Mountain Bluebird female

Gallery: AvianPosted March 19, 2010464 views38 comments

I have spent a LOT of time in the blind trying to get a good flight shot of a Mountain Bluebird. The male has not cooperated, but I had a bit of luck with the female.
D90, 300f4, f8, 1/1250, iso 400, -0.3 step, natural light on a bright mostly cloudy afternoon.
Backyard blind, approaching a set up perch.
Added some canvas top and bottom then cropped to vertical. Levels, curves, a little bit of saturation, and sharpening.
All comments appreciated.

Comments

38 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 19, 2010 at 7:36 PM

Dan, this is super. Great approach shot. Great sharpness everywhere it is important. Love the colors, light, and BG too. I agree, this would be better as a horizontal shot IMO.

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

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on March 19, 2010 at 7:55 PM

Rich and Ron, this is a quick and dirty conversion to Landscape to get an idea how it would look. Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Elwood on March 19, 2010 at 8:02 PM

Dan the repost is superb!! Big congrats!!

Registered on January 15, 2010, 101 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on March 19, 2010 at 8:41 PM

Dan, a super winner here!! Just amazing. I love the wing, the detail and those beautiful blues.

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

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on March 19, 2010 at 8:42 PM

Your efforts paid off. I like the horizontal much better. Very nice

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 19, 2010 at 8:59 PM

Just excellent!
Sharp detail, great pose, and nice BG.

Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 19, 2010 at 9:05 PM

To my eye you achieved exactly the right amount of wingtip blur! Nice work.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on March 19, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Excellent. I prefer the landscape. You have found perhaps the perfect background to show off the beautiful plumage. Keep em coming!!

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 19, 2010 at 9:36 PM

Awesome! The landscape is even better.

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

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on March 19, 2010 at 10:04 PM

Wow! Fantastic shot, Dan. Funny how time, effort and determination can lead to... "luck". Horizontal crop works better in my opinion.

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on March 19, 2010 at 10:09 PM

I love this Dan, very clean and simple "artsy" presentation with the bird and her detail complimented by the neutral BG. A great job IMO, I would mat and frame this as I'm sure it would look great enlarged.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on March 19, 2010 at 10:34 PM

Great capture!

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on March 19, 2010 at 10:53 PM

I prefer the repost, too! Great capture!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 19, 2010 at 11:13 PM

wow, Dan, I thought your last bluebird was the shot of the week. stunning sharpness and details here, with a great bg. I might prefer a horizontal here though--ok, just noticed the repost--I think just a hair more in front and you've got it. This is a spectacular shot!

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 19, 2010 at 11:42 PM

Gorgeous image, Dan. The body is incredibly crisp and there's just the right amount of blur in the wings and tail to suit my taste.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 20, 2010 at 12:03 AM

A beauty Dan!

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

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on March 20, 2010 at 1:36 AM

This is an outstanding shot, Dan! The horizontal format is far, far better than the original.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 20, 2010 at 1:39 AM

Amazing shot Dan - one vote for the landscape version. The detail in those spread wings is superb

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on March 20, 2010 at 5:15 AM

BRAVO!!!

Excellent shot, Dan. Beautiful capture, colors and details.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on March 20, 2010 at 5:33 AM

The beauty of an image ...A killer frame!

Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on March 20, 2010 at 6:30 AM

Wow, I was going to say that is probably the nicest bluebird picture I've seen anywhere, but let's not limit it to bluebirds. That is one of if not the most beautiful bird photo I've seen in my time here. Congrats Dan!!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 20, 2010 at 7:39 AM

Dan, this is absolutely the very best flight shot of a Mountain Bluebird I have ever seen!!! Amazing! Your persistence paid off sir. The detail, color and light in this are fantastic.

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

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on March 20, 2010 at 10:36 AM

Wow! just Wow! looks like your patience has really paid off. I think the horizontal crop is better but would be happy with both! The details, the wing position and the exceptionally clean background really make this image a winner. Very well done.

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Clayton Musgrove on March 20, 2010 at 11:23 AM

Terrific shot Dan! The wing position is perfect. Would love to see the male. Congrats on a great capture.
Clayton

Registered on February 6, 2010, 55 Posts, 235 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on March 20, 2010 at 12:56 PM

Excellent Dan. You always have good results with this species. The landscape works much better

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

Comment posted by Monica Siri on March 20, 2010 at 1:26 PM

Dan,
if the first is beautiful the repost is outstanding! Great capture!

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

Comment posted by Barry R. Byrd on March 20, 2010 at 2:22 PM

Superb capture

Registered on December 20, 2005, 136 Posts, 970 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on March 20, 2010 at 2:36 PM

Excellent! You really nailed it! Out of curiousity how many tries did it take to get one this perfect and sharp? I prefer the landscape version to the vertical crop.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on March 20, 2010 at 6:51 PM

Sweet shot, Dan. I tend to prefer the vertical but with a bit more room at bottom. Excellent work!

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by R. Melvin Park on March 20, 2010 at 8:15 PM

Very sweet Dan . I believe I prefer the repost. simply outstanding

R. Melvin Park

Registered on February 1, 2010, 21 Posts, 27 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 20, 2010 at 8:16 PM

This is smoking Dan! Excellent work

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on March 20, 2010 at 9:28 PM

Wonderful flight shot. And, I think I might vote for the landscape but both are great.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on March 21, 2010 at 5:42 AM

Wonderful! Great shot!

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on March 21, 2010 at 11:38 AM

A real beauty! Landscape has my vote, too! Congrats on a most wonderful shot! Sharon

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on March 21, 2010 at 5:11 PM

Dan,

My favorite of the two presentations would be the landscape, it has just enough room all the way around. Lovely natural colors, details & sharpness. I especially like the slightly open bill.

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

Comment posted by David Sparks on March 21, 2010 at 6:55 PM

Dan:
Outstanding! Your time in the blind paid HUGE dividends.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Bonar on March 21, 2010 at 10:00 PM

Awesome shot! Unbelieveable clarity and positioning! Very nice!

Registered on November 11, 2009, 25 Posts, 50 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 5, 2010 at 9:48 PM

Outstanding Dan! I've tried my share of small bird inflights, so I fully appreciate the degree of difficulty for this..The even light sure helped, perfect exposure.
Love this

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments