Mountain Bluebird Female

Gallery: AvianPosted March 22, 2011201 views20 comments

The bluebirds arrive in Montana in March, too early to miss a few good snowstorms.
D90, 300f4, iso320, 1/800, f9, beanbag, natural light while snowing.
Backyard blind, setup perch.
Comments and critiques requested and appreciated.

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on March 22, 2011 at 10:41 PM

Love the cheery open mouth and lifted wing pose, so animated. The white background is stunning imho. I have had the opportunity to photograph them in snow as well, what a treat!

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 22, 2011 at 11:08 PM

The master of the Mountain Bluebird returns!!! Dan, just another beauty of this species form you. I LOVE the HK look of this and the wings in this pose send it over the top. Terrific work!

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 22, 2011 at 11:41 PM

love your bluebirds, Dan. great bg here, and a sweet pose. techs are excellent as always. amazes me that you get these at 300mm--do you mind if I ask how you get them to visit your perches (water, tapes, something else?)? great color and detail.

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

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on March 23, 2011 at 12:33 AM

Brian, thanks for your kind comment.
I live in Mountain Bluebird habitat, open rangeland at 5000 feet elevation. I maintain 15 bluebird nest boxes that help hatch out dozens of bluebirds a year. I put out water. I feed them mealworms. And I spend lots of hours in a blind.
I know this is not pure nature photography. I do some of that too, and I much admire images taken in a natural setting without bait. I always disclose that I use a set up perch.
Dan

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

Comment posted by John Blumenkamp on March 23, 2011 at 1:12 AM

Hi Dan... beautiful colors and detail against that high key background. Very nice image!

Registered on February 26, 2011, 58 Posts, 313 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 23, 2011 at 2:24 AM

Nice compliment to the last post!
Good pose here too, great perch and colors -
Really nice!
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 23, 2011 at 2:45 AM

Excellent - the white background works really well for this bird.

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

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on March 23, 2011 at 3:53 AM

Awesome image, Dan ! Excellent pose, great detail, beautiful colors, perfect setting.
Congratulations.

Mauro

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 23, 2011 at 6:51 AM

The bird against the background realluy works for me Dan. I wonder if you slectively lighten the eye a fraction you might enhance the gleam/catchlight which is just visible.

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 23, 2011 at 7:00 AM

Another super BB shot Dan. I too love the BG as it sets of this bird. I agree with Rob that lightening the eye just a touch in this one would make it even better. Well done as usual.

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

Comment posted by Doug Backlund on March 23, 2011 at 7:59 AM

Excellent all around. The white bg really sets off the blue of this female.

Registered on September 29, 2005, 252 Posts, 3380 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on March 23, 2011 at 8:02 AM

Wow, great bluebird, Dan. The high key bg with snow in the foreground really sets it off and you did great on the exposure to make it work so well. Of course, none of that would really count without such a good pose and great detail.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on March 23, 2011 at 9:12 AM

What a pretty pose. I love the little opening on the beak and the beautiful blue tones. I have a box that has a mating pair building as we speak (Eastern Bluebirds). I cant wait for babies.

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 23, 2011 at 9:41 AM

thanks for the response, Dan, and no criticism implied in the question--it just helps me understand in more detail how you get these amazing shots. maybe not quite "pure," but it is really exceptional beauty that you capture. very cool about the nest boxes too.

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

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 23, 2011 at 2:54 PM

Great pose. I read somewhere that Mountain Bluebirds are the bluest of all birds. You've captured her color perfectly. Nice sharp image.

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on March 23, 2011 at 3:47 PM

Dan, this is exquisite. The soft greys giving way to a light underbelly and those pastel blue wings against the snow really speaks out.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 23, 2011 at 5:37 PM

They sure are beautiful birds. I usually do not like the white backgrounds but you are winning me over with how the snow background can really bring out a bird's color. Nice detail and pose, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 23, 2011 at 7:42 PM

Nice pose and excellent color. The snowy BG almost turns it into a high key portrait.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 23, 2011 at 11:33 PM

She's a beauty Dan