Shaftail Finch - (enlarge)

Nice. I like the composition and the use of DOF. Such a pretty bird too.

There were some beautiful birds in the 'Jewels Of The Sky Aviary' at

Butterfly World in Florida. Of the prettiest were the Hummingbirds but

I either could not get close enough or they were just too fast for me.

There were a few Finches I was able to get captures of but they were

often in an awkward place for me to get a capture. This fellow was in

a very shadowed area under tropical plants. There was a fence

around this area that wasn't overly high, but I also had to curve my

body around a tree to get this capture of his face. Needless to say I

did not get excellent focus. There is no real detail of the feathers but

I managed to get a 'sparkle' in his eye. They were such cute little

birds. There were other Finches that were very colourful. However

they were located quite high overhead. Gouldian Finches, native to

Australia were the most beautiful. I have a few captures to work with

but the detail is not that great either. One day I would like to return

with another lens I have and see how I do. (any visits or comments

are always welcome, with sincere thanks, Gail)

Sincere thanks for stopping by Chuck, good to hear that you enjoyed this capture. They are such cute birds. Finches are among my favorites here in Canada as well. We used to get more when we lived near Lake Ontario. We are a bit further North and not many visit our backyard.

Some wonderful colors on this beautiful bird! That black patch on his throat and around the eye and that little bit of catchlight you caught, . . . just great!

In looking at the EXIF data I would have thought the DOF would have been much narrower but, then again I'm thinking of much closer shooting distances in my experience with the 100mm Macro.

Beautiful Bird Gail & you've shown us well!

Cheers always,

Jim j.

thank you for your visit Jim. I was a bit unsteady on my feet as well, so I am surprised I got this one at all. I just wish I had obtained more detail in the feathers.

sincere regards, Gail

A really beautiful shot with very nice colors, lighting and details, Gail!

Hi Gail,

This is a very appealing image. Any challenges you may have been facing on making this shot you have turned into advantages. I see what you mean about the detail issues, but they did not concern this viewer. You presentation takes this from just a scientific rendering to one with a deeper aesthetic. The background is what really sells this for me, aside from the obvious beauty of the subject! The soft, gentle textures that envelope this fine creature (especially the white leave/petals upper right) really create a nice atmosphere.

Tim

This must be seen and admire all details and colors of this very nice bird,I like also right part of bg how it looks.

sincerely radu

I've never seen or heard of one before , but it makes a very interesting subject . I would definately make it a must for a revisit . Bill

Beautifully colored bird. Don't think I have ever seen one like this.  Interesting bg. Is it a PS treatment?   AJ

This is a beautiful bird.  Glad you were able to catch the eye glint.  

Hi Gail,

  Beautiful bird with wonderful colors & creative background.  Take care, Patsy

Unique and beautiful, a gift from God. Wonderful and very well done. 

Love it, amiga!

I've seen a lot of bird pictures and many with details sharper than this. But they sacrifice emotional depth for what they gain in verisimilitude. They are to be admired and they are indeed admirable but you never get the feeling that you have really entered into their world. Here we see a finch as an impressionist might have imagined it, accessible to all who have the heart to appreciate it. We need no more clarity than what the picture already offers.

(later) Tim's comments about the background echo my own thoughts.

I think where this image scores is with the very sharp eye contact. That is I believe what most bird photographers strive for.  I think there is enough colour and detail in this bird to make it authentic as a photograph, but the background takes it a stage further and it becomes more art like.  The combination renders the bird to stand out and it would make a great print! 

I know just how difficult it is to capture these fidgety fluttery creatures as recent expeditions have left me wishing I'd coated the branches of the nearby tree's with super glue : - )  Joking of course! 

Very well done Gail

Best Regards 

Alf 

My sincere appreciation for that lovely critique. I was quite nervous about posting this image. I knew I got better focus on the beak and eye, because that part of the bird was nearer to me, but I had hoped for more detail in the body of the bird. I had chosen a higher ISO because it was darker where I took this image. I found the background on the right was not terribly interesting, some predominately brighter areas from the brilliant sun from up above. They were a bit distracting to me, and I don't know if the higher ISO was the cause of disturbing coloured artifacts. I would call them 'noise' but not sure if I have the right term. There was this lovely tropical flower hanging in another area that I thought might make for a more interesting image. I decided where to place it in the background on the right, then erased the remainder from the bird, tree, etc. to the left. I added a texture over the entire image and erased it from the bird and branch it's right foot is on. A Soft Light Blending Mode allowed just enough of the texture to make the Finch stand out more. I am pleased you liked the background as did Tim.

• THANK YOU also, for the new word I learned from you today. VERISIMILITUDE, such a beautiful word. I  will remember it for the future :), with sincere appreciation, Gail

Yes, the Finches don't stay still for long!!! And especially when there is 'food' around. They were busily eating from the hanging seed pods(on left). There were also 'signs' identifying the different birds near these pods and actually were quite undesirable in any of the images. I think I lucked out with this cute little guy for a few seconds. I got one more capture of him, and then he was off!!! My Mother loved birds and butterflies so much. She would have thought this place was a bit of 'Heaven'. I wish she could have seen it. Times like that, I often feel she is there with me anyways. :)

many thanks for your visit and very kind critique Alf. Wishing you the best always, Gail

Dear friend, I think this picture is great the way it's. The bird pop up very well with that nice background. I see this pic as a beautiful piece of art. I really like it Gail!!!

Warmest regards,

LuDa

Sincere thanks for your visit Luisa, I do appreciate your kind words. Of course you must know this was taken on the day we visited Butterfly World together, that in of itself makes this image special to me!!!

talk soon!!! Gail

Hi Gail,  I seem to always be late in ringing in on your images.  This is a wonderful image, extemely sharp in the head where definition matters the most.  Also, the exposure on the white head is quite good, you captured white with excellent definition and no blow out.  Fine shot, Gail.  Be well. Larry

Well done, my dear friend: a nice model for a clever artist!

Hard to find anything that hasn't been written yet. But I agree, the image is a good one. You nail the timing and composition. And the post-processing worked out real well as well.

that is a beautiful bird Gail.....i like the artsy effect you used on the background to make the bird stand out.....nicely done

Very good work: the very sharp focus on the eye and the beautiful blurring treatment of the background make this photo outstanding. Compliments and best regards.