right is a bit distracting but not too much so. Light appears harsh with (almost) overexposed whites on the bird's body. Contrast is harsh and would benefit from shadows adjustment. I assume that is what you expected as a comment, isn't it. I guess my major objection is that I cannot see the bird's right eye but an almost totally black hole their. Looking very closely, I realize that there is detail there but not visible enough from a distance. Regards, Dieter. PS: no rating

I appreciate the comments. And Dieter I agree with all your comments too! That big branch in the lower right gets worse below the crop that is why part of the bird's tail is missing. (And I just lectured Mary Fran about cropping tails!) By adjusting the lighting, the bird looks like a fully visible Scrub Jay...and I thought, geez, this is boring. I thought maybe an artistic rut was developing, so I went with the fully contrasted version. Have you noticed how you can get to the point that you can recognize a photographer by the photo? Even the ones who do abstracts all have a modus operandus. Just an attempt to move off TDC. I'll correct back to reality with the next post.

TDC?

oops, an obscure acronym. TDC = Top Dead Center. Common term in the days when you manually set the timing of the plugs on a car. The flywheel had a mark on it at TDC and you advanced or retarded the distributor from this mark. Showing my age.

never heard of TDC either...As for this shot, I understand what you're thinking here. We do get into ruts sometimes and that's not always a bad thing, but stepping out once in a while can be a really good thing. I like this shot because of the bird itself...you've caught him with his head cocked slightly...looking a little quizzical. That adds interest IMO. Also, the fact that you have to look through things to get to him is so real...wildlife is often behind a branch, in the shadows, etc. I would like to see his right eye better, but it doesn't bother me that his tail isn't completely shown. The branch in front is dark enough to be only somewhat distracting and short of doing a lot of cloning I'm not sure what you could do to make that any better. It's not a deal breaker, though. Besides, these guys are really quick and I have yet to get a really good clear shot of one when we're in Colorado! :)

 

Leslie

When they put computer chips in cars, TDC became obsolete. But if you see someone with a timing light working on an old car, he or she will know the expression. I kinda like this contrasty shot too. Thanks for the comments.