Spruce Grouse Hen

Hi all! Thank you for your comments and suggestions on my image of a male dusky grouse from a couple years ago. I thought I'd post one from the past month as Josiah and I have found broods (family groups) of spruce grouse a few times working through the transition habitat on the slopes of the Rockies.

I'm not sure if it's a bit busy for some tastes, but this is a personal favourite in large part because of the habitat and because I "coaxed" this hen into posing for me. Well, not really, but as she worked her way through the tall grass I was begging softly for her to come out to his small opening and strike a pose, and for once, my wildlife subject listened!

I did still have to clone out a few branches from behind/around her head though, so she could have done just a bit better for me, but I wasn't complaining.

Personally, I like having one of her offspring OOF in the background, but again that may be a distraction for some.

In any event, I hope you enjoy...I'm also happy to share this as it's a great sample of the habitat my family and I live and photograph in (where the grasslands meet the mountains in the bottom SW corner of Alberta).

Please view the larger image if you have time!

Field Notes:
Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4 IF-ED
ISO 560
1/250sec @ f/6.3
-0.3 EV
Tripod mounted with the legs flattened out and me lying on the ground

Processing Notes:
Converted from RAW using Phase One Capture One Pro 7
Minimal adjustments to tone and contrast in Nik Colour Efex Pro 4 and Viveza 2 along with selective curves in PS5
Cloned 3 branches from around hen's head
Cropped to app. 88% to eliminate some OOF foreground and rock behind the grouse