Juvenile Goldfinch

Gallery: AvianPosted August 28, 201174 views10 comments

I always like the subdued brown-yellow coloration of the juvenile goldfinches and how it blends so well with the late summer/fall colors of the leaves and grasses. This one was in a birch tree in the front forty yesterday evening.

1DMkIV, 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4tc, Black Widow on Gitzo legs, f8, 1/1600, iso 640, Av mode with -1/3 compensation (not needed for the juveniles-I ended up having to boost the exposure in ACR). Normal processing in CS4, cropped to 5.5MP.

I always appreciate your comments and criticisms.

Thanks for looking,

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on August 29, 2011 at 12:01 AM

Nice example demonstrating how their color does blend into the seasonal color palette. I like your choice of dof. I tend to shy away from photographing birds when they are amidst the leaves, but when it works, it really works!

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 29, 2011 at 3:43 AM

Great job of making this one stand out with a busy BG like this Dennis! I like the natural surroundings of this and the exposure looks excellent to me.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on August 29, 2011 at 6:32 AM

I like the comp Dennis. Bird looks good given the largish crop. Nice.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 29, 2011 at 8:23 AM

I like the warm colors & light, great complimentary setting & well composed Dennis..
Great catch-light and details, nice head-turn..Actually kinda cute too

Well done!

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

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on August 29, 2011 at 12:18 PM

Really like this image, Dennis. The angled twig fits very well with the great head-turn of the finch. Nice warm colors that tells fall is right around the corner.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on August 29, 2011 at 2:38 PM

Dennis,
This works really well. Like some of the others, I tend to shy away from taking pictures of birds when the background is so busy but this is beautiful. Very complimentary with the colors of the finch. Perfect head angle, both feet are visible and you have terrific light. Very sharp with perfectly chosen aperature Dennis. Nice job!!

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on August 29, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Lovely habitat shot, Dennis. I agree with you about the colors and this image demonstrates the blending beautifully. I find habitat shots more realistic and interesting than bird-on-a-stick images. However, the significant problem to solve is how to have the viewer focus on the bird. I've tried a variety of approaches. I think your image succeeds because the bg is slightly oof and the bird is sufficiently different in color. Nice work!

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on August 30, 2011 at 8:42 AM

nice, Dennis. I like the pose and light, and think that the leaves provide a pleasant setting while the diagonal branch the finch is perched on adds a strong line to the image. this is not really a bg that I'd consider 'busy,' I think that the leaves are of similar patterns, shapes and tones and lack distracting elements.

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

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on August 30, 2011 at 8:53 PM

Very nice perch and great subject! Well done!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 31, 2011 at 12:06 AM

He blends in well and I like where you've placed it in the frame Dennis

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