Lapland Longspur

Gallery: AvianPosted October 16, 2010204 views15 comments

Olympus E-3, 300mm x 2.0TC, prone on ground
f7.1, 1/320, ISO800

A cloudy, dark day, alas, causing a bit of noise in the blacks, but overall I'm reasonably satisfied with this shot. Pinnell Mountain Trail, White Mountains, July 2010.

Cropped to 75% of original. Adjustments to Levels. Selective sharpening.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on October 16, 2010 at 1:27 AM

Nice work Jim! Love the posture of the bird, catchlight and the over all habitat. Blacks look very good. Hats off to you for getting down and dirty to achieve this perfect angle.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on October 16, 2010 at 2:46 AM

Sweet Photo Jim!!! Great pose and nice habitat!

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on October 16, 2010 at 4:41 AM

Good pose, eye contact and inclusion of habitat. An interesting bird too.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on October 16, 2010 at 7:49 AM

Really nice low angle and I love the habitat in this shot Jim. Tip of tail to neck looks nice and sharp. Looks like you may have just started to run out of DOF at the head as it is just a bit less sharp than the rest of the bird, but I very pleasing image non the less.

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on October 16, 2010 at 7:53 AM

Great pose, interesting looking bird, lovely comp (especially your use of DOF), JIm. The eye is nicely visible with a faint catchlight. There is practically no detail in the blacks. So, you might try decreasing their exposure while maintaining the exposure of the eye as is (to ensure it stays visible). This should lessen the faint noise in the blacks. You could enhance the catchlight a tad too. These are all nits. Very fine image, Jim.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 16, 2010 at 11:09 AM

Nice to see such a bright and well dressed specimen. I like the setting and composition.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on October 16, 2010 at 11:34 AM

Great angle, and I'd love to see this bird in breeding colours, which doesn't happen when they come here in very small numbers.

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

Comment posted by Sally King on October 16, 2010 at 3:37 PM

Wow. That is a gorgeous image. Love the details in the feathers and the pose. Nice environment.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 16, 2010 at 5:33 PM

Cool habitat and I like that you can see the whole bird with the tail twisted out like that - a little light on the eye is key too.

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on October 16, 2010 at 5:41 PM

Jim,

The Longspur is delightful, you caught a great pose and headturn here. The noise in the darks is minimal and I wouldn't worry about it. Lovely setting and I love how the feathers are raised on the bird's head. Well done.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on October 16, 2010 at 6:23 PM

Nice one Jim - really like the setting and pose of the bird

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on October 16, 2010 at 11:08 PM

Nice, low angle on this shot, Jim. Great head turn and I really like that cocked tail. Great image.

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

Comment posted by Monica Siri on October 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM

What a beautiful bird, Jim. Great low angle, detail and setting. Very well done!

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

Comment posted by Ronnie Gaubert on October 17, 2010 at 5:00 PM

Hi Jim,
Excellent eye level presentation with good detail. The overall setting and lighting are nice. The background is diffused just enough not to be an issue.
Ronnie

Registered on November 1, 2003, 810 Posts, 3495 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on October 20, 2010 at 4:55 PM

Missed this one Jim. Really nice habitat shot sir.

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