Portrait of a Blue Jay

[PixelRabbit]

Took some time to shoot the birds, its been a while since I've shot them!
This was my fav. Where I am shooting from is better for small birds, lots if vines that get in the way. There was no way to get all of him so I went for a portrait.

Would love to hear your thoughts especially on composition and processing.
Thanks for taking a look!



IMG_6556 by Judi Smelko, on Flickr

 

[coastalconn]

Wow, Judi, I can't believe no one has commented on this. It's beautiful! Nice composition, catch light and feather detail! Might benefit from a tad of noise reduction in the background. What is the weird ghosting to the left of the bird? Was it shot through a window?

 

[Designer]

Excellent! Congratulations!

 

[Mully]

I like this shot ...I would lighten the whites just a little, and get rid of some of the noise in the background along with some ghosting.

 

[pgriz]

I'm jealous. Nice capture. I assume that you didn't have the 500mm f/2.8 at your disposal and you had to adapt what you had. That's a neat posing trick getting him(her?) to look over the shoulder.

 

[bunny99123]

I love it and jealous, too. So, hard for me to get bird photo's.

 

[Mitchell_S]

Pretty amazing great job

 

[WesternGuy]

Nice capture - colours are great and you have a catchlight in the eye - something those of us who do a lot of bird photogrpahy strive for in each and every shot. I also like that the background is OOF and there are very few distractions in it - good job!

WesternGuy

 

[PixelRabbit]

Wow, Judi, I can't believe no one has commented on this. It's beautiful! Nice composition, catch light and feather detail! Might benefit from a tad of noise reduction in the background. What is the weird ghosting to the left of the bird? Was it shot through a window?

Thanks so much Coastal On weekends the forum seems to work at a snail's pace Good suggestion about the BG. I tend to get tunnel vision on the critter and forget about the rest Yes, I'm shooting these through a window. Didn't even notice the ghosting but now I can't stop seeing it! I shall fix that

Excellent! Congratulations!

Thanks Designer

I like this shot ...I would lighten the whites just a little, and get rid of some of the noise in the background along with some ghosting.

Thanks Mully Agree about the BG now that I "see" it and I'm going to play with it, I'll check the whites at the same time.

I'm jealous. Nice capture. I assume that you didn't have the 500mm f/2.8 at your disposal and you had to adapt what you had. That's a neat posing trick getting him(her?) to look over the shoulder.

Thanks Paul oh how I wish I had a 500mm f/2.8 **swoon**!! I do like my 18-200 though BUT I'm starting to feel limited by it a bit so slowly starting to shop....
I'm a bird whisperer didn't ya know??

I love it and jealous, too. So, hard for me to get bird photo's.

Thanks Bunny! Keep shooting! It took a year for me to learn how to get this shot

Pretty amazing great job

Thanks Mitchell

Nice capture - colours are great and you have a catchlight in the eye - something those of us who do a lot of bird photogrpahy strive for in each and every shot. I also like that the background is OOF and there are very few distractions in it - good job!

WesternGuy

Thanks WesternGuy! I'm kinda glad I laid off shooting the birds for a while. Coming back and shooting them with fresh eyes and clear mind was great.