Mountain Bluebird

Gallery: AvianPosted April 17, 2011268 views20 comments

I got a chance today to photograph the male of the pair of bluebirds that are resident in my yard. This is from a backyard blind on a set up perch.
D90, 300f4, 1/200, f8, iso250, beanbag, natural light on overcast day. The background is dormant grass in a hay pasture. Larger version included for critique.
Comments and critiques appreciated.

Comments

20 comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on April 17, 2011 at 6:19 PM

Very sharp! That soft light really brings out the blue.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on April 17, 2011 at 6:24 PM

Another stunner... detail is superb and perch is awesome.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 17, 2011 at 6:25 PM

Another nice bluebird Dan. Love the detail in the bird and perch, and the smooth BG is great. I am seeing a pretty heavy blue cast in the left portion of the perch branch and the BG is showing blue cast in several areas. I would work on eliminating the blue cast if this were mine.

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

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 17, 2011 at 6:34 PM

Delightful pose!
Nice perch and BG.
The blues seems a little over-saturated - enough that the legs and feet also have a blue cast, as well as the left part of the perch.
Easily corrected -

Sandyt .

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on April 17, 2011 at 6:36 PM

I agree with the others. Great detail, a magnificent perch, and I really like that you can see the roundness of the eye in the larger view. The blue color cast Ron mentioned is easily corrected (and should be—this is a stunner!).

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on April 17, 2011 at 7:09 PM

Stunning! Your bb's are the BEST! Sharon

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

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on April 17, 2011 at 7:22 PM

Thanks for the comments, you all have a good eye. Now that you point it out I see the blue color cast. I have tried warming the image and reducing the blue saturation, but I still can't seem to get the color right. I will have to work on this some more. I may have to start over from the raw file.

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

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on April 17, 2011 at 7:43 PM

Beautiful bluebird, Dan. Great work...again! Super detail, perch and comp. I see the color cast but it really doesn't bother me much.

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on April 17, 2011 at 8:46 PM

Select the bird sans feet, then invert the selection. At that point, the blue should tone down easily in all but the bluebird.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 17, 2011 at 11:38 PM

Dan, your bluebird images are always so amazing. love your perch here, your DOF, the bg, and of course that gorgeous bird.

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on April 17, 2011 at 11:52 PM

Wow! What an absolutely stunning image Dan! The colours, detail and composition are perfect for me :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on April 18, 2011 at 12:02 PM

Beautiful portrait- Great light, perfect exposure and superb BG on this- My best congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on April 18, 2011 at 1:40 PM

Wow, awesome detail! I love his pose, his colour against the background, and that little glint in his eye.

The Mountain Bluebirds have returned to where I live, but I haven't gotten the chance to photograph them. Everytime my dad and I get a little closer to them they just fly away...or let us get the camera out, then fly away!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on April 18, 2011 at 2:35 PM

This is awesome. Love the bird to start with and then add the detail, perch and simple bg and you've got a winner.

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on April 18, 2011 at 6:23 PM

Dan,

The bluebird is beautiful and the alert pose is very appealing to me. I notice the blue cast others have mentioned too and think that in RAW you should be able to tame it easily. I saw some flocks of mountain bluebirds about a month ago heading north. I'll need to head to someplace besides the SL valley to photograph them though!

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

Comment posted by Clayton Musgrove on April 18, 2011 at 8:13 PM

Love this shot Dan. I love Bluebirds and your shots of them always amaze me. For some reason I am seeing circular lines in the grey background radiating out from the bird in both directions.

May be my monitor but I can't see it in other images.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on April 19, 2011 at 7:58 PM

So pretty Dan. I lovethe colors and another great perch

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

Comment posted by David Haynes on April 19, 2011 at 10:10 PM

an,
Awesome detail and color. Love the backyard perch. Muted background really bring out the details in the bird. Agree with some of the others that this might be just a tad over saturated in the blues but very easily corrected. Another winner Dan.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Holguin on April 20, 2011 at 2:39 AM

Amazing feather detail, excellent perch, lovely background and light. Superb pic. Well done.

Registered on January 25, 2011, 44 Posts, 294 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on April 22, 2011 at 5:06 PM

Stunning image Dan, your Bluebird images are outstanding, wonderful detail throughout, a pleasure to view.

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