Northern Oriole

[rtbaum]

I am playing with photographing my birds in context to their environment, any comments?

[asilkybush]

the yellows really make this picture i think. i really like it

[jprzybyla]

Hello Randy, I read that you are working on showing the environment in your images. In this image I think a different crop would work better, tighter to the bird. Here is why I think that, the bright sky and tree trunk are distracting drawing attention from the bird. The tighter your crop to the bird the more you eliminate that. If the image were mine I would use the Adjustment Brush in Lightroom to see if Dodging (lightening) the black head would show more detail around the eye. It took me a while to learn to use the Adjustment Brush, when used to work locally on parts of an image it can really improve the image.

[GShooter]

Hello Randy. I fully concur with jprzybylas comments. In nature photography the eyes are everything, they bring the subject to life. I like the idea of showing the bird in its natural habitat, but you have to ensure that the background is not so distracting that it takes the emphasis away from the subject. Good luck with your project.

[rtbaum]

I may have gone a bit too far with the dodge on the eye, and I recropped. I also removed a twig across the face and dig some crude reconstructive surgery to his bill

[jprzybyla]

Hi Randy, I have been thinking about you wanting to show more environment in your images. The easiest way I can show you what works is to post an image and tell you why I think it works. Others may have different ideas, that is a given. The image below is a Tri-colored Heron. I chose this composition because of the elements in the image. The bird is centered, normally where the eyes go first when viewing and image. The different elements in the image frame the bird, the log, the vegetation above, the branch laying across the top of the vegetation. The branch extending in from the right points to the bird. If the eyes follow the log in front of the bird it leads to the bird. The eyes can wander but they always come back to the bird. The bird is the subject to other items are props included in the scene. Hoping this helps explain composition in environment images.

[rtbaum]

Joe- that is what I was thinking in the above photo; the branches, I feel, lead to the oriole and frame it

[jprzybyla]

I agree that the branches frame the bird, sorry if I mislead you.

[Downrigger]

Great oriole! I agree with Joe that if possible, getting that head out of total shadow would make a difference.

Joe - in your lovely picture of the Heron, did you use the adjustment brush or maybe HSL luminance sliders to get your subject to almost glow, like that? It is a great image. If I had this lovely subject to attempt, I would have gotten bright waters and deeply shadowed bird.