Weekly #896 - Birds Competition

Birds are a pretty universal pursuit these days, with such a variety of excellent longer lenses being within reach and some great venues offering all sorts of opportunities. It still needs great photographers though, so it's great to see a wide range of quality images and so many of them!

The Festive Bird by dewsburya is a good start, with such a fine looking robin. This is sharp, nicely exposed and has just the right amount of DOF.

Fish Eagle by rbuckell: Super sharp, a very interesting bird and a well subdued background that could have so easily been too busy. I'm not so sure about the colour of that background, but I am not familar with the part of the world it was shot so it may well be right. In any event, the white of the bird looks clean and has no colour bias, so I can happily take it at face value.

The Last Photograph by BraydenBise: A sad tale indeed. The image is a lasting reminder of this fine creature and is extremely intense in colour and contrast, but very striking indeed.

Battling Pheasants by SSF1957: Like a surreal dance, this battle perhaps does not need to come to blows as it appears to be a display of dominance. If the potential loser is wise, he will give it up and get out of there, he cartainly doesn't look ready to engage.

Fulmars by MHOL190246: A mating ritual, part of the complex dance that occurs across all species as a suitable mate is selected. I particularly like the inclusion of the colourful foreground. All those white tones have been kept under control as well.

Tern Around by Flan: A very brave attempt at a difficult shot exposure-wise. Unfortunately there are too many blown out areas of pure white for me, some of them also very out of focus and quite distracting. I recognise that this was not an easy shot to make.

Starling Murmuration by PRYorkshire: The water leads us in to the image and this combined with the silhouette of the trees and the faint warm glow all make a fantastic counterfoil to the dramatic murmuration. It is an enticing composition that grabs the attention and holds it.

So Fragile by Lubbyman: The bird is quite small in the frame and at first I wondered if a crop would help, but on balance perhaps not. It does emphasise the fragility of this tiny chick so puts its fight for survival in a stronger context.

Swan by RayW: The composition of this is excellent, the only drawback of the image being the problem that swans often offer and that is over-exposed white areas. Very often the necks can look quite dirty compared to the body feathers, which adds to the difficulty. Here tha neck is a little over-lit down its bright side, as are parts of the body, Equally the eyes and head are under-lit. Using the dodge tool in Photoshop might help the eyes/head area, but the whites are quite possibly too far gone. Kinder lighting and very careful exposure are probably the way forwards, and as you have the composition well sorted it will be well worth revisiting.

Plain Common Blackbird by maranatha: It might be miffed at being called common! Lovely and sharp, classic pose, very pleasing bokeh and spot on exposure make an uncommonly attractive image.

Goldfinch by johnwnjr: The bokeh is perfect, offering an unobtrusive background that has just a hint of detail so it isn't monotonous. The bird is lovely, just needing a tad more sharpness in the head and a slightly brighter eye. I suspoect 1/60s was a bit slow to stop any head movement, and it might have helped to increase the ISO and perhaps widen the aperture slightly.

General Chatter by Itsmix: A cacophany of action here, of the gossiping kind. I particularly like the wild look in the eye of the central bird and the whispering pose of the one closer. Plenty to look at, sharp where it counts and good exposure control.

Cheeky Bird by Noelcmn: Good one, yes, that's a cheeky look and to that we can add an intriguing and attractive backdrop.

Blue Tit on Bird Feeder by EricD1306: Leaning back gives this bird the look of not quite knowing where to start with all this food...There is much to like here with the arrangement and the pleasant out of focus background, only falling down slightly as the bird is not the sharpest part of the image. A slightly smaller aperture would have pulled it in, and upping the ISO would have kept the shutter speed high enough to avoid movement.

There are so many images here that a vying for the top spots, but the decision has to me made and these are my winners:

WINNER is Battling Pheasants by SSF1957

SECOND is General Chatter by Itsmix

THIRD is Starling Murmuration by PRYorkshire

Highly commended: Cheeky Bird by Noelcmn, Plain Common Blackbird by maranatha, The Last Photography by BraydenBise, Fish Eagle by rbuckell

Many thanks to everyone for a well supported competition, and over to our winner for the next!

Thank you John for setting and judging this competition. I found your comments on each of the images thoughtful and helpful.
I was surprised (and very happy 😊 to have my entry picked as the winner, particularly with the quality of entries on show. Congratulations to all who gained a podium or highly commended

Thanks John for the extensive comments, really helpful. I'll have another play in lightroom and see what I can do to improve it. Well done to the podium.

Thanks from me also John for your insightful and helpful comments regards my entry.
Well done to everyone who entered.