Superb starling

Mikhal · Sep 27, 2018

Hi first time posting an image, this was taken at the Milwaukee zoo. Hopefully this is the right place to post it.

crimbfighter · Sep 27, 2018

Mikhal said:
View attachment 163694 Hi first time posting an image, this was taken at the Milwaukee zoo. Hopefully this is the right place to post it.

Hey hey, a fellow Wisconsinite! Welcome! This would be the correct gallery for the image. He's definitely giving you the stink eye.. it's got some great direct light which helps bring out the sharpness and detail. I might suggest trying to shoot a little wider so you dont cut off the tail and feet and maybe recrop to eliminate the sign. The DOF does a nice job isolating the bird.

It might also help those giving C&C if you post the gear and settings used for the respective images. Just a suggestion!

BrentC · Sep 27, 2018

I agree with crimefighter. Great exposure and light to get the colours and detail just needed to be framed better and sign cropped out.

Jeff15 · Sep 28, 2018

Nice one, Starlings look different on your side of the pond.....

Mikhal · Sep 28, 2018

Thanks for the comments, compliments, and the welcome. I didn't have much time to actually compose the picture as the bird landed right beside me and was gone about 2 seconds later. I'll keep in mind about cropping out the sign next time, I can see where that can detract from the subject.

Jeff, I'm pretty sure our starlings are similar with the iridescent black? This one was in an aviary at a zoo and is native to Africa I believe, I was actually surprised when I read that sign that it was a starling, I kind of feel ripped off that ours are just black lol

The equipment and the specs: Nikon D3400, 70-300mm lens at 1/500 shutter speed, f4.8 iso560

BrentC · Sep 28, 2018

Jeff15 said:
Nice one, Starlings look different on your side of the pond.....

Our starlings are the exact same as yours. This is actually a Grackle not a starling. Should have mentioned that in my post above but forgot.

BrentC · Sep 28, 2018

Ok I stand corrected. This is an African Starling. Never seen one before. In North America our starlings are European Starlings. This looks very similar to our grackles but we don't get the brown colour.