Sage Grouse at Sunrise

Gallery: AvianPosted August 3, 2010290 views23 comments

Another sage grouse photo from Malheur NWR this spring. This was made our second morning on the lek. We had full on backlight as the sun cleared the horizon. This male was performing in the best spot for the light, I just waited and hoped for him to turn so that his fanned tail glowed in the light.

Canon 40D, 600mm & 1.4x, ISO 640, 1/640 @ f8

All your comments and suggestion very much apprecited.

Ken Archer

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Benjamin DeHaven on August 3, 2010 at 5:34 PM

Head detail/brightness leaves something to be desired. I love the depth of field on this and the glowing feathers are fabulous. Personally, I might like to see the bird a bit more centered than he is (but then again I might not like it after seeing it). Overall, great catch!!!

Registered on May 31, 2010, 26 Posts, 53 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 3, 2010 at 5:35 PM

Gorgeous, Ken. Great use of backlight.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on August 3, 2010 at 5:58 PM

Brilliant! The backlight worked really well here.

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

Comment posted by Jim Lou on August 3, 2010 at 6:25 PM

Backlighting make the feathers glow. Shallow DOF isolate the main subject from its surrounding.

Jim

Registered on August 3, 2010, 86 Posts, 273 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on August 3, 2010 at 6:25 PM

Backlight works well Ken. I also like the shared tones of the bird's tail and setting.

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

Comment posted by Ralph Kerr on August 3, 2010 at 6:33 PM

Nice one Ken. I guess I would like to see the tail feathers just a bit darker with the back lighting since the body is a bit dark anyway. Minor nit. Nice capture

Registered on January 30, 2007, 369 Posts, 852 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on August 3, 2010 at 6:39 PM

Backlighting is the perfect treatment for this bird when the plumage is like that. The only thing I dislike about it is the OOF (lens flare?) area on the birds right leg.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Mitch Erwin on August 3, 2010 at 8:13 PM

Ken you achieved what you were looking for VERY WELL! I'm not one for cloning, but I might suggest a clone of the OOF plant intruding into the lower right side of the bird. To me it seems like it might be perceived as flare too. Wonderful image!

Registered on April 24, 2006, 98 Posts, 656 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on August 3, 2010 at 8:59 PM

Ken,

I like the setting, the flared out tail and the comp, I would ideally like to see a bit more detail in the face, you might be able to bring some out in raw, but I really like the backlighting too.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on August 3, 2010 at 9:01 PM

I really like the complimentary colors in this shot Ken, and the bird's pose too. DOF is perfect as others have mentioned. To me, the tail feathers a just a bit bright and the bird's head a bit dark. With some work, I think you might be able to even this out a bit, making it a strong image IMO.

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

Comment posted by Angela McCain on August 3, 2010 at 10:27 PM

Great use of backlighting on these tail feathers. Well done. I like the composition with the bird off center. Shallow DOF is perfect in this setting.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on August 3, 2010 at 10:42 PM

I agree the backlighting is very nice & makes this image very interesting. It appears this is a good image file that could easily be improved by slightly toning down the backlighting effect on the tail while providing a bit more detail in the dark face. The eyes are lost here and bringing them back a little would make a dramatic improvement IMO.

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

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on August 4, 2010 at 12:26 AM

Beautiful photo Ken. The backlit tail feathers create a wonderful aura and reveal another aspect of the species form. I suggest a little fill light in the face area though. Very cool photo. I would love to have been there.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on August 4, 2010 at 7:47 AM

It has all been said.

Jagdeep Rajput

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on August 4, 2010 at 8:03 AM

Large image is amazing Ken - the backlighting on the tail is stunning

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Chris Ross on August 4, 2010 at 8:44 AM

Very nice, the backlight shows off those tail feathers perfectly.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 403 Posts, 2729 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on August 4, 2010 at 10:40 AM

I like this a lot. The backlighting really works for me - on the surrounding plants as well as the tail.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 4, 2010 at 7:01 PM

I reallly like your comp and the lighting coming through the tail, sweet shot Ken

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on August 4, 2010 at 7:07 PM

Wow, that's some glow Ken! I don't think I've ever seen a presentation like this and it's pretty special. If this were mine I think I'd experiment with the suggestions to tone down some of the tail and/or trying to bring out more facial detail. But that's a lot of manipulation and I very well might just come back to this presentation. Either way it's very striking.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 5, 2010 at 4:26 AM

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I think I will give this one a little more attention.

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by May Haga on August 5, 2010 at 7:26 PM

Exciting moment beautifully captured Ken.
May

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

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on August 7, 2010 at 1:57 AM

Just read all the comments and I hope to see this one posted again with a bit more facial detail. Apart from that I think the composition and the lighting is just beautiful and the OOF spot on the leg doesn't bother me at all personally...that's what you get in grass... BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Ingrid.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 30, 2010 at 7:12 AM

Cool shot back at ya Ken, I especially like the back lit tail here..
Nice shot

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