Rose-breasted Grosbeak

[Bob_B]

I am seeing a lot of migratory birds at my feeders these days. This Rose-breast Grosbeak was here this past Saturday, feasting on sunflower seeds and enjoying the backyard pond.

I would appreciate your thoughts on cropping and background. Thanks.

Bob

[Richowens]

  Lovely shot, background perfect, no need to crop.

  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

  Rich

[Rainer SLP]

HI

Geat shot. I also would say no need to crop. The bird id looking to the right and the space on his right side is great as it gives the bird the freedom it needs.

I have seen that all the Bird photography does look like Paintings. Lots of contrast. How much is real and how much is Photoshop.

I try to get that also a little with my old slides but nearly impossible. What is the secret behind this ?

Is this a diffeerence between the modern digital chips and the old Silverfilm from years ago (prehistoric times :-) ) or is it the afterwards digital processing ?

Thanks in advance for any comments ...

[Bob_B]

Thanks!

I don't know any 'secrets', so here are the details to this image:

Canon 7D
EF 70-200 mm, f/4.5, 1/400 s, ISO 200
camera neutral settings

In lightroom, cropped for 8x10, added a bit of contrast, lowered highlights, raised shadows, adjusted whites and blacks, added clarity and a tiny amount of vibrance. I sharpened to 60 with masking, and added luminance noise reduction. That's it.

Bob

[Rainer SLP]

Thanks!

I don't know any 'secrets', so here are the details to this image:

Canon 7D
EF 70-200 mm, f/4.5, 1/400 s, ISO 200
camera neutral settings

In lightroom, cropped for 8x10, added a bit of contrast, lowered highlights, raised shadows, adjusted whites and blacks, added clarity and a tiny amount of vibrance. I sharpened to 60 with masking, and added luminance noise reduction. That's it.

Bob

Thanks Bob, those are a lot of secrets for me 

[Paulo Bizarro]

Nice shot. I am not a big fan of the superposition between the bird's head and the branch on the background.

[stamper]

I agree with not cropping. Possibly a slight vignette? Overall a nice pleasing image.

[Chris Calohan]

What they said +1.

[Roger S.]

Great shot and it is not an easy one. Birds don't stay in the same spot for long.

The shot feels like a painting to me and I love it.

Wish the background were more bokeh.

Did you use a tripod?

Thanks for sharing.

Roger

[NancyP]

I like it!

[Bob_B]

Great shot and it is not an easy one. Birds don't stay in the same spot for long.

The shot feels like a painting to me and I love it.

Wish the background were more bokeh.

Did you use a tripod?

Thanks for sharing.

Roger

Thank you. No, I didn't have a tripod. Handheld, but that lens has ISM, which is a blessing at times.

[Alistair]

Beautiful image Bob. Light, pose, colours, background all look perfect to me. Regarding the crop, at the risk of appearing contrary I feel the need to crop in a bit closer. I would take even amounts off the top and bottom but a larger amount off the left than the right (by 2 or 3 to 1).
Best regards.

[Bob_B]

Thanks for the cropping ideas. Yes, others have suggested a closer, square crop, or something like that. I will play around with this before making a final 'cut'.

Best regards,

    Bob