Orchard Oriole

Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)

Place: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ
Date: November 18, 2012 8:39 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E III (2x), G1325, RRS BH-55, sidekick
Exposure: ISO 800, Aperture priority spot metered, 1/1600th @ f/8
Raw on Mac, PSCS3, 80% of frame, noise reduction to background
Not baited, not set up, no cloning

Another vagrant species for AZ. This Orchard Oriole was discovered at Boyce Thompson Arboretum on 11/17/12 so I went to get photos this morning. The bird showed up in the same tree as yesterday 39 minutes after the gate opened. This is my third Orchard Oriole in AZ and the frist for the arboretum.

I'd had the camera set up for the darker shaded side of the tree at ISO 800 and there was no time at all to monkey with the camera settings. This brilliant morning light didn't require that high of an ISO, but I'd rather be too high than too low and I'm glad I didn't miss the shot while fiddling with that setting. I simply set down the tripod and swung the lens to point at the oriole, depressed the use-defined button on the front of the camera to switch in the spot meter, and took two shots. This is thre first frame.

Using thre spot meter to keep the brilliant yellow under control forced the sky into the too dark region, and bringing that part of the exposure back up emphasied the noise enough that it needed some NR.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. If possible please view the large version before commenting.