Choosing Branches for Bird Setup?

Posted by Mark Farag on Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:46 pm

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Hi all,

I decided to take a break from all the rabbit shots (okay, so they are mostly gone now

) and go back to some birds. I'm trying to spice up the perch a bit but am not sure if this one is too overwhelming for the size of the subject. Any suggestions?

Taken in Southern NJ.

Wish I left some room to the right. Couldn't use flash because the tripod was setup too high in the blind nearly hitting the top. I'll be sure to take care of that for next time.

Canon 20D+400mm 5.6. Supported by tripod. 1/80th at f/5.6.

Thanks for looking!

-Mark

[b]Mark Farag-Southern NJ[/b]
http://www.markfaragphotography.com

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by E.J. Peiker on Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:10 pm

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This is really beautiful - backlighting handled expertly.

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by anonymous_guy on Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:22 pm

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Like the background...., suits the bird, and bird looks wonderful, although a little flash would have opened it up more

IMHO..... think you may have taken the focus away from the bird by trying to include the whole branch.
But can see why you had to do it, coz wherever you cropped along the branch, you would have ended up with odd foliage.

Perhaps if you could somehow crop out the middle 3 (lesser) branches & the main branch in that section (& still make it look natural), you could bring the bird & the foliage into a closer perspective & it would frame better. IMHO.
Please feel free to tell me where to get off.

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by Alan Murphy on Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:45 pm

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Mark, This is very nice. I like the BG that you chose. The perch is nice, but I feel it's a perch that would look better more upright. It would also improve the image to not clip the right end. I would also go a bit brighter overall. The pose is great and the comp. For smaller birds, it always works best the more delicate the perch is. I would still be proud if this was mine.

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by KK Hui on Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:58 pm

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Just wished the right end wasn't clipped, Mark!
Well composed and use of back lit situation ...

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by Wayne Nicholas on Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:45 pm

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I think you got everything right on this one, Mark. This looks wonderfully natural and the backlighting really makes it sing. Well done.

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by Ofer Levy on Fri Oct 07, 2005 6:26 am

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Hi Mark, the perch is a bit too big for the bird IMO.. :roll: A flash was necessary in here as you have mentioned..

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by fredcor on Fri Oct 07, 2005 8:30 am

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Beautiful and a stunning composition.

Frederick Lat Correa

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by Kim Steininger on Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:01 pm

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Really love the perch with the backlighting! That looks so cool! Great detail and BG but I'm not crazy about it with this bird. A cardinal would be awesome with this setup!

Kim Steininger

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by Bruce DiVaccaro on Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:21 pm