Peter Hornbostel, MPSA/2
October 2026 - Bearded Reedling
About the Image(s)
We drove 600 km to meet this bird which I didn't shot before. I had heard about a greater occurring in this region. I wasn't sure if I would have success. Starting at 9am (it was raining dogs till then) in a foggy nature I was about to give up ... but the fog lighten up and some groups of about 12 individuals are busy between the reed gras. Boy, what a happening! I started with my 200-800mm (most 800mm and ap9.0) and high 5000-8000 ISO and 1/2000 shutterspeed. They are quick, very quick. But I had the luck, that some short moments they will show their beauty for me!
3 comments posted
Peter - once again your image deserves a magazine cover; but I have a question. When I review images I do as if I'm judging a photo club competition, which are usually more liberal in what PSA allows, which is just about anything except adding anything that didn't belong to the makers so things like the Remove tool in PS are ok - so what are your parameters - do you follow PSA guidelines - does your code allow vignettes for instance?
This image is typical of your quality for the subject - that said, there's a bright blade of grass that touches the subject's tail and a very faint branch from the bottom of the frame that leads the viewer out of the frame - my wildlife photo club would ding an image for those two items - my other photo club would give this image an 11 on a 10 point scale - bottom line, you're an artist with birds and this one sings. Posted: 10/07/2026 22:02:50
This image is typical of your quality for the subject - that said, there's a bright blade of grass that touches the subject's tail and a very faint branch from the bottom of the frame that leads the viewer out of the frame - my wildlife photo club would ding an image for those two items - my other photo club would give this image an 11 on a 10 point scale - bottom line, you're an artist with birds and this one sings. Posted: 10/07/2026 22:02:50
Thanks a lot, Butch. Indeed, I am following the PSA rules. I always want to present OoC, but I have to adjust all the time with the allowed workflow. Of course I am editing photos sometimes, not for nature (ND) but in open class. I will rate the number of photos is by 10% max. I intent to bring this photo into competitions. There are more fine photos from this weekend - swans and egrets and even more of bearded reedling. Posted: 10/07/2026 22:26:50
Lovely shot. Is it not permissible to darken that one blade a bit? Posted: 10/10/2026 12:00:00