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Varied Thrush & Repost
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Varied Thrush & Repost

by Dennis Plank

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted February 9, 201684 views8 comments
I decided to go way back to 2008 when we had the worst winter storm I've seen in the 28 years I've been in Western Washington.  It started with a couple of feet of snow and was followed by an ice storm that sealed the snow with 1/2 an inch of ice and that was followed with a week or two of cold weather so it didn't melt.  It messed up a lot of people's holiday plans because it came in mid-December and lasted until the beginning of January.

Almost the only time I've seen this species is after a major snow when they will start coming to ground feeding stations, which is where I took this image.  We feed next to a wooded area across our back fence, so we get some of the shy ones coming across.

40D, 500mm F4 ISL + 1.4 TC, Jobu gimbal on Gitzo legs, f/5.6, 1/80, iso 320, aperture priority, pattern metering.  Processed in LR5 & CS6.  Cropped to 5.2 MP (the 40D was about 10 MP).  A lower angle would have been nice, and I wish I'd had new snow, but this was taken December 26th and we'd been feeding on the snow for at least a week since the last snowfall.

Comments and criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 10, 2016 at 9:18 AM
Dennis, this is a good look at a bird that I have rarely seen.  The 720px view is quite dark, but the larger view opens up decently and show some fine detail, like the hairs around the beak.  Even there I think this would benefit from some overall brightening, as the white areas of snow remain gray.  It's always fun getting a rare visitor to a feeding station.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Wayne Jones on February 10, 2016 at 1:34 PM
Nice catch of a "seldom seen!"

Looks just a bit dark on my monitor, but otherwise, a nicely-lit (thanks to snow reflections) and superbly-detailed shot.
Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 10, 2016 at 1:35 PM
Thanks, Mark.  I agree with you.  Here's a repost with the exposure brought up.

crying
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Wayne Jones on February 10, 2016 at 1:46 PM
The repost with whiter snow makes winter look like a happier time!  :-)
Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 10, 2016 at 2:55 PM
Hi   Dennis crying Glad you followed  marks advice.cool  the repost  is much better.  you  captured the  pose,  detail and  colors  beautifullydevil


Albert Darmo
Canada
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by David Schoen on February 10, 2016 at 3:56 PM
Repost is much better.  I did not remember that storm until I checked back on my images.  Yes, a big storm.  I have not seen one of these in my area.  Perhaps more of a prairie inhabitant.  In fact, I haven't even seen a single finch this winter.
Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments
Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on February 10, 2016 at 6:02 PM
Yeah, the repost improved it.  I passed up a shot at some of these at Ft.Stevens a few years ago, thinking I'd see them all over.  Rookie mistake. Still kicking myself.
Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments
Comment posted by Yun Gao on February 11, 2016 at 8:57 PM

Dennis, The repost is a nice improvement. The colors and details are much better.

Registered on September 11, 2012, 267 Posts, 1621 Comments