Posted by Kim Connolly on August 21, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Taken from a friends garden - overlooking a field - when a couple of Goldfinch arrived, and literally demolished a clump of thistles.
1/1250"
F6.3
Aperture priority
ISO 400
-0.67EV
Evaluative.
C & C welcome
Posted by David Taylor on August 21, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Thistles are great, first they attract the insects then the birds. Very nice subject against an excellent BG.
Posted by Lee Newman on August 21, 2009 at 3:17 PM
A good image of this nice looking Finch, Nice colours, a perfct perch & good comp.
Lee
Posted by Dave Bartlett on August 21, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Nice position of the bird relative to the thistles and great eye contact
Posted by Major Gilbert on August 22, 2009 at 5:07 AM
Loads of thistles and for that matter Goldfinchs as well at the moment.
Nice pose smart bird.
Major.
Posted by Craig Jones on August 22, 2009 at 7:03 AM
Very nice,love the pose caught and the detail is great,love the thistles too
Posted by Austin Thomas on August 22, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Good background and good eye contact. Well caught Kim.
Cheers
Austin
Posted by Mark Davies on August 22, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Hi Kim , nice image , but lacks a tadge of punch for me . I have added a multiply layer at 40% which lifts it .Or alternatively exposure up by 1/3 a stop and gamma at 0.8 ish .Hope this is ok.
Posted by Kim Connolly on August 22, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Thanks for the comments which are very much appreciated - Mark, would be interested to see your version - but it hasn't come up on my screen!!
Posted by David Kjaer on August 22, 2009 at 4:53 PM
Some good suggestions given... this really is a nice shot... might just lose a little from the top.
Posted by Mark Davies on August 25, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Hi Kim apologies for not checking back on this .
Two below with the settings as suggested above.
Version 1 is a multiply layer at 40%
2 is an exposure and a gamma adjustment.
The reds may be a little garish but as a guide a starter for 10?
all the best..
Posted by Mark Davies on August 25, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Version2
Posted by Kim Connolly on August 25, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Thank you Mark, I certainly think yours has given it a bit of punch as you say, I do prefer the second version. Am always a little wary, preferring mine to be understated rather than overdone. It's getting it just right which is the difficulty! Many thanks for your interest and suggestions, very much appreciated.
Lovely image! I do agree a bit more punch helps, but it's just down to personal preference. I'm seeing a slight halo effect around the bird - not sure why but probably easily fixed.
Posted by Kim Connolly on August 26, 2009 at 5:42 AM
Thanks Ian, I agree there is a halo - hadn't noticed before, have tried to remove it - not sure whether I haven't made it worse!! I think I have cropped it a little too much!! Anyway thanks for pointing it out,
Discussion
18 replies1/1250"
F6.3
Aperture priority
ISO 400
-0.67EV
Evaluative.
C & C welcome
Very well composed shot with a lovely background
Lee
Nice pose smart bird.
Major.
Cheers
Austin
David
Brett
Two below with the settings as suggested above.
Version 1 is a multiply layer at 40%
2 is an exposure and a gamma adjustment.
The reds may be a little garish but as a guide a starter for 10?
all the best..