'Chickadee Sunset'

Gallery: AvianPosted March 3, 2014211 views12 comments

Chickadee Sunset
See large version here:
http://www.mikieproductions.com/p247163985/h2dbe7aeb#h2dbe7aeb
I set up a blind at a near by watering hole a couple weeks ago several days before our snow and ice storms here in north western Georgia west of Atlanta. I have been back several trips at different times of the day to see the activity of mostly small birds and squirrels. The results have surprised me as small bird photography is a new venture for me and much harder than I expected. This image is from last night right at sunset when the activity really seems to pick up but the light is fading fast. The subject and perch are backlit by the setting sun that was just disappearing behind the horizon at back right and the BG is a streak of sunlight coming thru the trees. I could not have set this shot up any better than it happened naturally. Cropped to 80% of FF and all off of the right.

File Name Ramy_4191_CF40.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time 3/2/2014 6:32:48 PM
Author Michael Ramy
Copyright Notice Rock Art Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/200
Av( Aperture Value ) 9.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM +2.0x
Focal Length 400.0mm
Flash Type External E-TTL
E-TTL II flash metering Evaluative flash metering
Flash Exposure Compensation -1

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on March 3, 2014 at 2:10 PM

Excellent detail in the chickadee and the sunset colors are a beautiful bg!

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 3, 2014 at 2:48 PM

Nice detail and a sweet BG. The twig in back of him bothers a little, more because of the lichen patches than the twig itself. A relatively minor nit on a very nice image.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on March 3, 2014 at 5:06 PM

Absolutely sensational background and light.

Yea, it seems the smaller the birds the quicker they are moving about.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 3, 2014 at 5:25 PM

Wonderful bg and a sweet shot of the Chickadee, Mike. I looked at your website and you have some very nice small bird images in there. Difficult to do with 400mm. You might back off on the flash a bit more. It's still pretty obvious in the image.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 3, 2014 at 9:39 PM

Beautiful bird, perch and BG. In the large image, the bird looks a little over sharpened.

The flash needs backing off , maybe -2.

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

Comment posted by David Haynes on March 4, 2014 at 10:16 AM

Superb in ever way Mike. The light, perch, background, detail on the bird and the crop are exceptional. You nailed this one and having flash with you paid off handsomely on this shot. Congrats on your new small bird endeavors.

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on March 4, 2014 at 10:35 AM

The warm colors make the image for me. Nice job, Mike ! Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Roane on March 4, 2014 at 11:02 AM

This is great! I love the colorful, nicely blurred background, which makes this image unique!

Registered on December 12, 2008, 213 Posts, 2226 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 4, 2014 at 11:13 AM

Mike, you sure got some wonderful background colors to set off all of the details in the Chickadee. I think the soft bits of branch and moss add a nice touch of extra context.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on March 4, 2014 at 12:14 PM

Very sweet shot. I really like the colorful BG and its' color match with the perch. Nice sharpness and good light on the bird. I would like it even better if his head was up just a littl more but really nice as is.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 4, 2014 at 11:56 PM

I really like the BG in this one Mike and think it makes this image very strong. It makes the Chickadee really pop. As far as techs, I have older eyes and it is hard for me to tell sometimes with these smaller images, but looks to be sharp from what I can tell at this size. My only nit, is the flash seems a tiny bit strong, but again hard to critique sometimes with the small image size.

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

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on July 4, 2014 at 10:33 AM

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment, much appreciated, as always.

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments