House Finch

Wow! Beautiful shot.

I'm surprised any bird could perch on that thorn-infested twig, without suffering puncture wounds.

I normally don't favor OOF branches/twigs in a shot, but in this case they're enough OOF that they provide a great sense of habitat without detracting from the overall photo.

Good stuff!

excellent shot, great detail, pose and light, what nice and for me very unusual perch, nice background, for my taste a bit busy, at least I would clone away some of needles from left bottom corner, strong shot!!!

Well shot Richard. The perch definitely adds interest. I see the larger photograph shows the bird coming in contact with the thorn in front of it (small feathers overlapping the top of the thorn). Excellent feather detail and I love the 3 thorny stalks. A well photographed bird is just that no matter the species

Love how the bird is framed by the thorny ocotillo.
Nice pose, detail, eye contact and BG.
Now, ask him to return to the same perch when the ocotillo is blooming this spring with it's red flowers!

Sandy

Great bird finesse. Wonderful catch.

wow! that's beautiful. love the ocotillo and the comp. sweet light and really nice DOF for the bird and perch. I wouldn't mind a bit more room on the bottom if you have it, and I'd consider cloning the thorns entering on the left margin, but I like this a lot as is.

I'm glad you posted this--I remember looking through my bins and seeing you focused on a red spot which I figured was a HOFI in an ocotillo.

I remember looking through my bins and seeing you focused on a red spot which I figured was a HOFI in an ocotillo.

- Brian Gatlin

Yes, this is when I went to the other side of the pond hoping that the Redheads and ring-necks might move in closer to your position. I was happy to find the House Finch on this perch and even happier when it stayed put long enough to grab this.

Lovely capture Rich. Love the muted background. The thorns on the left bottom corner can be cloned out, but it is minor.
Well done.

You so often come up with something interesting and a little different, Rich. The finch looks great and I love all the detail on the ocotillo perch (esp in the larger version) - don't think I've ever seen it this detailed before. The spines coming into the frame at LL don't bother me.

Perfect dof, Richard. I really like having the foreground thorn branch in crisp focus.

I like this one a lot...those thorns add so much interest to a common bird image. Larger version is great...I also wish for just a tad more at the bottom if you have it. Sharon

Extraordinary image of an ordinary bird!

Other than maybe wanting a bit more room at the bottom, I wouldn't change a thing!

I like the pose and spiny setting.

Agree about the perch Richard - nice one, and I like the two others in the background. Any more room below???

This is outstanding Richard! Love the way the thorned stems recede into the background and the soft red bird stands out against the sharp points. Excellent composition and techs.

Four comments so far have asked for more space on the bottom if I have it. Unfortunately I don't. I started shooting with the camera in landscape position and made sure I was focusing on the face of the finch and not the ocotillo spines while holding my breath that the finch wouldn't depart. After a few frames I rotated the camera to vertical and got a few more frames with the desired extra space below the bird, but none of those shots had the head in as pleasing of a position (catch light, overlap with the OOF ocotillo, angle, etc.).

As with almost all of my images I work with unbaited subjects where they occur and not at a setup. That necessarily means there are a lot of variables to deal with in the unknown short interval I often have with any subject. I find this way of working both exciting, and rewarding when it all comes together. I'd like a bit more space on the bottom as well but I'm happy that so many other things worked in this image and that I didn't cut off part of the tail as I sometimes do in the heat of the moment.

Wonderful composition with the ocotillo branches and I like the front directional light to bring out the finch, well done Rich.

The ocotillo perch does wonders, very nice Rich.