John Roach  


Baby Bluebird by John Roach

May 2020 - Baby Bluebird

About the Image(s)

This image was created April 22 during the current COVID-19 lockdown here in Virginia. At this time of the morning, I would often be out somewhere, but fortunately was at home to see the bluebirds in action at the birdhouse in our back yard. My wife noticed them first and so I went upstairs to get my Nikon D500 with 200-500mm f5.6 lens. For the next two hours I watched them through the window of our sunroom. What a delight. I captured about 450 high speed rapid fire shots and had some nice keepers (perhaps over 100; not done editing yet). This one was a dandy because you can see the worm in the mouth of the little fellow. It was really neat in some images to see the food being brought to the peeps. There were 3 peeps trying to get to food at times through that little birdhouse hole. On Sunday, June 26th, the peeps left the bird house. I missed that event so I was little sad, but I am so glad they are now grown up enough to learn the world. It must be those high protein worms in our backyard! Settings were Auto ISO 800, Minimum Shutter Speed 1/1600s, f/5.6 and edited in Lightoom for crop, curves, noise, hightlight control, sharpening, etc.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
12 comments posted




Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
Nice shot. The contrast is strong from the sunlight but it hits the chick perfectly. Nice behavior.   Posted: 05/07/2020 15:33:58
John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
Thanks, Mike. I appreciate the comments. Sharon forgot to add my description which I will send again to her. Here it is:

"This image was created April 22 during the current COVID-19 lockdown here in Virginia. At this time of the morning, I would often be out somewhere, but fortunately was at home to see the bluebirds in action at the birdhouse in our back yard. My wife noticed them first and so I went upstairs to get my Nikon D500 with 200-500mm f5.6 lens. For the next two hours I watched them through the window of our sunroom. What a delight. I captured about 450 high speed rapid fire shots and had some nice keepers (perhaps over 100; not done editing yet). This one was a dandy because you can see the worm in the mouth of the little fellow. It was really neat in some images to see the food being brought to the peeps. There were 3 peeps trying to get to food at times through that little birdhouse hole. On Sunday, June 26th, the peeps left the bird house. I missed that event so I was little sad, but I am so glad they are now grown up enough to learn the world. It must be those high protein worms in our backyard! Settings were Auto ISO 800, Minimum Shutter Speed 1/1600s, f/5.6 and edited in Lightoom for crop, curves, noise, hightlight control, sharpening, etc."

Very disappointing that folks can't see that. It might be due to the the fact I sent a bad size image the first time and resent the image with the initial description again!   Posted: 05/14/2020 13:18:25
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
I am sorry for this error. Actually, I did not forget to add it, but when I went back and substitted the second image you sent it must have wiped out the description I previously put it. A lesson for me...always check the page before I am done.   Posted: 05/15/2020 14:03:11
John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
Thanks.   Posted: 05/15/2020 14:51:54



 
The story is a good nature story The bird box is clear; however the bird is a bit over processed for me. The green is also competitive with the birds. My suggestion is to tone down the greens and the mouth of the baby.   Posted: 05/07/2020 15:50:47
John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
I like the green...that was my choice, but thanks for the comment. The bird was not processed much. See the missing description above under my comment to Mike, that was posted with the image for some reason.   Posted: 05/14/2020 13:16:05
 
I don't find the whole bird, only the mouth to be a bit bright. The bird is well done.   Posted: 05/15/2020 11:50:01



Pamela Hoaglund   Pamela Hoaglund
Great action shot and very sharp. It would be nice to see what the birdhouse is attached to as it feels like it's hanging in the air.   Posted: 05/08/2020 19:12:14
John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
A hook on the branch didn't seem interesting to me and perhaps even a distraction. I wanted to see just the activity at the bird house. I could have cropped more but the image was a bit noisy. thanks for the comments!! BTW, the description was not posted for some reason, so it is posted above in my comment to Mike. Thanks, again.   Posted: 05/14/2020 13:15:14



Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
A nice nature story, I think. I like the background treatment - it looks Monet-ish to me, and effect I generally find pleasing. In my opinion the shadow is very strong, so I wonder if it could be lightened up a bit, especially where it falls across the back of the bird. I would like to see a bit more detail there.   Posted: 05/15/2020 14:06:42



 
Now that it was mentioned I do see the worm in the mouth. It has an interesting interaction between patent and chick. I agree with Sharon concerning a little more detail in the dark back. the blue in the tail feathers is amazing.   Posted: 05/20/2020 10:29:32



Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
One of the beneficial consequences of our lockdown is being around and aware when wonderful moments like this occur. You are fortunate to have bluebirds in your yard. I have never seen a real one! For my eyes, very tired these days from too many ZOOM conferences, the green bokeh is a bit distracting. But seeing that bird with a worm in its mouth quickly draws my eyes to the focus of attention.   Posted: 05/27/2020 19:03:22