White Wagtail

Gallery: AvianPosted October 18, 2009120 views15 comments

D300, 300mm f/4 + 1.7x tc, handheld
ISO 400, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec
Photo taken June 24, 2009 in Iceland. Full frame, minor adjustments using LR2 and PS3. I posted another Wagtail photo recently in which the BG was very nice but the tail was OOF. Here the tail is in focus, but the BG is not as nice.
Comments and suggestions most welcome.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on October 18, 2009 at 8:26 PM

Spot on with the bird. Just excellent detail, a nice slight head turn and catch light. I don't know what you can do with the bg, especially the dark OOF area on the RH side, but I would be mighty tempted to fill it in.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on October 18, 2009 at 8:39 PM

Wonderful exposure and detail and I like the bg just as it is. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Drew Fulton on October 18, 2009 at 9:14 PM

David,

Cool image and pretty much perfect for me. I like the background though the orange lichen is a little eye catching. Very nice.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 43 Posts, 357 Comments

Comment posted by Whum on October 18, 2009 at 9:20 PM

Very nice shot of this bird. Really like the setting too.

Registered on June 6, 2007, 131 Posts, 696 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 18, 2009 at 10:14 PM

Very nice wagtail - wonderfully sharp and detailed. Great pose.

I have no problem with the background.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on October 18, 2009 at 11:41 PM

David, I am not bothered by the bg at all. Nice capture of this fellow. If it bothers you that bad (not sure why it does), you can always selectively do a lens blur on it in PS.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 19, 2009 at 2:07 AM

Very nice image David, the bg is fine with me, an excellent exposure with this black and white bird. I´d prefer just a little more space.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on October 19, 2009 at 6:10 AM

Excellent study of a wagtail David - really good detail and the background's fine IMO

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on October 19, 2009 at 6:27 AM

I like the pose and detail. Perhaps try lightening the darker/midtone areas a tad?

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on October 19, 2009 at 11:57 AM

Very nice shot, David. I like the pose, the BG and the details too.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on October 19, 2009 at 2:11 PM

David,

I see nothing wrong or distracting about the background here. I love the pose, your exposure, the great details, light and textures of the rock the bird is perched on.

Very well done and technically excellent image.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on October 19, 2009 at 6:46 PM

Great look at this wagtail David. I like the BG and the perch area. Great exposure on the bird with super detail in the larger version.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on October 19, 2009 at 9:38 PM

Nice clear, very detailed image of this bird, David. It looks like he is posing for you! Background is fine to me except for the orange lichen. I'd clone it out or at least tone it down more.