Captured today while out walking with my wife. The Mountain Bluebirds just came back to the valley this week after wintering somewhere warmer to the south. They are a very unreal looking blue when they are in mating colors,they fade a bit after June.
I cropped this one quite a bit (I shot it with the 100-400mm)I cloned out a barbed wire in the background that he was flying over. I adjusted the saturation, down, actually and did some selective curves to help out the back ground. minor selective color on the background as well.a small bit of dodge and burn on the eye areas.one pass of neat image smoothed the background.Some selective USM on the head and shoulders (just to control the dandruff).Then resized and saved for web. I hope you all like it.
Statistics
Place: 5 out of 143 Avg (all users): 6.9888 Avg (commenters): 8.5000 Avg (participants): 6.6119 Avg (non-participants): 7.2162 Views since voting: 8782 Views during voting: 572 Votes: 178 Comments: 35 Favorites: 10 (view)
I have shot just enough "attempts" of birds to know how hard this is. Despite the issues cited, it is a fabulous shot especially his turning I guess. In motion like that is what really makes this shot in my opinion! I see no issues with cropping; I think it accentuates the bird.
Wow this is one of the best photos i ever see on DPC, sorry for not winning, I do alot of birds photography and i know how hard to do a photo like this!!!!!
Fantastic in flight catch of this guy.The bird himself seems a little grainy, but you probably had a tough time choosing between smoothness and preserving detail. Better than I could do, and still deserves a good vote for what you achieved.
Great shot. A slightly crisper focus would have made it pop out a little better but I'm sure that at that speed that would have been very difficult. That said I love it. Top 10 I hope.
Wow, what a gorgeous bird! Such vivid blue and you've made the most of it by choosing a contrasting background. The hooked body shape doesn't appeal to me, aesthetically, though I still admire the capture!
This really is balletic - lovely, although a little less noise on the bird (there is also the hint of a 'selection' line above the bird's back), and this would have been a 10 from me. As it stands, a solid 8.
Edit - and now bumping to 9!
Dang bluebirds are too photogenic by far! Fantastic pose, lighting and complementary background. Might bump the contrast just a touch and sharpen the head more. But this is a stunning shot; I wouldn't be surprised to see it ribbon.
From the thumb I thought this had ribbon all over it. Looking at it, I think it will do well, but the focus is just slightly off (or perhaps its the lens or motion blur). A great pic though. I love the colors and the wings.
An Audubon quality capture, this is simple stunning. A perfect background well controlled puts the emphasis on the bird and suits the over all mood of the image perfectly. Rich in detail with no major or minor technical issues. At first, the artistic impression wasn't quite as good, but on a third viewing, this reviewer has changed the rating from a 9 to a 10. A top ten if not a ribbon contender. Well done.
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