Tufted Titmouse

Gallery: AvianPosted February 22, 2010178 views10 comments

I photographed this tufted titmouse from my favorite blind back in December. It was actually taken only minutes apart from my black capped chicadee I posted a few months ago. Some days the conditions set up perfectly and it all comes together. All C&C welcome.

1DMIIN, 500f4, ISO640, f4.5, 1/200sec, fill flash @ -1

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Alex Mody on February 22, 2010 at 10:23 AM

This is a really nice image. The bird's pose and the nice background really come together in this one. One thing that bugs me just a tiny bit is that the bird is perched on the back side of the branch. If this is a set-up shot from your blind, you could try adjusting the perch so that it's pointing away from you rather than towards you. You then might find that the birds are landing in a way so that they're not obstructed at all by the perch. Please forgive me if you already knew that, though. Just trying to put my two cents in and give you more than a shallow "great image" comment. Once again, I really like this image. Good work!

Registered on December 25, 2007, 163 Posts, 1896 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on February 22, 2010 at 11:10 AM

A great smooth BG and a nice mossy perch Kirk . Its a beauty of a photo, but I'm seeing a little bit of lack of feather detail .. or did you use NR on the bird ?

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 22, 2010 at 11:21 AM

At this size in the frame and from a set up I expect to see a lot more feather detail. Like Nick I wonder if you've hit this with NR.

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

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on February 22, 2010 at 12:17 PM

Thanks Alex..I agree, a better perch angle would have improved this image. I'm not sure if this was a "setup" or not. I often just use the natural perches that surround the blind. I really appreciate you taking the time to provide an in depth critique!
Nick & Richard..No NR was used so I'm not sure why there is less than the desired amount of feather detail, especially in the chest? Perhaps the 1/200 sec? I could post a larger version to better appreciate the detail that is there but I hesitate to post such a large file on the internet for anyone to save:-(

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on February 22, 2010 at 3:25 PM

Very nice - I like the shared tones of the background perch and the bird's flanks.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on February 22, 2010 at 6:01 PM

Very pretty. Great open bg

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 22, 2010 at 7:19 PM

I very nice image Kirk. This is just too small an image and too small a bird for me to judge detail and the like. From the post I like the BG, bird, and perch. DOF look OK too given the f4.5 setting.

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

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on February 22, 2010 at 9:04 PM

What a beautiful titmouse, Kirk. That pose and perch are great and the background really compliments the titmouse, bringing out the subtle browns in it's plumage.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Andrew Sentipal on February 22, 2010 at 9:06 PM

Nice image. These guys are so hard to shoot as they light for such a short period of time.

Andrew

Registered on February 16, 2008, 200 Posts, 317 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 24, 2010 at 10:56 AM

Kirk,

I like the pose of the Titmouse, the muted colors in the background and how we can see the grip this bird has on the perch. At the size posted I am not comfortable evaluating sharpness & detail. I like the comp & eye contact though.

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