Murmuration of Starlings Roosting

[PixelRabbit]

We have an amazing murmuration of Starlings, RWBBs and Common Grackles, there are hundreds of them and this time of year they all gather at the river at sunset for a bath, then they roost in the trees until the sun dips below the horizon and they take off and go to roost for the night in a nearby woods. While the autumn colours are glorious I converted to black and white because this is all about the birds.

Would love to hear your thoughts, thanks or taking a look!

IMG_8050bw-1 by Judi, on Flickr




IMG_8104bw-1 by Judi, on Flickr

 

[baturn]

Very cool! What an interesting way to show this.

 

[Derrel]

I really like the first shot and the way it fills the space. I think it might appear more striking with an enclosing border around the image.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Thanks Brian I've shot these birds so many ways, trying to get the whole murmuration in one shot feels like a fools errand so far, with a wide enough focal length the birds become sooooo tiny and really get lost so at this point getting bits and pieces of the flock is the way to go until I figure out what to do with all of them together lol
Here is a shot of a bunch of them taking off, this is about 1/4 of the flock if that...

IMG_7945-2 by Judi, on Flickr

 

[PixelRabbit]

Thanks D! Good point, it kinda gets lost and the framing becomes a bit of a moot point when shown on white....

 

[Derrel]

Thanks D! Good point, it kinda gets lost and the framing becomes a bit of a moot point when shown on white....

It has an almost digital infrared look, like Lightoom's infrared look...the vegetation looks very light, very delicate. I KNOW this would look great if it were matted on a light, 18% gray matte board.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Thanks D! Good point, it kinda gets lost and the framing becomes a bit of a moot point when shown on white....

It has an almost digital infrared look, like Lightoom's infrared look...the vegetation looks very light, very delicate. I KNOW this would look great if it were matted on a light, 18% gray matte board.

As I noted in the OP the leaves are changing and the trees are glorious vibrant yellows and oranges, I wanted the "quality" of them to remain but I wanted it to be secondary to the bird silhouettes. In the conversion I applied a yellow filter and bumped the yellow sensitivity a bit to up their exposure but not lose that ... luminosity then finished it off with a slight selenium filter. I'm putting this in to be printed so I will carry your thoughts forward!