American Goldfinch

Gallery: AvianPosted June 2, 2011314 views21 comments

I've been out of the loop the lat couple of weeks (on vacation), but got back yesterday to some pretty decent evening light. The garden did a lot of growing in our absence (as did the lawn). The Goldfinches seem to like pausing on the Columbine (the first year it's bloomed) planted near the pond before getting a drink. While the breast of the Goldfinch is a bit bright, it's not blown. I was particularly pleased that all but the lower left blossoms ended up in the focal plane. I kept the lower left stem in for balance.

1d Mk IV, 500mm f4 + 1.4TC, Black Widow on Gitzo legs, f8, 1/1250, iso 800 Av mode with -1/3 compensation, normal processing in CS4. Cropped from 16 to 7.6MP.

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 2, 2011 at 7:30 PM

The red, yellow, and black combo makes for a beautiful frame Dennis. Great plane of focus to get those three red blossoms in as well.
Like the BG that compliments, and helps make the subject "pop". I think the breast is fine, no worries

Nice details, a most pleasing image!

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

Comment posted by Suzanne Huot on June 2, 2011 at 8:16 PM

A real eye-popper of an image ,with this stunning combination of colours.Beautiful composition as well.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 32 Posts, 240 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on June 2, 2011 at 8:19 PM

Great perch, background and perky little head turn Dennis. I'd have left the lower stem in also.

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on June 2, 2011 at 8:37 PM

A really fine goldfinch image...wonderful colors, detail, and pleasing bg. I might remove the tip of bud sticking up from the bottom...other stem fine with me! Very nice! Sharon

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

Comment posted by Angela McCain on June 2, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Truly lovely blend of soft colors here. I am glad the Columbine came into it's own. I see a lot of images coming from here and look forward to them. Perfect pose for the bird and nice details.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 2, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Superb Dennis! I love it . Great detail, pose, bg, excellent perch. All great

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on June 2, 2011 at 10:26 PM

I really like the wonderful colours, arcing stems and flowers of the perch, and the stunning bird too.

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

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 2, 2011 at 10:26 PM

Nice pose and great plant! BG works nicely. Yellows look fine to me.
Maybe get rid of that little blip of plant by the lower end of the stem?
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on June 2, 2011 at 10:51 PM

Wonderful colors and composition, such as beautiful image,

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on June 2, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Dennis, what a way to get back in the loop. This is a work of art in my opinion. As others of commented that it pops and it does. I do like the OOF stem which as you said, give the image balance. I just love looking at this image. The detail with about a 50% crop is amazing.

Harry

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 3, 2011 at 12:22 AM

Really need to open the larger version to fully appreciate how beautiful this image is. The way you've captured the Goldfinch is of course wonderful, but the inclusion of the budding and flowering blossoms really take this one over the edge. Very nicely done Dennis, and welcome back :^)

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

Comment posted by Joe Vincent on June 3, 2011 at 5:56 AM

Just a lovely image - not nits here. Nicely done Dennis.

Registered on August 16, 2005, 69 Posts, 792 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Summers on June 3, 2011 at 6:11 AM

beautiful image Dennis the colours are beautiful, your goldfinches are so different to ours

Registered on December 3, 2009, 83 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on June 3, 2011 at 8:11 AM

This is two very nice photos, one avian and one floral, combined into a superb image. Great pose and handling of exposure on the goldfinch and very nice shot of the columbine. I think the muted, graduated bg colors really emphasize the bird and perch too. I would leave the oof blossom and agree they help balance the image.

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

Comment posted by Mark Jenkins on June 3, 2011 at 9:03 AM

The BG, colors, and pose make this a really good one Dennis. Nice job.

Registered on April 20, 2008, 307 Posts, 604 Comments

Comment posted by Giorgio Gregori on June 3, 2011 at 10:06 AM

Wonderful image, Dennis .

Giorgio

Registered on November 16, 2007, 87 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on June 3, 2011 at 12:31 PM

Wow Dennis this is absolutely superb. Great lighting, detail, bg and colours. Very well done!!!

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Neal Cooper on June 3, 2011 at 2:22 PM

The colors in this image are really beautiful Dennis. I like the composition and BG as well. The detail on the stem of the flower on the right is very good with the light lifting the fine "hairs" on the stem.

Registered on June 3, 2009, 144 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on June 3, 2011 at 4:06 PM

Great image- Like the warm colours, the awesome perch and the dark BG- I'd leave the stem as is- My congrats, Fabio

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

Comment posted by David Sparks on June 3, 2011 at 7:36 PM

Dennis:
Outstanding! The perch and BG are wonderful. I would toy with reducing the brightness of the yellow on the bird - not because it looks blown, but just to see if the color combination were more pleasing that way.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on June 4, 2011 at 8:09 AM

Beautiful Dennis- perch, your comp and the detail. Well done

cheers
Rob

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